Latest news with #Geost
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Rocket Lab (NasdaqCM:RKLB) Announces Symphony In The Stars Mission
Rocket Lab recently made headlines with the announcement of two dedicated missions for a confidential customer starting with "Symphony In The Stars" and the successful launch of its 66th Electron mission, maintaining a perfect success rate for 2025. Over the last quarter, Rocket Lab's stock price moved up by 58.61%. This movement reflects the company's advancements, including the planned acquisition of Geost to expand into the payload market and strengthen national security capabilities. These developments, occurring amidst an overall market rise of 10% over the past year, have likely supported Rocket Lab's stock momentum. Be aware that Rocket Lab is showing 2 weaknesses in our investment analysis. Diversify your portfolio with solid dividend payers offering reliable income streams to weather potential market turbulence. The recent announcements, including the "Symphony In The Stars" mission and the strategic acquisition of Geost, could have substantial effects on Rocket Lab's anticipated market expansion and service capabilities. This progress has coincided with the company's impressive stock movement, rising by 58.61% in the past quarter. Over a longer period of three years, Rocket Lab has delivered a total return exceeding 600%, illustrating robust growth and investor interest compared to the US Aerospace & Defense industry's 34.1% return over the past year. These developments may influence Rocket Lab's revenue and earnings forecasts positively. The anticipated increase in Electron launch cadence and the Neutron's development are expected to enhance cost efficiency and boost profit margins. Analysts forecast a significant rise in revenue to US$1.2 billion by 2028, with earnings possibly reaching US$59.1 million. Despite these promising projections, the price target of US$24.60, slightly above the current share price of US$22.40, suggests analysts see limited immediate upside based on their growth and profitability assumptions. Upon reviewing our latest valuation report, Rocket Lab's share price might be too optimistic. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include NasdaqCM:RKLB. This article was originally published by Simply Wall St. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Newsflash: Rocket Lab Makes Spy Satellites Now
Rocket Lab will buy spy satellite payload manufacturer Geost for up to $325 million in cash and stock. Rocket Lab already makes satellite buses for spy agencies and the military. Geost will allow it to make complete spy satellites. The purchase could help Rocket Lab bid for contracts under President Trump's Golden Dome plan. 10 stocks we like better than Rocket Lab › Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) stock has taken off like -- what else? -- a rocket. Over the past 52 weeks, shares of the maker of tiny satellites and the only slightly bigger rockets that launch them has soared 521%, gaining about 10% per week. At nearly $27 per share currently, Rocket Lab carries a market capitalization of more than $13.3 billion, and is valued at 31 times its annual sales. Whatever might Rocket Lab be able to do to justify such an optimistic valuation? That's the question I asked myself (and CEO Peter Beck) when I interviewed him about the company's plans to build a new Neutron rocket -- and about the company's plans beyond Neutron -- a couple years back. And I came away with the firm opinion that Rocket Lab's most likely course, to expand its revenue streams and help justify its steadily increasing market capitalization, would be to build (or buy) its own satellite constellation. Turns out, though, Rocket Lab has decided to take neither of these routes, or at least not for now. Instead, Rocket Lab's next act will be to begin making spy satellites, and become a prime contractor selling such satellites directly to American spy agencies and the military. Rocket Lab's path to this new business goes by way of Geost, LLC, a tiny privately owned manufacturer of electro-optical payloads for the spy satellite market. Last week, Rocket Lab announced it will pay $125 million cash, plus $150 million in Rocket lab stock, plus another $50 million cash "in potential additional cash earnout payments tied to revenue targets" to buy Geost from the private equity firm that currently owns it. The purchase is slated to take place sometime in the second half of 2025. Once it happens, Rocket Lab will be able to build its own spy satellite "payloads," to couple with the satellite "buses" that it already builds to carry other companies' payloads. "Geost delivers advanced EO/IR sensor systems for missile warning and tracking, tactical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, Earth observation, and space domain awareness," explains Rocket Lab, referring to electro-optical and infrared sensors (or in more common parlance, "cameras"). Rocket Lab notes that these are precisely the kinds of cameras that the U.S. Pentagon is currently deploying en masse as part of the Space Force's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) program, for which Rocket Lab won a $515 million contract in 2023. These same kinds of cameras would be needed in even greater numbers to construct President Donald Trump's Golden Dome. Geost has until now been building these sensor suites for sale to major defense contractors such as Northrop Grumman and L3Harris, both of which are also major players in PWSA, and both of which are hopefuls for the Golden Dome project. Now, Geost will bring these capabilities in-house and help Rocket Lab to build entire spy satellites directly, "cementing the Company's role as a disruptor in national security space," and allowing the company to provide even more "end-to-end space capabilities for the United States and its allies." Simply put, it gives Rocket Lab a huge leg up in competing for future awards under PWSA, under Golden Dome, and for other spy satellite work -- not just for the U.S., but internationally as well. And let's be honest here: Rocket Lab really needs a boost like this, if its enormous valuation is to be justified. Priced in excess of $12.3 billion, but with less than $500 million in annual revenue and no profit or free cash flow, and not expected to turn profitable for another couple of years at least, Rocket Lab stock sells for a sky-high valuation of 26 times sales. Even assuming analyst forecasts are correct, it will be 2030 before Rocket Lab's sales (projected to be $3.5 billion that year) reach a level that brings the stock down to an ordinary valuation for a space stock -- somewhere between 2 and 4 times sales. Granted, growth stocks like Rocket Lab often sport excessive valuations to present-day sales. But to justify its valuation, Rocket Lab needs a really big growth driver, capable of rapidly expanding its annual sales. Buying Geost, and putting itself in contention to win prime contracts under the $175 billion Golden Dome project, just might be a catalyst big enough to make that happen. Before you buy stock in Rocket Lab, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Rocket Lab wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $674,395!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $858,011!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 997% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Rich Smith has positions in Rocket Lab USA. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends L3Harris Technologies and Rocket Lab USA. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Newsflash: Rocket Lab Makes Spy Satellites Now was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Clamoring to Invest in SpaceX but Can't? Consider Buying Stock in This Competitor That Just Upped Its National Defense Game.
Rocket Lab has a lot of similarities to SpaceX. Its government relationships and new Neutron rocket can drive revenue higher. Similar to SpaceX, Rocket Lab is valued at an expensive multiple to its sales. 10 stocks we like better than Rocket Lab › SpaceX is the most valuable privately held company in the world, estimated to be worth $350 billion. Too bad you cannot buy its shares on the stock market today. All the gains and value generated by SpaceX have been reserved for insiders, venture capitalists, and the company's employees. Seeing these gains without being able to get in on them might be frustrating for investors who don't have access to the venture capital market. All may not be lost, though. If you truly want to invest in SpaceX, a copycat business in Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) may be for you. Here's why anyone clamoring to buy SpaceX stock should seriously consider Rocket Lab for their portfolio instead. Rocket Lab is a niche space company, but one that is nipping on SpaceX's heels. It is the only other company to reliably launch rockets for customers at scale, with its Electron program consistently launching for customers every quarter. The company has won contracts from commercial and government buyers because of how small the Electron rocket is. SpaceX's systems are not meant for a nimble or small payload, which is how Rocket Lab attacked the market previously monopolized by SpaceX. These capabilities have allowed Rocket Lab to win contracts for national defense systems such as HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron), which helps the government test hypersonic defense capabilities. These reliable contracts are only growing, with huge potential for more government spending on space defense in the years to come. For example, the proposed Golden Dome missile defense system is expected to cost $175 billion, and Rocket Lab is in a prime position to win contracts associated with this program if it comes into being, as well as many others. A relationship with the U.S. government for national defense priorities could be quite lucrative for Rocket Lab as it tries to take the next steps as a business. This is why it just acquired Geost -- a satellite laser operator -- for $275 million. Looking ahead, Rocket Lab is preparing for a future in which it more directly competes with SpaceX rockets via its Neutron rocket, which will be much larger than the Electron and have a similar payload to SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket system. Rocket Lab is currently testing the Neutron and hopes to be ready for commercial launches next year. An operational Neutron rocket could lead to a massive boost for Rocket Lab's business. It already has a proposed contract for two missions for a unnamed customer in 2026 and was signed onto the U.S. National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, which is expected to spend $5.6 billion through 2029. This is a huge greenfield opportunity for Rocket Lab. The company already has a great reputation for safe launches, which will hopefully lead the company to win contracts for the Neutron as well. It will also help the company sell more of the space systems that it builds for its launch customers, a double whammy of revenue growth for the business. Today, Rocket Lab's backlog sits at just over $1 billion. If the Neutron can start safely launching for customers, we could see huge growth in the size of Rocket Lab's backlog throughout the rest of the decade. SpaceX is estimated to have a price-to-sales ratio (P/S) of around 27, which is quite expensive. The average stock in the S&P 500 has a P/S ratio of 3, which takes the market cap and divides by trailing-12-month sales and is a metric used often when a company has no earnings. Rocket Lab is in a similar boat to SpaceX. It has a P/S ratio of 28.5, which has grown as the stock has soared in the last 12 months. Rocket Lab may grow into its valuation if the Neutron is successful and revenue goes up tenfold over the next 10 years. However, the company has an expensive-looking P/S ratio today and has never made a profit. This makes it a risky gambit to put your money in. If you really want to invest in the space economy, Rocket Lab is a good way to play this trend. However, the stock is expensive and does not come without risks. Before you buy stock in Rocket Lab, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Rocket Lab wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $868,615!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025 Brett Schafer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Rocket Lab USA. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Clamoring to Invest in SpaceX but Can't? Consider Buying Stock in This Competitor That Just Upped Its National Defense Game. was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
RNZ News
03-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Rocket Lab signs $460 million deal with US missile tracking tech company
An Army Tactical Missile System being tested in December 2021, at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Photo: AFP / John Hamilton / US Army The headline of this story has been updated to remove the suggestion that Rocket Lab will build a missile defence system as part of the deal. California-based Rocket Lab says it has done a deal with a company capable of helping build the Golden Dome missile defence system. It has signed up to buy the parent holding company of Arizona firm Geost for $460 million. Geost develops electro-optical and infrared technology used in missile warning and tracking, surveillance and reconnaissance, Rocket Lab said. These were "core capabilities" for the likes of the Pentagon's proposed constellation of low-orbit satellites, as well as for the Dome, the company said on its website . The aim of the Dome is to create a shield that can shoot down all sorts of missiles including nuclear warheads. US President Donald Trump last week put the cost of the Golden Dome at $300 billion, but many analysts say it will cost much more. Critics have said it risks undermining global security by fuelling a new arms race involving space. Sir Peter Beck said the Geost deal positioned Rocket Lab as a "disruptive prime" - meaning major - contractor to US national security. "Rocket Lab was founded to disrupt the traditional space industry and we're doing just that," Beck said on the firm's website. "By bringing these mission critical payloads in-house, Rocket Lab enhances its ability to rapidly deliver integrated spacecraft systems purpose-built for US national security," the website said. The acquisition to be settled later this year would take the company's staff numbers to 2600 in factories and at test and launch sites in New Zealand, California, Virginia, Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico, Toronto and Arizona. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Los Angeles Times
02-06-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Rocket Lab Acquired Optical Systems Firm Geost for $330 Million
Long Beach-based Rocket Lab Corp. agreed to acquire Geost LLC from LightRidge Solutions for $330 million. The deal includes a cash consideration of $125 million and common equity of Rocket Lab valued at $150 million along with an earnout payment of $50 million tied to revenue targets. Geost is a Tucson, Arizona-based electro-optical and infrared payload development and manufacturing company that works with high-priority national security satellites. The acquisition adds optical systems as a new category within Rocket Lab's portfolio of capabilities. Following the transaction, the addition of Geost's 115 professionals will bring Rocket Lab's total headcount to more than 2,600 employees. 'With the acquisition of Geost, we're bringing advanced electro-optical and infrared payloads in-house to support secure, responsive and cost-effective systems at scale. These technologies enable spacecraft that can detect, interpret and respond to threats in real-time, enhancing our role as a trusted provider of end-to-end space capabilities for the United States and its allies – with greater speed, intelligence and operational control,' said Sir Peter Beck, chief executive of Rocket Lab, in a statement. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the second half of 2025. Baird acted as financial advisor for LightRidge Solutions. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP acted as legal advisor for LightRidge Solutions. Information for this article was sourced from Rocket Lab Corp.
