← Bloomberg Talks
Loading summary
Transcript20 lines
- [00:00]
Peter Beck
Amazon Health AI presents Painful Thoughts I I can't stop scratching my downtown. Mm, yeah, but I'm not itching to go downtown and tell a receptionist I'm here to talk about my downtown. Some things you'd rather type than say out loud. There's no question too embarrassing for Amazon Health AI. Chat your symptoms and get virtual care 24. 7 Health care just got less painful.
- [00:33]
Narrator/Announcer
Bloomberg audio studios podcasts radio news.
- [00:44]
Interviewer
Shares of Rocket Lab lower the company signaling its Neutron Rocket could face yet another delay, pushing its bid to challenge Space X's Falcon 9 potentially into 2027. It's not all doom and gloom, though. Shares still up more than 12% year to date, 74% year over. Joining us now is Rocket Lab founder, president and CEO Peter Beck. Peter, thank you so much for joining. Can you clarify any confusion about Neutron so yesterday it seemed like you were pushing back the date of the launch a little bit. Is Neutron still on track to actually launch off its launch pad this year, 2026?
- [01:20]
Peter Beck
Yeah, I think, I think probably headlines overblown it a little bit. You know, what I did did say is that, you know, it's getting a little bit tighter to get a launch away this year, which is, you know, just being honest and transparent. But it's a rocket program. They're very, very difficult and complex and large programs. But our intention here is to still definitely push hard to try and get a first flight away this year. But I think the real question that should be asking is what about the 10th flight? Because these programs, obviously first flight is important, but flight number 10 is actually really, really important because that shows that you've got into a full sense of scale and cadence and reusability, which is really the important thing for the whole program.
- [02:05]
Interviewer
I see on the word there cadence. Tell us a bit about that, how you're thinking about the cadence going forward in the viable, the viable path to getting there to a regular cadence.
- [02:13]
Peter Beck
Yeah, well, I mean, if you look at our current, current vehicle, Electron, you know, we actually scaled that faster than any other rocket in history. So we went from, you know, zero to 50 flights in the shortest time in history, and we're on track to get to 100 flights in the shortest time in history with that vehicle, too. So we know a thing or two about, you know, taking a rocket, putting it on the pad, and then flying it over and over again. But, you know, Neutron is really important for a few reasons. I think a lot of people focus on, you know, it plugging a hole from and providing competition for a Falcon 9, which, which is an important, important part of its job. But you know, Rocket Lab is an end to end space company. Meaning that we build satellites both for ourselves and for other people. And you know, with our pending acquisition of Iridium, you know, we really need our rocket to launch our own satellites. And so, you know, at least 50% of. Of electrons, sorry, Neutron's capacity is going to be consum.
- [03:08]
Interviewer
Obviously Space X was able to raise a humongous amount of cash recently. Peter, how do you intend to continue to raise cash in order to fund some of these expensive endeavors?
- [03:21]
Peter Beck
Well, I think we're a little bit different than Space X. You know, Elon has very, very grand aspirations that require a lot of cash. You know, for us. You know, we are, we're in the business of, of getting into, into cash flow positivity as quickly as we can. And if you look at, you know, some of the, some of the acquisitions that done in the past and about to do, you know, that puts us in that, in that realm very, very quickly. So I think we have, we have a very different sort of profile to the other two big rocket guys. You know, start off where, you know, I'm certainly not the richest of the richest people in the world are our competitors. So they have a totally different cost of capital, incentive capital. We've always been that rocket company that has had to be very commercial from day one. And you know, we're about building a good solid and you know, a commercial enterprise that's enduring and making money.
- [04:17]
Interviewer
I look at the report backlog, $2.36 billion with 90/ launches here. How should we look at that? How should investors look at that backlog? And at what point does it become something that should maybe raise some concern with investors if it gets to be a certain size or, you know, it gets to grow bigger and bigger yet?
- [04:34]
Peter Beck
Yeah, well, I mean, you know, I think everybody loves a great big backlog. And I think, you know, between the last quarter and now, we added nearly $1 billion of backlo know to the company. So. But backlog is a great metric, but execution is the true measure. And you know, if you look at the company, I think we have established ourselves as, you know, as a very strong executors, you know, previously and throughout history, we, you know, we do what we say we're going to do.
- [05:02]
Interviewer
You know, the Iridium deal, as you say, that's pending complete completion. It potentially opens the door for direct to device products, space and that market. How do you see that faring and particularly against some of Your competitors such
- [05:17]
Peter Beck
as Space X. Yeah, so look, I've seen this for many, many years and I think it's been proven out with, with evidence from, from other companies. But you know, the really large space companies of the future are going to look at all a little bit the same. They're going to have the ability to build satellites at scale, the ability to launch their own satellites with their own rocket and, and have a bit of a communications or a comms play. And you know, IR point for us it's by no means the end point. And you know, one of the reasons why we like the Iridium platform so much is that it has a very unique spectrum, being an L band spectrum that allows you to do very unique things. And you know, Iridium has built an amazing business on the back of safety critical defence critical infrastructure. And you know, that's something that we'll continue to, you know, to grow and push. You know, I don't think you're going to see us going head to head in the broadband market. I think that's very well served and a tough place to be. But, but I think there's, there's a, you a tremendous opportunity in some of these more discrete and unique areas of the comms market.
- [06:21]
Interviewer
Peter, talk to us about the Kepler deal which you announced yesterday. This deal with Kepler Communications purchasing a dedicated launch of Neutron for no earlier than 2028. How important is that to you in the business?
- [06:31]
Peter Beck
Well, it's funny because, you know, I think, I think naturally a lot of people would expect that we just should sell all of the rockets that we have for eternity. And if we were just a rocket company that would be a, that would be a great assumption. But you know, we have to assure we have rockets left in, you know, in production and available to launch for our own aspirations also for, you know, some of our defence customers who, you know, who need short access to space. And you know, right now I've never seen the rocket industry and launch so constrained. So for us, you know, we are extremely selective about who we, we give up this very valuable capacity to on the Neutron rocket. So you know, it was great, great to have to keep the gu, you know, on contract. You know, we've known that team for a very long time and, but you know, it is, it is a, it is a very, very kind of constrained environment right now that we have to navigate carefully.
- [07:31]
Interviewer
Peter, what's the detailed plan for getting to cash flow positive? Is it just a matter of time?
- [07:37]
Peter Beck
Yeah, absolutely. I mean Neutron, you know, after we have the first Flight of Neutron and we flick into commercial flights. That, that is a, that is a huge point, inflection point for the company. And then you course, any acquisition like Iridium does that immediately. So, so, you know, as a, we have a fairly short time horizon to
- [07:58]
Interviewer
that, I look at that pantheon of minor and motive and reading which we've talked about. Are you, are you hungry for more deals yet or are we going to pause here in terms of the company's acquisitive. Acquisitive stance yet?
- [08:10]
Peter Beck
Never done. Never done. I mean, look, all of those acquisitions have been very strategic and I think, you know, launch is a tremendous moat and everybody can see that, you know, it's the big, the big show in the sky. But, you know, we acquired a whole bunch of component companies and scaled those, and components are just as much of a moat. So, you know, no matter how much capital you had, if you just turn up and say, I want to build a thousand satellites, you just can't because, you know, there's just not the supply chain there to go and provide all of the components for the spacecraft. So for us, I mean, that's not a constraint for us, of course, but for, for other people entering the market, it's a huge constraint. So you'll continue to see us tuck in those little deals in the side, but, you know, deals like Iridium certainly aren't going the last. And, you know, you shouldn't think of us as the, you know, the L band comms company. This is the first of, first of many, I would say.
- [09:02]
Interviewer
All right, well, the stock is very close to session highs down just 1.8% now. Peter, thank you so much for joining us. Peter Beck of Rocket Lab.
- [09:10]
Narrator/Announcer
Health care doesn't always work great. If you've ever waited on a refill or couldn't schedule an appointment, you get it. That's the kind of stuff Optum is changing. They're using data and technology to integrate patient care, pharmacy and everything else. So healthcare is connected, not complicated. What's that look like? Cheaper prescriptions that are easier to get and care that looks at the whole person how you need it. Optum is helping make healthcare work as one for everyone. Learn more at Business Optum. Com.