Palantir reported "superb" results and raised its forecasts

Palantir, a developer of artificial intelligence for civilian and military applications, has raised its revenue and profit forecasts for 2026 after its second-quarter results significantly exceeded Wall Street expectations. CEO Alex Karp called the results “stunning” and “supernatural”: in particular, revenue from commercial customers more than doubled. Following the release of the earnings report, Palantir’s stock jumped nearly 15%.

Palantir expects full-year revenue of $8.15–8.158 billion, up from its previous forecast of $7.65–7.66 billion. Even the lower end of the forecast was significantly higher than analysts’ estimates of $7.7 billion (according to Bloomberg). The company estimates that adjusted operating profit for the year will be $4.89–4.91 billion, compared with the previous upper guidance of $4.45 billion.

The company raised its guidance after second-quarter revenue rose 93% compared with the same period last year, reaching $1.94 billion versus the $1.8 billion analysts had expected, CNBC reports, citing data from LSEG. Palantir’s sales to corporate clients in the U.S. jumped 149% year-over-year in the second quarter to $764 million. Revenue from contracts with the U.S. government, including the Department of Defense, rose 90% year-over-year to $809 million.

Adjusted earnings per share for the quarter rose 215% to $0.41. Wall Street had forecast $0.35. The AI developer’s net income more than tripled to $1.07 billion.

“This quarter was otherworldly. Such an achievement would be cause for astonishment in any business. For a company of our size, scale, and significance, it’s simply astonishing,” wrote CEO Alex Karp in a letter to shareholders. “Forget the consensus estimate,” the top executive said in an interview with CNBC. “As far as I know, no business of our size has ever come close to growing at this rate.”

After the earnings report was released during after-hours trading on Monday, Palantir's stock rose nearly 15%. During regular trading hours, it rose 2.1% to $125.65.

This year, Palantir’s stock has fallen by nearly 30% due to investor concerns that AI developers such as Anthropic could take market share away from the company, and that governments outside the U.S. will increasingly turn to local tech companies to address their challenges, according to Bloomberg. In a letter to investors, Karp criticized these concerns.

Palantir gained prominence as a Silicon Valley startup that sold data-analysis software to the U.S. government and allied armed forces. After U.S. President Donald Trump took office, the company’s leadership began to more actively shape Palantir’s image as a company focused on U.S. interests, according to Bloomberg. Foreign governments have taken note: European leaders have called for greater use of solutions from local companies to ensure national security and carry out critical operations. In recent months, officials in France and the United Kingdom have begun to cancel contracts with Palantir, citing the need for technological sovereignty, the agency explains.

Despite this, Palantir’s sales outside the U.S. rose 33% in the second quarter, to $362.5 million. However, the scale of the business is incomparable: revenue in the U.S. increased by 115%, to $1.57 billion.

SAXO Bank warned on Monday that Palantir could disappoint investors with a weaker outlook, even after posting excellent growth rates. But Palantir’s strong growth would be a sign that companies are moving from testing artificial intelligence to applying it in real-world operational processes, suggested Saxo Bank strategist Ruben Dalfovo.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor