NASA’s Artemis II mission is targeting an April 2026 launch window, and prediction markets currently place the odds of liftoff by April 30 at roughly 54.5%. The rocket was rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building in late February for repairs, which pushed the timeline past earlier projections, but the program remains very much alive. That window matters because the four companies below have built direct exposure to the lunar economy well before the first crewed Moon mission in 50 years gets off the ground.
These are not speculative bets on a single contract. Each company carries a record backlog, posted strong recent earnings, and has a specific, operational connection to Artemis or the broader space infrastructure it requires. The question is not whether they benefit from the program, but how directly and in what form.
Lockheed Martin: The Orion Builder
Lockheed Martin builds the Orion spacecraft, the crew capsule that will carry four astronauts on the Artemis II lunar flyby. That makes this the most direct Artemis play in the group. The Space segment posted $3.16 billion in Q4 2025 revenue, up 8% year over year, driven by programs including the Next Generation Interceptor and Fleet Ballistic Missile sustainment. Orion sits within that segment, and each successful mission milestone triggers additional contract activity.
Lockheed ended 2025 with a record $194 billion backlog, more than two and a half years of forward revenue visibility, on full-year revenue of $75.05 billion. Management guided 2026 sales to $77.5 billion to $80.0 billion, reflecting the sustained demand CEO Jim Taiclet described as “unprecedented demand”.
Underpinning that growth outlook is strong cash generation. Free cash flow guidance for 2026 sits at $6.5 billion to $6.8 billion, which funds both the dividend program and ongoing R&D investment across Lockheed’s portfolio. The stock has gained 38% year to date through March 4, 2026, and trades at a forward P/E of roughly 23x. Lockheed has raised its dividend for 23 consecutive years, making it one of the few space-adjacent names that also functions as an income holding.
The main risk is fixed-price contract exposure. Lockheed absorbed $950 million in classified program losses at Aeronautics in 2025, a reminder that complex government programs can generate large one-time charges. The company generates $6.5 billion to $6.8 billion in annual free cash flow and carries unmatched Artemis hardware exposure through the Orion spacecraft.
Northrop Grumman: Space Systems at Scale
Northrop Grumman’s connection to Artemis runs through its Space Systems segment and its HALO program. HALO, the Habitation and Logistics Outpost, is the module that will serve as the core of Gateway, NASA’s planned lunar orbit station. It is a long-duration program with revenue ramping as hardware production accelerates. The Space Systems segment generated roughly $2.86 billion in Q4 2025 revenue, up 5%, and is expected to contribute approximately $11 billion in full-year revenue at around an 11% margin.
Beyond HALO, Northrop also produces GEM 63 solid rocket motors used in United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V and Vulcan launch vehicles, and recently won a $0.8 billion SDA Tranche 3 Tracking Layer contract. That award, alongside the HALO ramp, reflects a Space Systems business that is diversified across civil and national security space programs rather than dependent on any one mission. The company’s total backlog reached a record $95.7 billion with a book-to-bill ratio of 1.10, meaning it is winning contracts faster than it is burning through them.
Full-year 2025 revenue came in at $41.95 billion, and 2026 guidance calls for sales of $43.5 billion to $44.0 billion. The stock has been the strongest performer in this group year to date, up 32.6% since January 1 and 65% over the past year. CEO Kathy Warden noted that the “record backlog supports our 2026 outlook of mid-single digit sales growth.”
The primary near-term risk is the B-21 Raider stealth bomber program, where Northrop recorded a $477 million loss provision on low-rate initial production. That is a fixed-price contract problem common to large defense programs, and it does not affect the Space Systems business directly. Northrop’s HALO program is one of the few publicly traded companies with direct exposure to the lunar infrastructure build-out through the Gateway station program.
Rocket Lab: The Pure-Play Launch Company
Rocket Lab is the only company on this list whose entire business model is built around space. The company operates the Electron small launch vehicle, is developing the medium-lift Neutron rocket, and manufactures spacecraft components and complete satellites through its Space Systems division. Revenue grew 38% in 2025 to $601.8 million, and the backlog surged 73% year over year to $1.85 billion, anchored by an $816 million SDA contract for 18 satellites in the Space Development Agency’s Tracking Layer Tranche 3 program.
The Artemis connection here is indirect but real. Rocket Lab’s ESCAPADE mission launched twin spacecraft toward Mars for NASA and UC Berkeley, demonstrating the company’s ability to execute on deep-space civil science contracts. The company is also on the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 program, a $5.6 billion DoD program, and was selected by the Missile Defense Agency for the SHIELD program with potential contracts up to $151 billion. As Artemis expands the overall cadence of lunar and deep-space missions, Rocket Lab is positioned as a launch and spacecraft provider for the ecosystem that program creates.
Non-GAAP gross margin expanded to 44.3% in Q4 2025 in Q4 2025, up from 34% a year earlier — a clear sign that the business is scaling profitably even as GAAP losses continue. Q1 2026 guidance calls for revenue of $185 million to $200 million, reflecting that momentum. Analysts carry an average price target of $89.88.
The tradeoffs are real. Rocket Lab remains unprofitable, and the Neutron medium-lift rocket has been delayed after a stage 1 tank test failure — Neutron is the company’s path to competing for larger launch contracts, so any further slippage in that timeline matters. That risk is compounded by a free cash flow burn of $321.8 million in free cash flow in 2025 and a beta of 2.2. The stock has returned 279% over the past year, which reflects both the opportunity and the risk embedded in its valuation.
BWX Technologies: Nuclear Propulsion for the Long Haul
BWX Technologies is the least obvious name on this list, but it may be the most important for investors thinking beyond Artemis II toward the longer arc of deep-space exploration. BWXT is the primary U.S. manufacturer of naval nuclear reactors, and it is actively developing nuclear thermal propulsion systems for space applications under contracts with NASA and the Department of Defense. Nuclear propulsion is widely considered the technology that makes crewed Mars missions practical, cutting transit times by months compared to conventional chemical rockets.
The company’s financial results show growth across every major segment. Full-year 2025 revenue grew 18% to $3.2 billion to $7.26 billion, up 50% year over year, and the total backlog reached $7.26 billion, up 50% year over year — a sign that contract wins are accelerating well ahead of current revenue.
Q4 2025 revenue of $885.84 million reflected growth across both its Government Operations and Commercial Operations segments. Management guided 2026 revenue to approximately $3.75 billion with free cash flow of $305 million to $320 million, providing the capital to advance its nuclear propulsion and enrichment programs.
CEO Rex Geveden has positioned BWXT as operating at the intersection of national security and commercial nuclear markets, where demand is structurally growing. The space propulsion work is a smaller piece of the current revenue base, but the company’s recent land purchase in Oak Ridge, Tennessee for a domestic uranium enrichment centrifuge experiment signals that it is building the supply chain infrastructure for a larger nuclear future, including space applications. The stock has roughly doubled over the past year, gaining 105%, and trades at a trailing P/E of around 57x, which reflects the premium investors are placing on its nuclear technology positioning.
The caveat is that BWXT’s space nuclear revenue is not yet material to its financials. Federal budget uncertainty and lower microreactor volumes are cited as near-term risks. BWXT’s space nuclear revenue is not yet material to its financials, but the naval nuclear business provides cash flow while the company advances its nuclear propulsion programs.
Company Profiles and Artemis Exposure
Lockheed Martin has the most direct Artemis II hardware exposure through the Orion spacecraft, alongside dividend income and a record backlog. Northrop Grumman’s HALO module ties it to the longer-term lunar infrastructure build-out through the Gateway station program. Rocket Lab is a pre-profit pure-play space company with high revenue growth and a high-volatility profile. BWX Technologies is developing nuclear propulsion technology for deep-space applications while generating cash from its naval nuclear business.
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