What is an income statement waterfall?

An income statement waterfall is a bar chart that walks from total revenue down to net income, with each step showing how much a cost or tax line removes (or adds). Subtotals — gross profit, operating income, pre-tax income — are anchored to zero so the cascade reconciles exactly to the bottom line.

How much of Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) revenue becomes net income?

For TTM through Q1 2026, Rocket Lab USA turned $679.58M of revenue into −$182.62M of net income — a net margin of -26.9%. The waterfall shows where the rest goes: cost of revenue, operating expenses, non-operating items, and taxes.

What are Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) gross, operating, and net margins?

For TTM through Q1 2026, Rocket Lab USA reported a gross margin of 36.6%, an operating margin of -33.2%, and a net margin of -26.9%. Each subtotal in the waterfall corresponds to one of these margins.

Why does Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) have such a high (or low) gross margin?

Gross margin (gross profit ÷ revenue) reflects how much of each revenue dollar remains after direct production costs. Capital-light software and platform businesses often show gross margins above 60–80% because their cost of revenue is mainly hosting and support. Hardware, retail, and commodity businesses show lower gross margins because raw materials and manufacturing costs are significant. The waterfall makes this visible at a glance — the size of the "Cost of Revenue" bar relative to Revenue is the gross margin complement.

What is the difference between gross, operating, and net margin?

Gross margin = (Revenue − Cost of Revenue) ÷ Revenue. It measures production efficiency. Operating margin = Operating Income ÷ Revenue. It adds operating expenses (R&D, S&M, G&A) and measures the profitability of core operations. Net margin = Net Income ÷ Revenue. It also includes interest, other income/expense, and taxes, and represents the shareholder take after everything.

Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) Income Statement Waterfall

Revenue

$679.58M

Gross Margin

+36.6%

Operating Margin

-33.2%

Net Margin

-26.9%

Income statement waterfall for Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) — TTM through Q1 2026

Net income: −$182.62M

Margin breakdown for Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) — TTM through Q1 2026

Line item	Amount	Running total
Revenue	$679.58M	$679.58M
Cost of Revenue	−$431.15M	$248.43M
Gross Profit	$248.43M	$248.43M
Operating Expenses	−$474.05M	−$225.62M
Operating Income	−$225.62M	−$225.62M
Other Income / Expense	$14.34M	−$211.28M
Pre-tax Income	−$211.28M	−$211.28M
Tax Benefit	$28.67M	−$182.62M
Net Loss	−$182.62M	−$182.62M

Revenue$679.58M
Cost of Revenue−$431.15M
Gross Profit$248.43M
Operating Expenses−$474.05M
Operating Income−$225.62M
Other Income / Expense$14.34M
Pre-tax Income−$211.28M
Tax Benefit$28.67M
Net Loss−$182.62M

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Income statement waterfall for Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) — TTM through Q1 2026

Margin breakdown for Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) — TTM through Q1 2026

Frequently asked questions

+What is an income statement waterfall?

+How much of Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) revenue becomes net income?

+What are Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) gross, operating, and net margins?

+Why does Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) have such a high (or low) gross margin?

+What is the difference between gross, operating, and net margin?

Data & methodology

+What is this view?

+How to read this waterfall

+How is the data calculated?

+What is the USD toggle?

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