Palantir Smashes Estimates, Tops $1B Quarterly Revenue for First Time

Palantir (PLTR) outperformed Wall Street expectations Monday, reporting its first-ever $1 billion in quarterly revenue and raising its full-year guidance. The stock rose 3% in after-hours trading.

Key Results vs. Estimates (LSEG):

• EPS (adjusted): $0.16 vs. $0.14 expected

• Revenue: $1.0B vs. $940M expected

• YoY Revenue Growth: 48% (hitting the $1B milestone a quarter earlier than expected)

Efficiency Push & Workforce Plans

CEO Alex Karp emphasized efficiency, telling CNBC:
"We aim to 10x revenue with just 3,600 employees (down from 4,100 now). This is a revolution in efficiency."
He didn’t confirm layoffs but hinted at headcount optimization.

Raised 2024 Guidance

• New Revenue Forecast: $4.142B–$4.150B (up from $3.89B–$3.90B)

• Q3 Outlook: $1.083B–$1.087B (vs. $983M expected)

• Operating income and free cash flow projections were also lifted.

Growth Drivers

• U.S. Revenue: +68% YoY ($733M)

  • Commercial: Nearly doubled to $306M

  • Government: +53% ($426M), boosted by federal contracts

• Deal Momentum: Closed 66 deals worth $5M+ and 42 worth $10M+

• Contract Value: +140% YoY ($2.27B total)

• Net Income: +144% ($326.7M vs. $134.1M YoY)

Market Reaction & Valuation

• Stock Surge: Shares more than doubled YTD, hitting a record high Monday.

• Market Cap: $379B+, now among top 10 U.S. tech firms (passing Salesforce, IBM, Cisco).

• Valuation: Trades at 276x forward earnings (vs. Tesla’s 177x in top 20).

Recent Wins

• $10B U.S. Army contract for AI/data software.

• Karp credited growth to the "perfect storm of AI models, advanced chips, and our software."

Why It Matters

Palantir’s explosive growth reflects rising AI demand and government reliance on its data analytics. But its sky-high valuation raises questions about sustainability.