Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) shares fell in premarket trading Friday after the company announced a delay to its highly anticipated Neutron rocket launch.
During the fourth-quarter earnings call, the company disclosed that Neutron's inaugural launch has been pushed to the fourth quarter of 2026 after a Stage 1 tank failure caused by a third-party hand layup defect.
Earnings Snapshot
On Thursday, Rocket Lab reported fourth-quarter revenue of $179.65 million for the fourth quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $178.47 million and a loss of nine cents per share, beating analyst estimates for a loss of 10 cents per share.
The company expects first-quarter revenue to be between $185 million and $200 million, versus estimates of $184.98 million, and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $21 million to $27 million in the first quarter.
BlackSky Technology & Solar Arrays Launches
In a separate release, Rocket Lab disclosed a new multi-launch agreement with BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE:BKSY), strengthening its role as the primary launch partner for BlackSky's next-generation, AI-powered Gen-3 Earth observation satellite constellation.
The agreement adds four additional dedicated Electron missions, increasing the total number of Electron launches conducted for BlackSky since 2019 to 17 and solidifying its position as the company's most frequent launch partner worldwide.
Apart from this, the company announced the launch of advanced silicon solar arrays engineered to power gigawatt-scale space-based data centers stretching kilometers in orbit.
Recent Acquisitions
Also, Rocket Lab disclosed the launch of Auckland-based Precision Components Limited (PCL), strengthening its capacity for large-scale, precision manufacturing.
Moreover, the company closed the acquisition of Optical Support, Inc. (OSI), a maker of high-precision optical systems that power its payloads for satellites, space protection, domain awareness, and missile defense.
Apart from this, its subsidiary announced the successful commissioning of its two satellites for the University of California Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory's ESCAPADE mission, focused on Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics.
RKLB Price Action: Rocket Lab shares were down 5.02% at $69.00 during premarket trading on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Photo by Emagnetic via Shutterstock
