Latest news with #defensetech
Yahoo
05-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Palantir Rides Epic Hot Streak Into Earnings Report
Can anything slow Palantir down? The AI-powered, data-crunching defense tech company enters its earnings call today as the year's hottest stock on the S&P 500 — and comes just after the company on Friday inked a new $10 billion contract with the US Army. Which all begs the question: Does the US defense industry have a new top dog? READ ALSO: Berkshire Shares Tumble as Buffett Has Five Months Left at the Helm to Make a Big Deal and Tesla is Paying Up to Keep Elon Musk's Eyes On the Road Data Dump Palantir's 105% share price rise this year is impressive, but its 865% rise since the start of last year is impossible to ignore. While investors began pouring into the stock in earnest after last November's election ushered in political allies of Palantir co-founder (and human species skeptic) Peter Thiel, its success is equally indicative of the shifting terms of warfare in an increasingly digital world. While Palantir's shares have surged, traditional weapons-makers like Lockheed Martin and Boeing have been cast in the unfortunate role of the Pentagon's 'inflation shock absorber.' In fact, according to a recent Barron's analysis, shares of so-called prime defense contractors — a list that typically includes Lockheed, Boeing, General Dynamics, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman — have been trading lower this year than they did when Congress passed the Pentagon purse-threatening Budget Control Act in response to the debt ceiling crisis in 2011. As the old guard wanes, Silicon Valley is ready to step into the fray. So far this year, Palantir is the clear leader of the pack: In March, Palantir delivered its first two AI-powered Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node (TITAN) systems to the US Army, as part of a $178 million contract it won a year earlier; that marked the first time a software company had ever served as a primary contractor for a significant hardware program. Palantir also touts that it came in on time and on budget, a rarity in the defense contracting world. Then in May, the Pentagon announced it'd be boosting an existing $480 million contract with Palantir for a separate AI-powered targeting system by an additional $795 million. Consolidation Nation: The deal announced Friday is practically an admission from the Pentagon that Palantir has become an ubiquitous contractor. The $10 billion contract actually rolls up the roughly 75 contracts the company has with the US Pentagon into one gigantic, decade-long agreement, creating a 'comprehensive framework for the Army's future software and data needs,' according to a press release. This post first appeared on The Daily Upside. To receive delivering razor sharp analysis and perspective on all things finance, economics, and markets, subscribe to our free The Daily Upside newsletter. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
05-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Palantir stops the show: Opening Bid top takeaway
The AI trade continues to steal the show. Palantir (PLTR) has the hottest ticker page on Yahoo Finance today after the company's stellar earnings last night. The defense tech play broke $1 billion in sales in a quarter for the first time. Co-founder and CEO Alex Karp — wearing a white T-shirt on the earnings call — signaled the AI revolution is just beginning and haters should consider giving up their bear cases on the stock. "So thank you for all of our supporters, and we should entertain questions, but this is a once-in-a-generation truly anomalous quarter, and we're very proud, and we're sorry that our haters are disappointed, but there are many more quarters to be disappointed, and we're working on that too," Karp opined. Pouncing on the AI optimism, Bank of America published a bullish note on Nvidia (NVDA) weeks ahead of its Aug. 27 earnings report. Analyst Vivek Arya said Nvidia's quarterly sales will easily beat estimates and third quarter guidance will be upbeat due to Blackwell chip demand. If there is a hiccup in the quarter and outlook, Arya warns it could come from China — where Nvidia's H20 chip may be subject to potential security probes by Chinese regulators. Arya's $220 price target assumes about 22% upside in Nvidia's stock from current levels. "It's really gravity-defying how much capex is going into AI," Lou Basenese, chief strategist at the Basenese Group, told me on Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid. All this as investors buy the slight dip in the markets ahead of a potential Fed rate cut in September. But without question, Palantir's results left a mark on the minds of investors. Zoom-in: Palantir hits it out of the park Palantir cleaned up on government business and large companies in the quarter. Results beat estimates and accelerated from the first quarter. Karp took to his soapbox on the earnings call to slam critics and hype up his business. Here are the earnings day wins: Sales up 48% from the prior year. US commercial operating margins advanced 890 basis points year over year. The top line accelerated sequentially by major business segment. Bookings growth accelerated sequentially. Full-year sales guidance was raised by 6 percentage points to 45% year over year vs. previous expectation of 36% year over year. The implied fourth quarter revenue guidance was 10 percentage points ahead of consensus, implying revenue growth in the low-40s versus consensus expectations of 32%. "Palantir delivered a show-stopping Q2," Citi analyst Tyler Radke said. Shares rose 8% on the session. The question now is how far Palantir's stock could run into the third quarter earnings release in a few months. It will be hard to poke a hole in the bullish narrative, even in the face of an outsized valuation. Palantir had a shockingly good quarter, and guidance was impressive. The AI revolution only seems to be speeding up, judging by earnings results from Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), and Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) in recent weeks. "We believe in the next few years Palantir has the potential to be a trillion dollar market cap as the AI Revolution takes hold," said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. Palantir's current market cap: $410 Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor and a member of Yahoo Finance's editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
South China Morning Post
05-08-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Palantir raises annual revenue forecast again on surging AI demand
Palantir Technologies on Monday raised its annual revenue forecast for the second time this year, expecting robust demand for its AI-linked services from businesses and governments, sending its shares up 5 per cent in extended trading. Initially backed by the CIA, the company has capitalised on its expertise in managing and analysing data to help train and run new artificial intelligence apps using its platforms. The data analytics and defence software firm projected revenue in the range of US$4.14 billion to US$4.15 billion for 2025, up from its earlier forecast of between US$3.89 billion and US$3.90 billion. 'Palantir is continuing to exceed increasingly high expectations,' said Gil Luria, an analyst at D.A. Davidson who has a 'neutral' rating on the stock. 'The only way to describe their trajectory is: parabolic.' Palantir's shares have more than doubled in value this year, far outpacing the 6 per cent gain for the benchmark S&P 500, as investors bet on its ability to benefit from the proliferation of AI technology and government spending on defence tech. The company, co-founded by tech billionaire Peter Thiel, said it expects revenue derived from US businesses to come in above US$1.30 billion, up from its earlier guidance of more than US$1.18 billion.
CNA
04-08-2025
- Business
- CNA
Palantir raises annual revenue forecast again on surging AI demand
Palantir Technologies on Monday raised its forecast for annual revenue for the second time this year, expecting robust demand for its artificial intelligence-linked services from businesses and governments. The data analytics and defense software firm projected revenue in the range of $4.14 billion to $4.15 billion for 2025, up from its earlier forecast of between $3.89 billion and $3.90 billion. The raised forecast is also above analysts' average estimate of $3.90 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Palantir, which was initially backed by the CIA, has capitalized on its expertise in managing and analyzing data to help train and run new AI apps using its platforms. Shares of the Denver, Colorado-based company rose more than 2 per cent in extended trading. Its shares have more than doubled in value this year, far outpacing the 6 per cent gain for the benchmark S&P 500, as investors bet on its ability to benefit from the proliferation of AI technology and government spending on defense tech. Palantir, co-founded by tech billionaire Peter Thiel, said it now expects revenue derived from U.S. businesses to come in above $1.30 billion, up from its earlier guidance of more than $1.18 billion. They nearly doubled to $306 million in the June quarter. The business is closely watched as the company works to cut its reliance on government contracts. Sales to the U.S. 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 U.S. Army said it might purchase services of up to $10 billion from Palantir over a decade. Palantir also forecast third-quarter sales above estimates.
Yahoo
04-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Palantir raises annual revenue forecast again on surging AI demand
(Reuters) -Palantir Technologies on Monday raised its forecast for annual revenue for the second time this year, expecting robust demand for its artificial intelligence-linked services from businesses and governments. The data analytics and defense software firm projected revenue in the range of $4.14 billion to $4.15 billion for 2025, up from its earlier forecast of between $3.89 billion and $3.90 billion. The raised forecast is also above analysts' average estimate of $3.90 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. Palantir, which was initially backed by the CIA, has capitalized on its expertise in managing and analyzing data to help train and run new AI apps using its platforms. Shares of the Denver, Colorado-based company rose more than 2% in extended trading. Its shares have more than doubled in value this year, far outpacing the 6% gain for the benchmark S&P 500, as investors bet on its ability to benefit from the proliferation of AI technology and government spending on defense tech. Palantir, co-founded by tech billionaire Peter Thiel, said it now expects revenue derived from U.S. businesses to come in above $1.30 billion, up from its earlier guidance of more than $1.18 billion. They nearly doubled to $306 million in the June quarter. The business is closely watched as the company works to cut its reliance on government contracts. Sales to the U.S. government jumped 53% to $426 million, representing more than 42% of total second-quarter revenue of about $1 billion, which beat estimates. Last week, the U.S. Army said it might purchase services of up to $10 billion from Palantir over a decade. Palantir also forecast third-quarter sales above estimates. The company's second-quarter adjusted earnings of 16 cents per share beat estimates of 14 cents.
