Could Buying Rocket Lab USA Stock Today Set You Up for Life?

Leo Sun, The Motley Fool

Mon, Mar 10, 2025, 4:45 AM 5 min read

Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ: RKLB) was 1 of the galore abstraction stocks that went nationalist by merging with a peculiar intent acquisition institution (SPAC) successful 2021. Many of those SPAC-backed start-ups fizzled out, yet Rocket Lab survived and thrived.

Over the past 3 years, Rocket Lab's banal has surged astir 140% arsenic it has launched much rockets, secured much contracts, and stabilized its adjusted net earlier interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margins.

So could a $10,000 concern successful this high-growth banal could acceptable you up for beingness implicit the adjacent 2 decades?

Rocket Lab's reusable orbital rocket, Electron, carries tiny payloads of up to 300 kilograms into space. It's been successfully launched 60 times, utilized to deploy 210 satellites, and operates from 3 dedicated motorboat pads. Its apical customers see NASA, the U.S. Space Force, the Swedish National Space Agency, Capella Space, and Black Sky.

From 2021 to 2024, its yearly gross roseate sevenfold, it ramped up its launches, and its adjusted EBITDA margins -- though antagonistic -- improved.

Data source: Rocket Lab USA.

Rocket Lab carved retired its high-growth niche by delivering smaller payloads than its larger rival SpaceX, which carries overmuch heavier payloads of 22,800 kilograms (Falcon 9) to 63,800 kilograms (Falcon Heavy) into low-earth orbit (LEO).

However, Rocket Lab's adjacent rocket, the Neutron, volition person a overmuch higher maximum capableness of 15,000 kilograms erstwhile it arrives successful the 2nd fractional of 2025. To stabilize its margins arsenic it manufactures much rockets, it plans to grow its higher-margin abstraction systems part to curb its dependence connected its lower-margin motorboat services division.

Rocket Lab inactive has plentifulness of irons successful the fire. In 2024, it shipped 2 probe satellites and was granted an further survey declaration for NASA's adjacent Mars mission; agreed to deploy a constellation of 25 satellites for Kinéis, a planetary Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity provider, done 5 Electron launches; and signed a multiyear Electron motorboat declaration with Japan's Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space (iQPS). It besides continues to marque advancement connected respective U.S. nationalist defence contracts.