Rocket Lab USA Inc ( RKLB ) shares are trading higher Wednesday after the company reported better-than-expected financial results for the third quarter. The company also announced a multi-launch agreement with a confidential customer and was awarded a defense contract worth up to $8 million.

What Happened: Rocket Lab reported third-quarter financial results after the market close on Tuesday. Shares rocketed higher after the end-to-end space company reported revenue of $104.81 million, beating the consensus estimate of $102.28 million, and a loss of 10 cents per share, beating estimates for a loss of 11 cents per share, according to Benzinga Pro.

Rocket Lab expects fourth-quarter revenue in the range of $125 million to $135 million. The company said it expects to finish out the year “strongly” with more Electron launches scheduled. The company already set an annual launch record with 12 Electron launches to date.

"In the third quarter 2024, we once again executed against our end-to-end space strategy with successes and key achievements reached across small and medium launch, as well as space systems. Revenue grew 55% year-on-year to $105 million and we continue to see strong demand growth with our backlog at $1.05 billion," said Peter Beck, founder and CEO of Rocket Lab.

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In connection with earnings, Rocket Lab also announced a multi-launch agreement with a confidential commercial satellite constellation operator for its new medium-lift rocket Neutron.

Rocket Lab will launch two dedication missions under the contract, starting in mid-2026. The company noted that it could end up deploying the customer’s entire constellation under the collaboration.

“We’ve changed the game before with Electron for dedicated small launch and HASTE for hypersonic technology tests, and we’re looking forward to Neutron doing the same for constellation operators and national security,” Beck said.

Rocket Lab also announced that it received an award of up to $8 million from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory. The contract will support the development of Rocket Lab’s new reusable rocket engine, Archimedes.

The contract includes options to expand Rocket Lab’s implementation of digital engineering processes across the Neutron propulsion system, and further build the digital engineering framework for NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 launch providers.

Finally, Rocket Lab announced that it scheduled its next Electron launch for Kinéis. The “Ice AIS Baby” mission is now scheduled to launch during a 14-day window that opens on Nov. 23.

The mission is the third of five dedicated Electron launches booked by Kinéis under a multi-launch contract that will see Rocket Lab deploy an entire constellation of 25 IoT satellites.

“Electron has put control in the hands of small satellite constellation operators like Kinéis, giving them the ability to control launch schedule and orbits to deploy and manage their satellites precisely the way they want to. This is what dedicated launch is all about and we’re proud to operate the only small rocket delivering this consistently and reliably,” Beck said.

RKLB Price Action: Rocket Lab shares were up 30.9% at $19.18 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.