Key Points

• Despite mixed performance from Ark's funds this year, Wood continues to stick with industry leaders.

• Two Ark ETFs were buying Meta as AI-driven ad improvements continue to drive strong revenue performance.

• Three Ark funds bought a combined $45 million worth of Rocket Lab stock after CEO Peter Beck described launch demand as "extreme."

• 10 stocks we like better than Meta Platforms ›

Four of Ark Invest's exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have outperformed the S&P 500 over the past three years, although the flagship ARK Innovation ETF (NYSEMKT: ARKK) has underperformed the market so far in 2026, up about 9% at the time of writing.

Still, Ark's founder and Chief Executive Officer, Cathie Wood, continues to back the companies benefiting from artificial intelligence (AI) and the emerging space economy. Several Ark funds have been buying shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) and Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB), with both stocks trading well off their highs.

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Meta Platforms

Shares of Meta Platforms are trading 18% below their previous all-time high, and Wood seems to like the stock's value at current levels. Two Ark funds -- the ARK Next Generation Technology ETF (NYSEMKT: ARKW) and Ark Innovation ETF -- bought a combined $27.9 million of Meta stock on Sept. 9, 2026. It is a relatively small position, accounting for about 3% of the ARK Next Generation Technology ETF and 1.6% of the ARK Innovation ETF.

Wood is bullish on AI, robotics, and other disruptive tech over the long term. Meta fits that thesis because it's using AI to lift ad performance across its family of apps, while also investing heavily in data center capacity and chips.

Ark's research team sees a durable moat in Meta's 3.6 billion daily app users, which gives the company an immediate distribution and monetization engine for AI. Improvements to recommendations and ad-ranking have driven strong growth in ad impressions and ad pricing, helping second-quarter revenue rise 28% year over year.

During the second-quarterearnings call CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, "On a dollar basis, our ads business is reporting faster year-over-year revenue growth than any other company's reported ad business."

There seems to be more runway for its ad growth. Zuckerberg mentioned there are now 9 million small businesses using at least one of its ad creative tools, and the company continues to roll out new creative solutions designed to improve advertisers' returns.

Meta expects to spend between $165 billion and $169 billion on capital expenditures in 2026. That pace has pressured free cash flow in 2026 and seems to be weighing on the stock price. But Wood seems to like the company's ability to turn those investments into higher free cash flow over time. The stock is trading at a reasonable forward price-to-earnings multiple of 21, which may undervalue Meta's long-term growth.

Rocket Lab

Shares of Rocket Lab are down almost 60% after hitting an all-time high of $151 earlier this year. Three Ark ETFs bought about $45 million worth of Rocket Lab shares between Aug. 31 and Sept. 8, 2026. Rocket Lab currently makes up 5.5% of the Ark Space and Defense Innovation ETF, although Space Exploration Technologies remains Wood's top bet at over 11% of the fund.

Morgan Stanley's research estimates the space industry will be worth $1 trillion by 2040. In a June 1, 2026, newsletter, Ark's research team expressed its view that lunar exploration and satellite deployments should benefit multiple launch providers, "including emerging players like Rocket Lab and Stoke Space."

Rocket Lab reported a 62% year-over-year increase in revenue in the second quarter, with a record backlog of $2.36 billion. During the Q2earnings call CEO Peter Beck characterized the demand for launch services as "extreme." It signed $437 million of bookings since March 31 for Electron, HASTE, and the company's larger Neutron rocket, which is still under development.

Wood appears to be betting that Rocket Lab can grow into an end-to-end space infrastructure company. Its pending acquisition of Iridium will extend Rocket Lab's launch and manufacturing operations with a constellation of 66 satellites that generate recurring revenue from more than 2.5 million subscribers.

The stock still looks expensive on a sales multiple. But its $38 billion market cap (share price times shares outstanding) is just a small slice of the industry's potential, leaving room for substantial long-term upside for investors. With management noting that options for launch bookings are "extremely limited" beyond 2029, this positions Rocket Lab well for growth.

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John Ballard has positions in Space Exploration Technologies. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms and Rocket Lab. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.