A sharp sector-wide selloff in July has dragged down three of the most closely watched names in the commercial space industry.
Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB), AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS), and Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR) have each declined sharply over the past month despite growing contract backlogs and government awards.
Investors should treat this group as a high-risk speculative bucket, as all three companies remain unprofitable, cash-hungry, and exposed to hardware execution risk.
Rocket Lab shares traded around $82.28 on July 8 after a nearly 28% one-month decline, though the stock remains up more than 112% over the past year.
The company’s Q1 FY2026 report was described as the strongest quarter in company history, with revenue hitting $200.35 million, up 63.5% year over year, and backlog jumping to $2.20 billion.
CEO Peter Beck stated, “We exited the quarter with $2.2 billion in backlog and currently have access to more than $2 billion in liquidity, putting us in a very strong position for continued growth and M&A execution.”
Rocket Lab was also selected for the Department of War’s Space Based Interceptor program under Golden Dome for America alongside Raytheon, with the Neutron medium-lift rocket debut targeted for Q4 2026.
AST SpaceMobile traded around $74.44 on July 8, down more than 19% over the past month but up nearly 65% year over year, building a satellite constellation designed to connect directly to unmodified smartphones.
The company now has nearly 60 mobile network operator partners covering more than 3 billion subscribers, with management reaffirming FY2026 revenue guidance of $150 million to $200 million.
ASTS holds $3.03 billion in cash, which provides significant runway, though Q1 FY2026 revenue of $14.74 million badly missed the consensus estimate of $36.58 million.
Intuitive Machines has suffered the steepest drawdown of the three, with shares trading around $17.28 on July 8, down a stunning 42% over the past month.
The Lanteris acquisition transformed the company’s revenue profile, with Q1 FY2026 revenue reaching $186.73 million, up 198.7% year over year, and the first positive adjusted EBITDA quarter of $2.67 million recorded.
The company issued FY2026 revenue guidance of $900 million to $1 billion, with a record backlog of $1.06 billion and a U.S. Space Force Andromeda IDIQ contract carrying an anticipated ceiling of $6.2 billion.
However, cash fell sharply from $582.6 million to $231.6 million in a single quarter, and shareholders’ equity sits at negative $333.4 million, raising near-term concerns.
Heading into August, the key catalysts to watch across all three names are Neutron pad readiness for RKLB, BlueBird satellite orbital operations for ASTS, and cash burn stabilization for LUNR as its Goonhilly Earth Station acquisition targets a Q3 close.
