Palantir shares fall 7% on lower-than-expected guidance

• Palantir reported stronger-than-expected revenue and EPS in line with analyst estimates, but issued weaker-than-expected full-year guidance.
• The company also posted a net profit for the sixth straight quarter.
• Palantir signed a $178 million contract with the U.S. Army earlier this year, to help develop a next-generation, field-deployable sensor station.

Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir, arrives for the “AI Insight Forum” at the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on September 13, 2023 in Washington, DC.

Palantir shares fell as much as 7% in extended trading on Monday after the defense-technology firm reported weaker-than-expected guidance.

Here’s how the company did compared to LSEG estimates:

• Earnings per share: 8 cents adjusted vs. 8 cents expected
• Revenues: $634 million vs. $625 million expected

The firm, which builds big-data and artificial intelligence software for governments and corporations worldwide, also issued guidance for the second quarter and full year. Palantir expects current quarter revenue to fall between $649 million to $653 million, versus the $653 million expected by LSEG. The company guided to full-year revenue between $2.68 billion and $2.69 billion, weaker than an LSEG consensus estimate of $2.71 billion.

“We anticipate that our U.S. commercial business, which accounted for 24% of our revenue last quarter, will remain one of the most significant drivers of our growth in the near term,” CEO Alex Karp said in a letter to shareholders.

“Warfare in this century will continue to be transformed by software,” Karp added. “The platforms in use by our defense and intelligence partners present a very real threat to the survival of our enemies.”

Palantir reported $105.5 million quarterly net income, or 4 cents per share, compared to $16.8 million, or 1 cent per share, in the year-ago quarter. The company has posted a net profit for six straight quarters.

“For comparison, we now earn more profit in a single quarter than the amount of revenue we generated in an entire year a little more than a decade ago,” Karp said in the shareholders’ letter.

Revenue of $634 million was up 21% year over year from $525 million.

The weaker-than-expected full-year guidance comes despite a solid revenue beat for the first quarter and after remarkable success marketing its AI products to the government and the private sector. Earlier this year, Palantir signed a $178 million contract with the U.S. Army to help develop a next-generation, field-deployable sensor station.

Palantir conducts “bootcamps” with prospective customers, allowing them to get hands-on time with Palantir’s technology. Karp said the company conducted more than 660 bootcamps during the first quarter.

“They need results now,” Karp said of Palantir’s customers. “And we believe that we have the only platform that works.”