Palantir Technologies Inc. shares jumped after the software company raised its full-year financial outlook, driven by demand for its AI-powered data analytics platform. It said demand from commercial customers has been exceptionally strong, describing it as “otherworldly.”
The stock had been down 29% so far this year heading into Monday’s report, trading well below the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq-100.
And, the company said it now expects $4.89 billion to $4.91 billion in adjusted income from operations this year, up from the previously reported top end of $4.45 billion.
The software developer and major military vendor projected up to $8.16 billion in sales, above the average Bloomberg-compiled estimate of $7.7 billion.
In a letter to shareholders, Karp said “the revolution for independence and AI sovereignty is now well underway,” noting that the business has “Marxist” values.
“Our customers have declined to become vassal states of the language labs,” Karp said in the letter. “Every organisation in the world is awakening to the risks of handing the creators of the language models the keys to their institutions, of letting the models loose within their homes.
Karp admits Europe’s growth sucks
Palantir gained fame as a stealthy Silicon Valley startup selling customised data analysis software to the US government and allied military forces. Karp, Chief Technology Officer, Shyam Sankar and other company leaders have increasingly cultivated a pro-America image since US President Donald Trump took office, publishing books on the need for tech to re-engage with the defence industrial base and speaking at conferences on the role of AI in war.
The company has more than doubled its market value since late 2024 to roughly $300 billion.
Palantir’s US government sales remain strong, but European leaders have signaled their desire to reduce reliance on US tech companies and do more business with firms at home. In recent months, officials in both France and the UK have moved to end deals with Palantir.
“Sometimes we make decisions that are against our economic interests, like we’re supporting lots of institutions in Europe,” Karp said in a call with analysts on Monday. “The growth sucks.”
Palantir’s sales abroad grew 33% from a year earlier to $362.5 million. US revenue, meanwhile, rose 115% to $1.57 billion.
Palantir’s adjusted gross margin was 86% in the last quarter, down slightly from the three months prior, after the company took on cloud hosting for a government customer, Chief Financial Officer Dave Glazer said on the analyst call. He cautioned that expenses will ramp up in the third quarter, in part because of the seasonality of new hires and other product and marketing efforts.
