Investors should consider this growth stock… it’s SpaceX’s competition

There are few cooler places to find a growth stock than in space industries. Sadly, Elon Musk’s SpaceX isn’t publicly listed, but this one is.

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Night Takeoff Of The American Space Shuttle

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Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) is a US-listed growth stock that gives investors rare access to the commercial space sector. As a vertically integrated launch and space systems provider, Rocket Lab is often compared to SpaceX in its ambition and capabilities. But there’s one crucial difference: you can actually buy shares in Rocket Lab, while SpaceX remains private.

Rocket Lab delivers launch services, builds small and medium-class rockets, and manufactures spacecraft components for a range of commercial, government, and defense customers.

With rapid revenue growth, an impressive order book, and expansion into new markets, Rocket Lab offers public market investors a way to participate in the booming space economy. It targets many of the same opportunities as its more famous, privately held peer.

A fraction of the market cap

Rocket Lab and SpaceX operate in the same commercial space sector but differ significantly in scale, maturity, and valuation. Rocket Lab’s market cap is currently $12.85bn, with trailing 12 months (TTM) revenue of approximately $460m. Despite strong growth — revenue nearly doubled from $240m in 2023 — Rocket Lab remains a smaller, earlier-stage player focused on small to medium launch vehicles and spacecraft manufacturing. Its valuation multiples are extremely high, with a forward price-to-sales ratio of 22.3 times, reflecting investor optimism.

SpaceX, by contrast, is a far more mature private company valued at about $350bn. It’s projected to generate $15.5bn in revenue in 2025. This is driven by its dominant Falcon 9 launch services and rapidly growing Starlink satellite internet business. SpaceX’s valuation implies roughly a 22.5 times multiple on forward revenue. This is broadly in line with Rocket Lab.

Focusing on Rocket Lab, the company is projected to deliver rapid revenue growth over the next several years, with estimates rising from $573m in 2025 to $889 in 2026, $1.2bn in 2027, and $1.69bn in 2028. This represents annual growth rates consistently above 30%, and even a jump of nearly 77% in 2030.

However, the number of analysts providing forecasts declines sharply after 2027, dropping from 11–14 analysts in the near term to just two or one by 2028 and 2030. The one analyst projecting as far as 2030 sees $4bn in revenue for the year.

Future planning and risks

I had the chance to buy Rocket Lab shares at $15 just two months ago. I missed out as unfortunately my attention had been diverted elsewhere. However, I found another entry point. And personally, I see this as an investment to hold for a very long period.

The space industry is still in its early innings, with enormous potential as satellite launches, lunar missions, and in-orbit services become increasingly mainstream. And like any investment, there are risks. Rocket Lab remains loss-making. It’s expected to turn a profit in 2026, when it will trade at 620 times earnings. And while this moderates to 140 times in 2027, it’s still expensive and introduces plenty of execution risk.

However, I certainly believe UK investors should consider this one. It could be a real winner going forward.

Should you invest, the value of your investment may rise or fall and your capital is at risk. Before investing, your individual circumstances should be assessed. Consider taking independent financial advice.

James Fox has positions in Rocket Lab. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

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