Palantir Technologies Inc. lifted its full-year revenue and profit forecasts after second-quarter sales came in far ahead of Wall Street estimates, with executives describing commercial demand as "otherworldly."
That new range marks an increase from the prior maximum of $4.45 billion.
The rosier outlook helped allay concerns that Palantir might lose ground to AI developers such as Anthropic PBC that sell their own software, or to overseas governments that increasingly prefer domestic technology providers. In his Monday letter to investors, Karp rejected the idea that AI startups could replace his company, warning about the dangers of "letting the models loose within their homes."
This was not just a strong quarter, in Karp's view. "This quarter was otherworldly," he said in prepared remarks Monday. "Such an achievement would be cause for astonishment in any business; for one of our size, scale, and consequence, it is simply staggering."
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He described the result as "staggering."
Palantir first made its name as a secretive Silicon Valley startup building tailored data-analysis tools for US agencies and allied forces. Since Donald Trump took office, the company's leadership - including CEO Alex Karp and CTO Shyam Sankar - has leaned into an America-first image, publishing books on why tech must support the defense industrial base and speaking publicly about AI's role in war.
The company's America-first positioning has drawn attention overseas. Its US government business continues to perform well, yet European leaders want domestic suppliers for security and critical infrastructure. Over the past several months, French and British officials have taken steps to terminate Palantir contracts, with technology sovereignty cited as a reason.
International revenue grew 33% year over year to $362.5 million. US revenue jumped 115%, reaching $1.57 billion. Those numbers underscore how much Palantir's growth now depends on commercial clients in the US, even as its government business remains a strong foundation.
Karp used the quarterly investor letter to present Palantir's software as an alternative to dealing with AI companies directly. "It is for control over data, the prompts that the models ingest, and more fundamentally the organizational and business intelligence, their alpha, that the language labs are not only ready and willing but structurally designed to capture from their customers," Karp said. "Our customers have declined to become vassal states of the language labs."
Palantir's early government work remains a foundation, but the latest figures show its US commercial business driving growth. The company is also positioning its software as a way for clients to control data and prompts, rather than relying on AI labs. The raised guidance suggests that bet is paying off, at least in the short term, and that Palantir sees enough momentum in its commercial pipeline to expect even more profit and revenue for the rest of the year. The strong reaction in after-hours trading indicates investors were particularly encouraged by the scale of the US commercial acceleration.
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