New York, February 23, 2026, 16:08 ET — After-hours
- Rocket Lab shares dipped in late trade as investors looked ahead to earnings later this week
- A Pentagon-linked hypersonic test mission is expected by the end of February
- The company is due to report results after the close on Feb. 26
Rocket Lab Corp shares were down 0.9% at $70.25 in late Monday trading, as the S&P 500 fell about 1%. The stock opened at $68.76 and swung between $68.50 and $71.25; about 8.2 million shares changed hands. RKLB has traded between $14.71 and $99.58 over the last 52 weeks. (Stooq)
The timing matters: Rocket Lab is set to release fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results after U.S. markets close on Thursday, and it has scheduled a conference call for 5 p.m. Eastern. Even a routine quarter can move the stock if guidance shifts on launches, spending, or the pace of new government work. (GlobeNewswire)
A separate near-term marker sits on the launch calendar. The Defense Innovation Unit — a Pentagon technology group — is preparing the first flight of its commercially developed hypersonic testbed by the end of February, using Rocket Lab’s suborbital HASTE launcher and a DART AE vehicle built by Australia’s Hypersonix, Air & Space Forces Magazine reported. “This is just a very novel situation,” Lt. Col. Nicholas Estep told the magazine, while Hypersonix CEO Matt Hill said the flight “reflects years of engineering work.” (Air & Space Forces Magazine)
Hypersonic means flying faster than five times the speed of sound. A scramjet is an air-breathing engine designed to operate at those speeds, and it gives engineers little margin for error.
For investors, the appeal is straightforward: test launches can be repeat business. If the Pentagon pushes toward a faster cadence, Rocket Lab could end up with more frequent, smaller missions to fill gaps between orbital launches.
Rocket Lab builds small and medium-class rockets and spacecraft hardware, and sells both launch services and satellite components, according to its Reuters company profile. It posted $436 million in revenue in 2024 and a net loss of about $190 million, based on LSEG data compiled by Reuters. (Reuters)
Thursday’s report will be parsed for revenue growth, gross margin and cash burn, along with any change in the company’s launch schedule. Updates on its in-development Neutron rocket also tend to matter for sentiment, even when near-term results are driven by smaller missions.
But the near-term calendar carries its own risks. A slip in the late-February hypersonic flight window, or cautious guidance on 2026 execution, could revive the stock’s sharp swings.
Next up is the Feb. 26 earnings release and outlook after the close. Traders will also watch for any tighter timing on the HyCAT mission as the month ends.
