Palantir, the US data and AI software company, reported third-quarter revenue of $2.313 billion on 2 November, up 96% from a year earlier and 20% from the second quarter, according to its results release. It is the first quarter in which Palantir has passed $2 billion.
Analysts had expected about $2.18 billion, TechCrunch reports. Earnings were $0.44 a share, against forecasts of $0.41.
Businesses now buy more than governments
Palantir built its name on defence and intelligence contracts. This quarter its US commercial revenue grew 148% to $984 million and passed US government revenue, which rose 96% to $953 million, for the first time in the company's history. Total US revenue was $1.937 billion, up 119%.
The company is also very profitable for its size. It reported $1.085 billion of operating profit under standard accounting, a 47% margin, net income of $1.128 billion and $10.4 billion in cash and US Treasury securities. It closed 64 deals worth at least $10 million each in the quarter.
Chief executive Alex Karp tied the growth to what he calls the "Sovereign AI movement", in which governments and companies race to run AI on their own data. Palantir raised its full-year revenue forecast to between $8.530 billion and $8.534 billion and expects $2.649 billion to $2.653 billion in the fourth quarter. It now expects US commercial revenue above $3.559 billion for the year, growth of at least 143%.
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Total contract value signed in the quarter was $2.918 billion, up 6% from a year earlier. US commercial contract value was $1.463 billion, up 11% from a year earlier but down from a record $2.13 billion in the second quarter, according to TechCrunch. Karp described shorter contract terms that customers can expand quickly; TechCrunch's reading is that companies are adopting the software fast, often through trials, but committing less and finding it easier to cancel.
The shares traded slightly lower on Tuesday after the results, TechCrunch reports. The fourth quarter, usually the strongest season for business software buying, will show whether the slowdown in new contracts is a blip.
