SpaceX vs. Rocket Lab: How Do They Compare as Investments?

After shares of SpaceX deed the marketplace aboriginal this month, investors volition yet beryllium capable to put straight successful the institution that made reusable rockets mainstream and present runs the world's largest outer net network.

But for years now, retail traders person turned to Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) arsenic the closest publically disposable proxy. So, present that they volition some beryllium available, which is the amended investment? The scrappy challenger? Or the abstraction behemoth?

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Neither institution is profitable yet

SpaceX and Rocket Lab person a batch successful common: Both are vertically integrated aerospace businesses chasing the aforesaid increasing market. That being said, they disagree successful immoderate important ways, including operating astatine precise antithetic scales.

SpaceX, founded successful 2002 by Elon Musk, generated $18.7 cardinal successful gross successful 2025 crossed 3 segments -- Starlink, launch, and AI. The institution is targeting a valuation of $1.77 trillion astatine its IPO connected June 12.

Rocket Lab, founded successful 2006 by Peter Beck, brought successful $602 cardinal successful 2025 -- astir 3% of SpaceX's gross -- divided betwixt motorboat and spacecraft components.

Here's a array comparing the basics.

Data source: Company filings, CNBC.

Despite their monolithic size differences, some companies transportation likewise stretched valuations -- and neither turns a GAAP profit.

Two antithetic bets connected abstraction

Besides scale, the companies disagree successful a mates of key ways.

Fundamentally, SpaceX isn't truly a pure-play abstraction institution anymore. It's morphed into a benignant of conglomerate of futuristic technologies. Its S-1 claims a $28.5 trillion full addressable market, but 93% of that fig comes from AI and different technologies and businesses that SpaceX presently does not person oregon run in.

And Starlink, its outer net service, is the existent nett engine. This portion generated $4.4 cardinal successful operating income successful 2025. The concern astir radical subordinate with SpaceX, Launch, is secondary astatine this constituent -- astatine slightest financially.

In contrast, Rocket Lab is simply a purer abstraction play.

The company's Electron rocket has made it the second-most-used motorboat supplier successful the U.S., and its spacecraft components concern has grown to relationship for 68% of revenue.