NEW YORK, December 29, 2025, 17:43 ET — After-hours
- Rocket Lab closed down 0.8% and was up about 0.5% in after-hours trading. 1
- The stock has been volatile after a December rally tied to a major U.S. Space Force satellite award disclosed in an SEC filing. 2
- Investors are watching execution on long-dated defense programs and broader risk appetite into a holiday-thinned final week of the year. 3
Rocket Lab Corp shares fell 0.75% to $70.12 at the regular-session close on Monday, then rose 0.46% to $70.44 in after-hours trading, according to Google Finance data. 1
The moves matter because Rocket Lab’s sharp run has made it a crowded trade into year-end, and after-hours trading can amplify swings on lighter liquidity. Investors are also trying to pin down how quickly large defense awards translate into revenue and cash flow for a company still building scale. 1
Rocket Lab traded against a softer U.S. tape. Wall Street’s main indexes ended lower on Monday as heavyweight technology shares retreated, Reuters reported, leaving high-beta names sensitive to any shift in risk sentiment. 3
In regular trading, Rocket Lab ranged from $69.32 to $72.74 and remains not far from its 52-week high, Google Finance data showed. The company’s market value stood at about $37.5 billion. 1
The stock’s latest catalyst sits earlier in December, when the U.S. Space Development Agency said it signed fixed-price contracts — deals where the contractor typically bears the risk of cost overruns — with Rocket Lab and three legacy defense suppliers to build 72 satellites worth about $3.5 billion in total. 4
Rocket Lab later detailed its portion of that work in an SEC filing, saying the SDA contract had a total value of $816 million, including a $806 million base plus about $10 million in options. The filing said work would begin immediately and final delivery was expected in 2029. 2
In the company’s press release filed with the SEC, Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck said, “Demand for resilient, scalable, and affordable space systems continues to grow.” 5
That release said the award covers 18 satellites for SDA’s Tranche 3 tracking layer and includes missile warning and tracking sensors. It also said Rocket Lab could pursue additional subsystem work as a merchant supplier to other prime contractors, lifting the total “capture value” to about $1 billion. 5
The Tranche 3 program places Rocket Lab in direct competition for national security work against larger primes that also signed SDA deals, including Lockheed Martin, L3Harris Technologies and Northrop Grumman, Reuters reported. 4
Traders have also been watching whether the stock can hold recent support levels after a steep climb. Technical traders — investors who use chart levels to gauge where buying or selling may emerge — often focus on “support” and “resistance” areas around recent turning points. 6
Macro headlines are likely to matter as much as company news in the near term. Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s prior meeting and weekly jobless-claims data are due this week, Reuters reported, and both can shift expectations for rate cuts that influence high-growth valuations. 3
For Rocket Lab specifically, investors say the next test is execution: turning multi-year defense awards into manufacturing cadence, margins and predictable cash use, while the stock remains prone to sharp moves during thin year-end trading. 2
