Core Viewpoint - Rocket Lab USA has seen a significant stock price increase of approximately 600% over the past year, driven by successful rocket launches and new contracts, particularly for its Neutron rocket [2][3]. Financial Performance - Rocket Lab's revenues have grown at an average rate of 85.4% over the last three years, with a 65.0% increase from $282 million to $466 million in the last 12 months [7]. - Quarterly revenues rose by 32.1% to $123 million from $93 million year-over-year [7]. - The company's operating income over the last four quarters was -$206 million, resulting in an operating margin of -44.2% [15]. - Net income for the same period was -$207 million, indicating a net income margin of -44.3% [15]. Valuation Metrics - Rocket Lab's price-to-sales (P/S) ratio stands at 35.7, significantly higher than the S&P 500's ratio of 3.1, suggesting that the stock is expensive relative to its sales [6]. - The current valuation appears to have priced in positive news, trading at 35 times its trailing revenues [13]. Financial Stability - The company's balance sheet is strong, with a debt figure of $490 million against a market capitalization of $17 billion, resulting in a low debt-to-equity ratio of 3.4% [15]. - Cash and cash equivalents amount to $428 million, making up 34.1% of total assets of $1.3 billion, indicating a strong cash-to-assets ratio [15]. Growth and Profitability - Growth is categorized as extremely strong, while profitability is extremely weak, reflecting the challenges in achieving positive margins at this stage [16]. Market Resilience - Rocket Lab's stock has shown poor resilience during downturns, having dropped 82.8% during the 2022 inflation shock, compared to a 25.4% decline for the S&P 500 [11][13].