Palantir Technologies raised its full-year revenue guidance for the second time this year on Monday as it responds to fast-growing demand for its artificial intelligence platform.
The software and data analytics company forecast annual revenue of between $4.14 billion and $4.15 billion for 2025, up from its earlier forecast of between $3.89 billion and $3.90 billion.
The upgraded outlook came as it reported a 48 per cent rise in second-quarter revenue to more than $1 billion. In the US, commercial revenue rose 93 per cent year-on-year to $306 million, while American government revenue rose 53 per cent to $426 million.
Demonstrators at the Palantir office protest against its co-operation with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement
TAYFUN COSKUN/ANADOLU VIA GETTY IMAGE
Alex Karp, Palantir’s chief executive, said: “This was a phenomenal quarter. We continue to see the astonishing impact of AI leverage.”
In a letter to shareholders, he said Palantir’s growth was supported by “the arrival of language models, the chips necessary to power them, and our software infrastructure, one that allows organisations to tether the power of artificial intelligence to objects and relationships in the real world”.
Palantir helps customers to collect data from different sources, integrate it and present it in dashboards which they use to analyse information and solve problems.
Founded in 2003, the company first started working with the CIA and other intelligence agencies in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks. It has since expanded to serve government and commercial clients that were struggling with data problems. This arm of the business is closely watched as Palantir works to cut its reliance on government contracts.
Sales to the US government jumped 53 per cent to $426 million, representing more than 42 per cent of total second-quarter revenue of about $1 billion, which beat estimates.
Last week the US army said it might purchase services of up to $10 billion from Palantir over a decade. The company also forecast third-quarter sales above estimates.
Palantir has seen huge sales growth driven by demand for its AI platform, which integrates large language models with customers’ data and enables them to automate processes and make data-driven decisions.
In the US, commercial customers ranging from American Airlines and Heineken to Wendy’s and Walgreens use Palantir’s AI platform to reorganise airline crew schedules, shrink expensive inventories and redirect trucks to meet unexpected demand.
Palantir, which was co-founded by Peter Thiel, the tech billionaire best known as co-founder of Paypal, said it now expected full-year revenue derived from US businesses to come in above $1.30 billion, up from its earlier guidance of more than $1.18 billion.
Palantir beat Wall Street estimates for the second quarter: revenue of $1 billion compared with consensus forecasts of $937.7 million. Net income for the quarter was $327 million, up 144 per cent year-on-year.
Palantir’s shares, which have risen 114 per cent since the start of the year, gained $6.67, or 4.2 per cent, to $167.33 in after-hours trading on Wall Street.
Gil Luria, an analyst at DA Davidson, a financial services firm, said: “Palantir is continuing to exceed increasingly high expectations. They have accelerants on both sides (commercial and government).
“On the government side, their capabilities have gotten to a point where they can be the lead contractor on increasingly large projects.”