Palantir stock jumps 19% as AI demand drives revenue beat

Palantir shares surged more than 19% in after-hours trading on Monday after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ expectations for revenue. Full-year guidance for 2024 came roughly in line with Wall Street’s estimates. Here’s how the company did:

• Earnings per share: 8 cents adjusted vs. 8 cents expected by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv
• Revenue: $608.4 million vs. $602.4 million expected by LSEG

Revenue in the fourth quarter increased 20% to $608.4 million from $508.6 million a year earlier. The company reported a net income of $93.4 million, or 4 cents per share, compared with $30.9 million, or 1 cent per share, in the year-ago quarter. In a letter to shareholders, Palantir CEO Alex Karp said the company’s expansion and growth “have never been greater,” especially as demand for large language models in the U.S. “continues to be unrelenting.” Palantir has been rolling out its Artificial Intelligence Platform, or AIP, and Karp said the company carried out nearly 600 pilots with the technology in 2023, up from fewer than 100 in 2022. “Our results reflect both the strength of our software and the surging demand that we are seeing across industries and sectors for artificial intelligence platforms,” Karp wrote. Palantir said it expects to report between $612 million and $616 million in revenue during its first quarter, and forecast revenue for the full year of $2.65 billion to $2.67 billion. Wall Street was expecting sales of $617 million for the first quarter and $2.66 billion for the year. Palantir, known for its defense and intelligence work with the U.S. government, said its U.S. commercial revenue grew 70% year over year. Palantir said its U.S. commercial customer count increased 55% from 143 customers to 221 customers. In the prior period, Palantir reported its fourth straight quarter of profitability, which means it’s now eligible for inclusion in the S&P 500.