It's been a sad week for Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB), who've watched their investment drop 13% to US$20.49 in the week since the company reported its annual result. Revenues came in at US$436m, in line with forecasts and the company reported a statutory loss of US$0.38 per share, roughly in line with expectations. The analysts typically update their forecasts at each earnings report, and we can judge from their estimates whether their view of the company has changed or if there are any new concerns to be aware of. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

See our latest analysis for Rocket Lab USA

After the latest results, the 13 analysts covering Rocket Lab USA are now predicting revenues of US$599.2m in 2025. If met, this would reflect a huge 37% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. The loss per share is expected to greatly reduce in the near future, narrowing 55% to US$0.17. Before this earnings announcement, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$603.7m and losses of US$0.29 per share in 2025. While the revenue estimates were largely unchanged, sentiment seems to have improved, with the analysts upgrading their numbers and making a very promising decrease in losses per share in particular.

The average price target held steady at US$24.54, seeming to indicate that business is performing in line with expectations. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. The most optimistic Rocket Lab USA analyst has a price target of US$35.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$13.50. This is a fairly broad spread of estimates, suggesting that analysts are forecasting a wide range of possible outcomes for the business.

Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. We can infer from the latest estimates that forecasts expect a continuation of Rocket Lab USA'shistorical trends, as the 37% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2025 is roughly in line with the 45% annual growth over the past five years. Compare this with the broader industry, which analyst estimates (in aggregate) suggest will see revenues grow 6.8% annually. So although Rocket Lab USA is expected to maintain its revenue growth rate, it's definitely expected to grow faster than the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts reconfirmed their loss per share estimates for next year. Happily, there were no major changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow faster than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$24.54, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have estimates - from multiple Rocket Lab USA analysts - going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Before you take the next step you should know about the 2 warning signs for Rocket Lab USA that we have uncovered.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.