(Feb 4): Palantir Technologies Inc rose following a revenue forecast for fiscal 2026 that significantly exceeded Wall Street expectations, a boost for the data analytics company after its shares have gotten off to a lacklustre start so far this year.
Annual revenue will gain 61% to about US$7.19 billion, the Denver-based company said on Monday in a statement. Analysts, on average, estimated US$6.27 billion. Palantir forecast sales in the current quarter of about US$1.53 billion, which also beat expectations.
The shares increased 4.8% at 10.01am in New York on Tuesday. The stock had dropped 29% from its November peak, reached right before Palantir last reported results, and was down 17% to start 2026 through the close. Still, the shares trade for about 141 times expected earnings, among the highest in the S&P 500.
Palantir, which relies on government contracts for the lion’s share of its US revenues, also saw fourth-quarter revenue grow 70% to US$1.41 billion, it said in the statement. Earnings per share were 25 cents, which beat the average estimate of 23 cents.
Speaking to investors after the results were reported, chief technology officer Shyam Sankar said the use of Maven — an artificial intelligence-enabled (AI) mission control system for the US military in which Palantir plays a significant role — is at “an all-time high”. The system, which can enable AI to help identify targets among other functions, will continue to be rolled out this year, he said.
The company’s role in assisting Trump’s mass deportation of immigrants has also made it a lightning rod for criticism, which has accelerated in recent weeks after federal agents fatally shot two protesters in Minneapolis.
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Palantir has long supplied services to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, enabling officials to build dossiers on individuals. It also has defence tie-ups with governments around the world, enjoyed strong enterprise business growth and has emerged as one of the biggest publicly traded beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence boom. The company has seen its shares soar by nearly 800% over the past two years, adding almost US$315 billion in market value.
Late last year, hedge fund manager Michael Burry, who became a household name after his bet against mortgages in the late 2000s was featured in The Big Short movie, disclosed bearish wagers on Palantir, sending the company’s shares sliding. Burry posted on the social media platform X at the time broadly warning about an AI bubble.
In a shareholder letter that cites the legacies of former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and American historian Christopher Lasch, chief executive officer and co-founder Alexander Karp described the company’s accelerating revenue as “a cosmic reward” for the company’s supporters.
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Karp cast Palantir’s software system, which is used by ICE and the Department of Defense among government users, as “capable of preventing an unconstitutional intrusion into the private lives of citizens by the state”. Karp didn’t specify how Palantir’s technology prevented such intrusions.
The Department of Homeland Security purchased a Palantir app named Elite that provides actionable data including AI-extracted addresses to Enforcement and Removal Operations officers with ICE.
In its earnings report on Monday, Palantir also beat expectations on US government and US commercial revenue in the fourth quarter. US government revenue for the quarter was US$570 million, compared with analysts’ forecast of US$521.5 million, while commercial revenue was US$507 million. Analysts, on average, estimated US$478.7 million.
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