Shares in Palantir Technologies looked on track to hit a new record on Tuesday after the company reported its first $1bn (£0.75bn) in quarterly sales and raised its forecasts for the current year.
Shares rose above $170 (£127) before the start of trading on Tuesday, which would be a new high for the company, which has already hit all-time highs four times this year, most recently on July 25 when its shares closed at $158.80 (£119.53).
The AI software company has returned to profit since its IPO in 2020, when it reported a loss of $1.17bn (£0.88bn) for the year. Profits increased 33% to $327m (£246m) in the second quarter.
The $1 billion quarterly revenue was achieved thanks to a 53% increase in government sales, despite significant spending cuts under President Donald Trump and his Department of Performance Management (Doge), once headed by the world's richest man, Elon Musk.
“Doge has not had a negative impact on Palantir’s U.S. public sector business, which has seen its strongest growth since Q2 2021,” William Blair analysts Louis DiPalma and Bryce Sandberg wrote in a note. “Palantir is certainly benefiting from the growth of AI among its government and commercial clients.”
The company also recorded a 93% increase in sales, with overall US revenue up 68% to $733m (£551.7m).
On Monday evening, Palantir raised its 2025 revenue forecast to between $4.14bn and $4.15bn (£3.12bn). The company also increased its US commercial revenue forecast to over $1.3bn (£0.98bn), implying growth of at least 85%.
“This was an outstanding quarter,” CEO Alex Karp said in a statement accompanying the earnings report. “We continue to see impressive impact from AI adoption.”
Mr. Karp is confident that AI will benefit everyone. On a call with analysts Monday, he said Palantir is “optimistic about all aspects of American life, including and especially working-class people.”
He added that Palantir aims to “equip the working class or labor force with skills to upskill using artificial intelligence,” and noted that the company will work with union leaders to help introduce workers to the technology.
“People without college degrees create significant, and sometimes greater, value than people with college degrees using our product,” Mr. Karp said.
Denver-based Palantir specializes in software platforms that collect and analyze large amounts of data.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
