AADX vs RKLB: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: AADX is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. AADX and RKLB share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined AADX and RKLB exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Applied Aerospace & Defense builds the physical parts that other people's programs depend on: nose cones, fairings, payload adapters and satellite assemblies for launch and space vehicles, flight structures for fixed-wing, rotary and autonomous aircraft, and casings and precision platforms for radar, air defense and precision strike systems. The company describes itself as vertically integrated, and the capability list is unusually specific for a supplier of this size, covering flow forming, spin forming for propulsion tanks, RF-transparent composites, deep hole boring and large-scale clean room capacity. It runs eleven plants across six states with about 1.5 million square feet of production space and roughly 1,540 employees. The corporate entity was assembled from 2022 onward by Greenbriar Equity Group out of businesses with a much longer manufacturing history, and it has kept buying: Innovative Composite Engineering in October 2024, NeXolve in March 2025 and Consolidated Boring in March 2026.

Full AADX guide

Rocket Lab (RKLB) is a space company that builds rockets and spacecraft and provides end-to-end space services. Its established business is the Electron, a small orbital launch vehicle that is one of the most frequently flown small rockets in the world, carrying satellites for commercial, government, and defense customers. Rocket Lab is developing Neutron, a larger, partly reusable medium-lift rocket intended to compete for bigger payloads and constellation deployments, directly targeting the market SpaceX dominates.

Full RKLB guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• AADX drivers: Precision strike and air defense demand is the fastest-moving piece; Space and launch scales with cadence, not with wins.
• RKLB drivers: Neutron medium-lift rocket; Space Systems growth.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Customer concentration is severe: three customers were 31%, 18% and 10% of 2025 revenue, 59% combined, and their names are not disclosed. For RKLB, rocket Lab is not yet consistently profitable and invests heavily in Neutron, so cash burn and capital needs are real until that program generates revenue.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick AADX if you believe its drivers more; RKLB if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the AADX and RKLB guides.

AADX. On guidance, the enterprise value of roughly $3.05 billion works out to about 4.5x 2026 revenue and roughly 20x 2026 adjusted EBITDA, which is a growth multiple rather than a machine-shop multiple. The reported P/E is negative and will stay so for 2026 because of the IPO compensation charge, so the trailing GAAP figure carries no information here. The gap between the $20.00 IPO price, the ~$24.24 high on July 1 and the ~$15.20 low set on August 20 is a reminder that three months of trading history offers very little to anchor a valuation against.

RKLB. Rocket Lab trades as a high-growth space name valued on its Space Systems revenue and the future option value of Neutron rather than current profits. The premium price-to-sales multiple reflects the launch-plus-systems opportunity and defense tailwinds, balanced against losses and Neutron execution risk. Valuation is highly sensitive to Neutron milestones and launch cadence.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): AADX shows revenue (ttm through q2 2026) ~$576M, fy2026 revenue guidance ~$670M to ~$690M, fy2026 adjusted ebitda guidance ~$150M to ~$155M, q2 2026 net loss (gaap) ~-$154.0M, including ~$110.8M of first-half share-based comp; RKLB shows revenue (ttm) ~$500 million, revenue growth Strong double-digit, gross margin Positive and improving, operating margin Negative (investing in Neutron).

AADX and RKLB are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined AADX and RKLB exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.