LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION vs Rocket Lab Corp, two Aerospace & Defense stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Lockheed Martin is the archetypal defense prime, a maker of fighters, missiles, and satellites for governments, earning a 6.38% net margin, converting cash at a healthy 4.83% yield, paying a 2.63% dividend, priced at 24.56 times earnings on a $117.2B cap, carrying real debt at 2.76. Rocket Lab is a young space company at a $51.2B cap that loses money by design, a -26.87% net margin, a little cash burn, almost no debt at 0.02. Lockheed sells decades of contracted revenue and returns cash to holders. Rocket Lab sells the possibility of a space-launch business that first has to earn a profit it has never seen.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | LMT | RKLB |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $523.35 | $81.08 |
| Market cap | $120.9B | $49.1B |
| Sector | Aerospace & Defense | Aerospace & Defense |
| Stage | Mature | Growth |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +0.4% | — |
| P/E | 25.3 | — |
| P/B | 16.15 | 21.68 |
| P/S | 1.61 | 72.23 |
| EV/EBITDA | 18.8 | — |
| Revenue growth | +4.6% | +45.8% |
| Gross margin | 11.5% | 38.2% |
| Operating margin | 11.4% | -27.9% |
| Net margin | 6.4% | -26.9% |
| Return on equity | 64.0% | -8.1% |
| Return on assets | 8.1% | -6.5% |
| Return on invested capital | 22.1% | -7.8% |
| FCF yield | 4.7% | -0.6% |
| Dividend yield | 2.5% | — |
| Debt / equity | 2.76 | 0.02 |
| Current ratio | 1.14 | 4.47 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 3.19 | 6.25 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 4 / 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.