Palantir now makes more money from American companies than from the U.S. government. In its third-quarter results released Monday, the data and AI software company said U.S. commercial revenue jumped 148% from a year earlier to $984 million, edging past the $953 million it collected from U.S. government customers for the first time in the company's history.
Total revenue rose 96% to $2.31 billion, the first quarter above $2 billion. That beat the company's own forecast of $2.160 billion to $2.164 billion, which it gave in August, by roughly $150 million.
The raised forecast
Palantir raised its full-year targets again, after also raising them in August:
| Full-year 2026 forecast | August | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $8.150 billion to $8.158 billion | $8.530 billion to $8.534 billion |
| U.S. commercial revenue | More than $3.424 billion | More than $3.559 billion |
| Adjusted operating income | $4.889 billion to $4.897 billion | $5.245 billion to $5.249 billion |
| Adjusted free cash flow | $4.5 billion to $4.7 billion | $4.8 billion to $5.0 billion |
For the October-to-December quarter, it expects revenue of $2.649 billion to $2.653 billion.
The company was profitable under standard accounting rules, with net income of $1.13 billion, or 44 cents a share, and an operating margin of 47%. It ended September with $10.4 billion in cash, cash equivalents and Treasury securities.
The total value of contracts Palantir closed in the quarter rose 6% from a year earlier, to $2.92 billion, much slower than revenue. U.S. commercial contract value rose 11%. The company counted 64 deals worth at least $10 million.
Chief executive Alex Karp, in the release, credited what he calls the "Sovereign AI" movement, saying it is dividing institutions into "haves and have nots." Palantir stock trades on the Nasdaq under PLTR. The company scheduled a webcast on the results for 5 p.m. Eastern Monday.
