MeritValue

Rocket Lab Corp

RKLBdata completeness 100%6 fiscal years on file

Data notes: no data for concept 'interestExpense'

The thesis, from the filings

Rocket Lab Corp earns about -37% on invested capital, but has diluted owners by 153% over 5 years — worth asking whether the growth reaches owners. The cash-flow models don't apply cleanly here — the ledger says why below.Whether it’s worth owning at today’s price is the last question — and yours to answer, below.

i. The business — what you’d actually own
FigureFY 2021FY 2022FY 2023FY 2024FY 2025
Revenue$62.2M1$211M2$244.6M3$436.2M3$601.8M3
Net income−$117.3M4−$135.9M5−$182.6M6−$190.2M6−$198.2M6
Operating cash flow−$71.8M7−$106.5M8−$98.9M9−$48.9M9−$165.5M9
Capital expenditure$25.7M10$42.4M11$54.7M12$67.1M12$156.3M12
Free cash flow (derived)−$97.5M7−$149M8−$153.6M9−$116M9−$321.8M9
Total debt$100.1M13$102.9M14$105.4M15$401.5M16$154.1M16
Cash & equivalents$691M17$242.5M18$162.5M19$271M20$828.7M20
Diluted shares209.9M466.2M481.8M495.9M530.7M

Superscripts are receipts. Each links to the SEC filing the number came from (full list at the bottom).

ii. Your slice — ownership made literal
If you owned
shares
Net assets behind them
$32.45
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$3.74
Free cash flow it threw off
−$6.06
Debt you’d be carrying
$2.9

10 shares is a claim on $32.45 of net worth that earned you −$3.74 and generated −$6.06 of cash last year, against $2.9 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-37% avg · 5y
FY21 -92%FY22 -20%FY23 -28%FY24 -29%FY25 -17%

It earned an average -37% on invested capital over 5 years. Compare that to what it costs to fund the business.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
+153% shares · 5y

Share count is up 153% over 5 years — owners have been diluted. Worth asking what they got for it. Total debt has risen 54% over the same window.

reading capital allocation →

Signals, not verdicts — read from the filings above. Numbers don’t prove a moat; they show its footprint. You decide.

iv. What it’s worth — engine v0.1.0
DCF · Growth Exit 10Y
not applicable
3y-median FCF non-positive — growth-exit DCF not applicable (see EPV)
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
3y-median FCF non-positive — growth-exit DCF not applicable (see EPV)
Earnings Power Value
not applicable
normalized (5y-median) earnings non-positive — EPV undefined
Graham Number
not applicable
diluted EPS missing or non-positive — Graham Number undefined

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-022160 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-008724 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001819994-26-000013 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-022160 (NetIncomeLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-008724 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001819994-26-000013 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-022160 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-008724 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001819994-26-000013 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-022160 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-008724 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001819994-26-000013 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-006499 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-022160 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-008724 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001819994-26-000013 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2021-12-31 · accession 0000950170-23-006499 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2022-12-31 · accession 0000950170-24-022160 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2023-12-31 · accession 0001628280-25-008724 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2024-12-31 · accession 0001819994-26-000013 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)