Data mining company Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR.US) issued a fiscal 2026 revenue outlook that far surpassed Wall Street expectations, injecting a strong boost into its lackluster stock performance this year. In a statement released Monday, the Denver-based company forecasted full-year revenue to reach between $7.18 billion and $7.2 billion, dramatically exceeding the analyst consensus estimate of $6.27 billion. Its sales forecast for the current quarter of approximately $1.53 billion also beat market expectations. Following the announcement, the stock surged about 8% in after-hours trading. Prior to this, the stock had declined 29% from its peak last November and was down 17% year-to-date for 2026. Despite this, the stock still trades at a lofty price-to-earnings ratio of approximately 141 times, placing it among the highest in the S&P 500 index constituents. As of the latest update, the stock was up 5.6% in pre-market trading. According to the statement, the company, which relies on government contracts for the majority of its U.S. revenue, saw its fourth-quarter revenue surge 70% year-over-year to $1.41 billion, with earnings per share of 25 cents also surpassing the average estimate of 23 cents. Recently, Palantir became a focus of public debate due to its role assisting the Trump administration's policy of large-scale immigrant removals. Controversy continued to escalate after federal agents shot and killed two protesters in Minneapolis. The company has long provided services to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), assisting in building individual profiles. Its defense business spans multiple governments, its commercial business is experiencing robust growth, and it has become one of the biggest public market beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence boom. Over the past two years, Palantir's stock price has soared nearly 800%, increasing its market capitalization by approximately $315 billion. Late last year, hedge fund manager Michael Burry, famous for shorting the subprime mortgage crisis, disclosed a short position against Palantir, causing the stock price to fall. He had posted on social media platform X warning of the risks of an AI bubble. In the company's letter to shareholders, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Alexander Karp, invoking the intellectual legacy of American historian Christopher Lasch, referred to the company's accelerating revenue growth as a "cosmic-level return" for its supporters. He described Palantir's software systems, used by government agencies like ICE and the Department of Defense, as being "able to prevent the state from unconstitutionally intruding into the private lives of citizens," but did not specify the technical implementation. The Palantir application ELITE, procured by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, provides ICE enforcement officers with actionable data, including AI-extracted addresses. Monday's earnings report also showed that Palantir's fourth-quarter revenue in both the U.S. government and commercial sectors exceeded expectations: government revenue was $570 million (versus an expected $521.5 million), and commercial revenue was $507 million (versus an expected $478.7 million).
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