THE BOEING COMPANY vs Rocket Lab Corp, two Aerospace & Defense stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Both of these companies lose money, but for opposite reasons. Boeing, at a $171.3B cap, is a mature aircraft maker working through the wreckage of past mistakes, burning a thread of cash at -0.61% free cash flow yield while paying a 3.78% dividend to holders who wait. Rocket Lab, at $51.2B, has never been profitable and is not trying to be yet: it builds small rockets and space systems, spends heavily to grow, and runs a net margin of -26.87%. The debt load is almost nothing, at 0.02 debt-to-equity. Boeing is a large thing that stumbled. Rocket Lab is a small thing still learning to walk, and priced as if the walk goes well.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | BA | RKLB |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $222.22 | $81.08 |
| Market cap | $175.1B | $49.1B |
| Sector | Aerospace & Defense | Aerospace & Defense |
| Stage | Growth | Growth |
| P/E | 87.8 | — |
| P/B | 29.25 | 21.68 |
| P/S | 1.90 | 72.23 |
| EV/EBITDA | 34.0 | — |
| Revenue growth | +34.1% | +45.8% |
| Gross margin | 11.5% | 38.2% |
| Operating margin | 2.0% | -27.9% |
| Net margin | -8.0% | -26.9% |
| Return on equity | -122.6% | -8.1% |
| Return on assets | -4.5% | -6.5% |
| Return on invested capital | 6.0% | -7.8% |
| FCF yield | -0.6% | -0.6% |
| Dividend yield | 3.7% | — |
| Debt / equity | 8.32 | 0.02 |
| Current ratio | 1.18 | 4.47 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 1.51 | 6.25 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 3 / 9 | 2 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.