Top Stories This Morning: Palantir Sets Records, Snap Reports Strong Results, and a Lawsuit Against Revolut's Founder
Palantir Raises Forecast After a Strong Quarter / Photo: PJ McDonnell / Shutterstock.com
Shares of Palantir and Snap surged after both companies reported better-than-expected results for the previous quarter. Apple filed a lawsuit against former employees who joined OpenAI, accusing them of misappropriating trade secrets. Revolut founder Nick Storonsky is facing a €17.5 million lawsuit: a yacht broker claims to have found a yacht worth about €350 million, the purchase of which was finalized behind his back. Read about these and other topics in our roundup of key events as of the morning of August 4.
Palantir Raised Its Forecast After a Strong Quarter; Shares Jumped 15%
Palantir’s stock rose nearly 15% following the release of its second-quarter earnings report, which exceeded analysts’ expectations. The company raised its full-year revenue forecast to a range of $8.15–8.158 billion, up from its previous forecast of $7.65–7.66 billion. Adjusted earnings were $0.41 per share on revenue of $1.94 billion, compared with expectations of $0.35 and $1.8 billion, respectively. Total revenue in the past quarter rose by a record 93% year-over-year.
Revenue from the commercial business in the U.S. grew 149% year-over-year, while revenue from the government contracts segment grew 90%. During the quarter, Palantir secured a record number of contracts worth over $1 million—220 in total—and generated $1.22 billion in adjusted free cash flow. The company stated that it expects to benefit from growing demand for sovereign AI solutions and continues to strengthen its position in U.S. defense projects.
Revolut's Founder Faces Lawsuit After Buying a €350 Million Yacht
Revolut founder Nick Storonsky is the defendant in a €17.5 million lawsuit filed in the High Court of London by luxury yacht broker Cecil Wright & Partners, according to the Financial Times. The company claims that it helped the billionaire find a superyacht under construction worth approximately €350 million, but the deal was ultimately finalized directly with the seller, resulting in the broker not receiving a commission.
According to the plaintiff, he is entitled to 5% of the transaction value as the party that played a key role in its conclusion. A representative of Storonsky’s family office called the claim unfounded. The yacht had previously belonged to Canadian entrepreneur Patrick Dovigi, was then sold to a Brazilian owner, and, following the latter’s arrest, was repurchased by Dovigi and resold to Storonsky.
Apple accused OpenAI of stealing trade secrets, but former employees pointed out a problem with iCloud
Apple has filed a lawsuit against former employees who joined OpenAI, accusing them of unlawfully retaining and using confidential documents, according to The Information. However, the former employees claim that access to some of the files remained because of Apple’s own policies: the company encouraged the use of personal Apple IDs and iCloud for work, and after they were laid off, some documents remained in their personal accounts.
According to former employees, this issue affected not only OpenAI employees; Apple’s termination process did not always delete all work-related materials. Apple claims that the lawsuit does not concern files that were accidentally retained, but rather intentional acts to misappropriate trade secrets, including downloading confidential data and using it for OpenAI’s benefit.
Snap Beat Revenue Expectations and Raised Its Forecast
Snap reported second-quarter results that beat analysts’ expectations: revenue rose 19% year-over-year to $1.6 billion, and the number of daily active users reached 493 million, and the net loss narrowed to $164 million, according to CNBC. The company also issued a third-quarter revenue forecast above market estimates, after which its shares rose by about 8% in after-hours trading.
Management noted an improvement in the advertising business, growth in revenue from major advertisers, and an 85% increase in revenue from Snapchat+ subscriptions. Snap also raised its forecast for infrastructure expenses amid additional investments in AI and machine learning and stated that widespread adoption of Specs AR glasses is expected toward the end of the decade.
What's Happening in the Markets
— Japan's broad-based Topix index fell 0.2%, while the Nikkei 225 fell 0.4%.
— Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.5%, while mainland China's CSI 300 Index rose 0.9%.
— In South Korea, the Kospi fell 0.8%, while the Kosdaq rose 4.8%.
— Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.3%.
— Nasdaq Composite futures rose 0.4%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.2%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.3%.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
