Palantir’s revenue rises 96% to $2.3 billion as investors’ patience rests on a hair trigger
· Fortune
Palantir Technologies said Monday that third quarter revenue rose 96% year over year to $2.3 billion, surpassing last year’s 63% growth and $1.2 billion in revenue. It raised its full-year revenue forecast to between $8.53 billion and $8.534 billion, roughly 91% growth, from as high as $8.2 billion a quarter ago.
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In after-hours trading shares began to climb, rising about 1.5% immediately after the figures were published.
The quarterly results showed that Palantir reported adjusted and GAAP earnings per share of 44 cents. That compares to third quarter 2025, when adjusted EPS was 21 cents and GAAP EPS was 18 cents. Analysts were expecting revenue of $2.18 billion and adjusted earnings of 41 cents per share.
In his quarterly letter to investors, CEO Alex Karp touted the firm’s results, writing “it would be an understatement” to say Palantir’s results in Q3 “were extraordinary.” He said the company’s growth rate of 96% was “absolutely striking.” Palantir had guided revenue to roughly $2.16 billion to $2.164 billion.
Palantir’s quarterly results came after last week’s bloodbath in certain tech stocks, and served as something of a temperature read on the AI trade. Karp made no bones about the change he sees on the horizon and how it could demolish certain sectors.
“Every industry in the world—from banks to insurers to hospitals and even once-storied law firms—will either be remade or set briskly aside,” wrote Karp.
The software maker is a bellwether for public market confidence in AI software converting into revenue growth. Its latest financials come days after Alphabet suffered its worst one-day drop on record in its 22-year history as a public company. Disappointing reception to Amazon and Intel last week deepened concerns that relentless spending on AI—which is approaching $2 trillion in two years, according to S&P Global research—is sprinting well ahead of returns for investors. Google parent Alphabet lost $505 billion in market value since it published third-quarter figures last week and Intel’s stock dropped about 29% last week. The Nasdaq Composite fell more than 1% Monday and the benchmark is down 4% over the past five days.
At Palantir, investors keep a gimlet eye on U.S. commercial revenue as evidence that companies as well as governments are willing to pony up for AI software. That business grew 148% to $984 million, compared to $397 million a year ago.
And for the first time, U.S. commercial revenue skipped ahead of U.S. government revenue, clocking in at $984 million versus $953 million. U.S. government revenue grew to $953 million, up 96% from $486 million a year ago.
Meanwhile, total contract value rose 6% to $2.9 billion and U.S. commercial contract value grew 11% to $1.5 billion.
For the current quarter, Palantir forecast revenue of roughly $2.64 billion to $2.65 billion, or about 88% growth at the midpoint. Analysts expected about $2.46 billion. Fiscal year 2026 revenue guidance also rose to 91% year over year growth, and U.S. commercial revenue guidance rose to 143%.
The backdrop for Palantir is markedly different from its second quarter results in August even though Karp’s tone this quarter is just as ebullient as he was three months ago. This quarter, as last quarter, the $430 billion tech firm’s own quarterly release to investors said its results were “crushing consensus expectations.”
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com