Shares of Palantir pop as it reports first profitable quarter

Shares of Palantir popped as much as 19% in extended trading Monday after the company released fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates on top and bottom lines. Here’s how the company did:

• EPS: 4 cents adjusted vs. 3 cents expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv
• Revenue: $509 million vs. $502 million expected by analysts, according to Refinitiviv.

Palantir’s revenue for the quarter increased 18% year over year, and its U.S. commercial revenue grew 12%. The software company, which is known for its work with the government, said its US commercial customer count increased 79% year over year, growing from 80 customers to 143. The company also reported its first ever quarter of positive net income on a GAAP basis, at $31 million. “With this result, Palantir is profitable,” CEO Alex Karp said in the release. “This is a significant moment for us and our supporters.” Palantir said it expects to report between $503 million and $507 million in revenue during its first quarter, and between 2.18 billion and 2.23 billion for the full year. In a letter to shareholders, Karp said the company expects to generate profit for the current fiscal year, which would mark Palantir’s first profitable year in the company’s history. He said a substantial U.S. commercial business has emerged at Palantir in the last two years, and that it reflects the “unrelenting demand” from customers. In 2018, Palantir generated a total of $38 million from its commercial U.S. business, but as of 2022, it generated $335 million, Karp said. “When we were just starting out, many doubted our ability to evolve beyond anything more than a specialty provider of software to a handful of government customers, let alone generate meaningful revenue from the government sector as a whole,” Karp wrote. “They were wrong.” The company will hold its quarterly call with investors at 5:00 P.M. ET Monday.