Rocket Lab Stock Deep Dive: $200M Revenue, $2.2B Backlog & Is RKLB Still a Buy at $121?

About this episode

Simon Erickson analyzes Rocket Lab's Q1 2026 earnings and discusses its investment potential.

Simon Erickson digs into Rocket Lab's (NASDAQ:RKLB) Q1 2026 earnings with a record revenues of $200 million (up 63% year-over-year), $2.2 billion contractual backlog, record gross margins, and an undisclosed customer signing on for five Neutron rocket launches through 2029. 7investing first recommended Rocket Lab at $10 in August 2021, added again at $4 in early 2024 when Simon published a public valuation of $22/share — and the stock now trades at $121. That's a 30x return in two years.But the big question now: is Rocket Lab still a buy at current prices? Simon breaks down his ninth iteration discounted cash flow model, explains why 75% of Rocket Lab's backlog is in the Space Systems manufacturing division (not launches), and why he expects Space Systems to eventually represent 70-90% of total company revenues. He also covers the Neutron rocket timeline (now expected late 2026), the HASTE hypersonic program, Golden Dome defense contracts, and the new European expansion through the Mynaric acquisition.This is Part 1 of a multi-part series — Part 2 will feature a full updated DCF valuation model with Simon's new price target. Plus, Simon will be presenting at the MoneyShow Masters…

People in this episode

Host: Simon Erickson

Topics covered

• Rocket Lab earnings
• investment analysis
• space industry
• financial modeling
• stock performance

Keywords

• Rocket Lab
• RKLB
• earnings report
• discounted cash flow
• space systems
• Neutron rocket
• contractual backlog
• investment strategy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Rocket Lab, Planet Labs, Mynaric, 7investing

More episodes of The 7investing Podcast

• Is Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock a Buy Under $200? AI Agents, Buybacks & Q1 2027 Results · June 8, 2026 · 22 min
• CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) vs Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS): Which Cybersecurity Stock Is the Better Buy? · June 8, 2026 · 26 min
• Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) DCF Valuation 2026: What Is the Stock Actually Worth? | Deep Dive Pt. 2 · May 29, 2026 · 49 min
• Is Trade Desk Stock a Buy After a 67% Crash? TTD Deep Dive: Growth, Competition & Valuation · May 12, 2026 · 25 min
• Is Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL) Stock a Buy After a 77% Drop? | Q1 2026 Earnings Deep Dive · May 8, 2026 · 24 min
• NuScale Power Deep Dive | Why We Are Recommending (SMR) Again | 7investing Live 04/30/26 · May 8, 2026 · 30 min