Space stocks largely down 40%+

A social-media post circulating on Sept. 8 ranked space-sector names including Rocket Lab, AST SpaceMobile, MDA Space, Firefly Aerospace and privately held SpaceX by how far they trade below prior highs. The post argued that several stocks remain down 40% or more from peak levels even as companies report rising revenue, larger backlogs and new contracts. Public filings and investor materials reviewed Tuesday show that at least three of the companies cited have posted record or near-record operating figures this year. Private-market comparisons for SpaceX are harder to verify because the company does not publish public-market disclosures. ### Which companies in the post have recent operating data behind them? Rocket Lab reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $234 million, up 62% from a year earlier, and said backlog reached a record $2.36 billion as of June 30. Chief Executive Peter Beck said on Aug. 10 that the company had already entered into more than $1 billion of new contracts across launch and space systems in the third quarter to date. MDA Space reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $499 million, up 34% from a year earlier, with backlog rising to $4.0 billion at quarter-end. The Canadian company said the increase reflected contract wins tied to the Canadian Space Agency, Japan’s Ministry of Defense, the Canadian Armed Forces and the European Space Agency. Firefly Aerospace reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $117.7 million on Aug. 11, up 659% from a year earlier and 45.5% from the prior quarter. (investors.rocketlabcorp.com) Chief Executive Jason Kim said the company won more than a half-dozen contracts in the quarter, including a $144 million NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services award for a rapid Blue Ghost mission. (mda-en.investorroom.com) ### How far below prior highs are some of the listed stocks? Rocket Lab shares closed at $64.26 on Sept. 4, according to Macrotrends data surfaced in search results, versus an all-time high closing price of $150.23 on May 27, 2026. That implies the stock was down about 57% from its peak at that point. AST SpaceMobile closed at $62.31 on Sept. 4, while its all-time high closing price was $133.09 on May 28, 2026, according to Macrotrends data surfaced in search results. (investors.fireflyspace.com) That places the stock about 53% below its high. ### What does AST SpaceMobile’s latest filing show? AST SpaceMobile reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $31.5 million, a backlog of $1.3 billion and cash of $2.7 billion in an Aug. 10 filing summary surfaced in search results. (macrotrends.net) The company said it was advancing a 13-satellite constellation and had partnerships with more than 60 mobile network operators covering 3 billion subscribers, according to investor-material summaries and filing aggregators. (macrotrends.net) AST’s investor-relations site lists second-quarter 2026 earnings materials, including its earnings release and Form 10-Q, among the company’s latest quarterly results. ### Why is SpaceX harder to place in the same ranking? SpaceX remains privately held, so any comparison with listed peers depends on tender-offer pricing or secondary-market marks rather than public exchange data. (stocktitan.net) Third-party sites surfaced in search results show widely varying 2026 valuation estimates for SpaceX, underscoring that private-market comparisons are less standardized than public-stock highs and current prices. (investors.ast-science.com) ### What comes next for the companies named? Firefly’s investor-relations page said Tuesday that there were no upcoming events listed after the company’s Aug. 11 second-quarter results call. Rocket Lab, AST SpaceMobile and MDA Space each maintain investor pages with quarterly materials that would be the next place to track updated revenue, backlog and contract figures as third-quarter reporting approaches. (investors.fireflyspace.com) (valueaddvc.com)