Palantir Technologies Inc. ($PLTR)
AI/Defense/Government Software | Gotham · Foundry · AIP · Apollo | Rule of 40: 127
Sources: SEC EDGAR 10-K (FY2025, filed Feb 17 2026; FY2024), Q4 FY2025 Earnings Release & Call (Feb 2, 2026). CIK: 0001321655
Company Overview & Thesis
Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: $PLTR) is an enterprise and government software company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 2003, it builds data integration, analytics, and AI deployment platforms used by intelligence agencies, defense departments, and large commercial enterprises globally. Market capitalization is approximately $340B as of mid-2026.
The company operates four primary platforms: Gotham (intelligence/defense analytics for government), Foundry (enterprise data fabric for commercial customers), Apollo (software deployment orchestration across classified, edge, and cloud environments), and AIP — the Artificial Intelligence Platform launched in 2023 that integrates large language models and generative AI into production operations.
The central strategic thesis: Palantir is the only large-scale enterprise software company that has built — over 20+ years — the ontological data layer, security architecture (Apollo), and operational deployment methodology required to run AI models on classified government networks and complex enterprise environments. AIP collapsed the time-to-value for new commercial customers and created compounding U.S. commercial revenue acceleration that drove FY2025 total revenue to $4.475B (+56% YoY) with GAAP profitability.
Revenue & Financial Metrics
| Metric | FY2025 | FY2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Revenue | $4,475.4M | $2,865.5M | +56% YoY |
| Cost of Revenue | $789.2M | $566.0M | +39% |
| Gross Profit | $3,686.3M | $2,299.5M | +60% |
| Gross Margin | 82.4% | 80.2% | +220 bps |
| Sales & Marketing | $1,056.9M | $887.8M | +19% |
| Research & Development | $557.7M | $507.9M | +10% |
| General & Administrative | $657.7M | $593.5M | +11% |
| Total Operating Expenses | $2,272.3M | $1,989.1M | +14% |
| GAAP Income from Operations | $1,414.0M | $310.4M | +356% |
| GAAP Operating Margin | 31.6% | 10.8% | +2,080 bps |
| Adjusted Income from Operations | $2,254.1M | $1,128.1M | +100% |
| Adjusted Operating Margin | 50.3% | 39.4% | +1,090 bps |
| Interest Income | $229.2M | $196.8M | +16% |
| GAAP Net Income | $1,625.0M | $462.2M | +252% |
| GAAP Net Margin | 36.3% | 16.1% | +2,020 bps |
| Adjusted Net Income | $1,915.6M | $1,001.8M | +91% |
| Adjusted EBITDA | $2,280.2M | $1,159.6M | +97% |
| Adjusted EBITDA Margin | 51.0% | 40.5% | +1,050 bps |
| GAAP EPS (Diluted) | $0.63 | $0.19 | +232% |
| Adjusted EPS (Diluted) | $0.75 | $0.41 | +83% |
| Stock-Based Compensation | $684.0M | $691.6M | -1% |
| D&A | $26.1M | $31.6M | -17% |
| Metric | FY2025 | FY2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash from Operations | $2,134.5M (48% margin) | $1,153.9M (40% margin) |
| Adjusted Free Cash Flow | $2,270.4M (51% margin) | $1,249.2M (44% margin) |
| CapEx (Property & Equipment) | $33.9M | $12.6M |
| Purchases of Marketable Securities (net) | ($2,675.7M net) | ($322.4M net) |
| Metric | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash & Cash Equivalents | $1,423.8M | $2,098.5M |
| Marketable Securities | $5,753.2M | $3,131.5M |
| Total Cash + Securities | $7,177.0M | $5,230.0M |
| Accounts Receivable, net | $1,042.1M | $575.0M |
| Total Current Assets | $8,358.2M | $5,934.3M |
| Total Assets | $8,900.4M | $6,340.9M |
| Deferred Revenue (current) | $409.0M | $259.6M |
| Customer Deposits (current) | $357.1M | $265.3M |
| Total Liabilities | $1,412.4M | $1,246.5M |
| Total Equity | $7,488.0M | $5,094.4M |
| Accumulated Deficit | ($3,562.4M) | ($5,187.4M) |
| Shares (Basic, wtd-avg) | 2,369.6M | 2,250.2M |
| Shares (Diluted, wtd-avg) | 2,565.2M | 2,450.8M |
Key Business Segments — AIP / Gotham / Foundry / Apollo
Note: Palantir does not disclose platform-level (Gotham/Foundry/AIP) revenue in SEC filings. Revenue is reported by geography (U.S./International) and customer type (Government/Commercial).
| Segment | FY2025 | FY2024 | YoY | % of Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Commercial | $1,465.0M | $702.0M | +109% YoY | 32.7% |
| U.S. Government | $1,855.0M | $1,197.0M | +55% YoY | 41.4% |
| U.S. Total | $3,320.0M | $1,899.0M | +75% YoY | 74.2% |
| International (derived) | $1,155.4M | $966.5M | +20% YoY | 25.8% |
| Government Segment (all geo) | ~$2,416.7M | ~$1,993.2M | +21% YoY* | 54% |
| Commercial Segment (all geo) | ~$2,058.7M | ~$872.3M | +136% YoY* | 46% |
Palantir Gotham is the original platform, deployed within intelligence agencies, law enforcement, and defense departments. It fuses structured and unstructured data sources — signals intelligence, imagery, documents, field reports — into a unified operational picture. Gotham underlies the U.S. Army's Maven Smart System (AI targeting/ISR), multiple Five Eyes intelligence networks, and DoD data platforms. Revenue is embedded in the U.S. Government and International Government buckets. Classified deployments are handled via Apollo for air-gapped network delivery.
Palantir Foundry is the enterprise data operations platform, enabling organizations to build a unified ontology — a live, operational model of a business — and deploy data pipelines, analytics, and AI applications on top of it. Foundry customers include industrial companies, healthcare organizations, financial institutions, and energy companies. The Thomas Kavanaugh Construction quote ('97% of our employees use Foundry every day. Foundry is our operating system') illustrates the platform's depth of integration. Revenue sits in the U.S. Commercial and International Commercial segments.
The Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) launched in 2023 enables organizations to deploy large language models and generative AI on top of Foundry's ontology with full data security and auditability. AIP's Boot Camp go-to-market methodology collapses enterprise sales cycles from 6-12 months to weeks, enabling customers to see live production value before full contract signing. U.S. commercial revenue grew 137% YoY in Q4 2025 — sequential acceleration from +93% in Q2 and +121% in Q3 — driven primarily by AIP expansion. Healthcare customer example: two boot camps → $96M contract signed within the same year.
Apollo is Palantir's continuous deployment and orchestration system that manages the installation, updating, and operation of Gotham, Foundry, and AIP across classified government networks, air-gapped environments, cloud, and edge deployments. Apollo is the infrastructure layer that makes it possible for Palantir to guarantee SLA compliance across heterogeneous environments — including weapons systems, tactical edge, and sovereign cloud. It is not separately monetized; it is a moat-reinforcing capability that differentiates Palantir from software vendors unable to operate in classified and disconnected environments.
| Period | Total Rev. | U.S. Comm. | U.S. Gov. | Adj. IOps | Rule of 40 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 2024 | $827.5M (+36% YoY) | $214M (+64%) | $343M (+45%) | $372.5M (45%) | 81 |
| Q1 2025 | $884M (+39% YoY) | ~$255M (+93%) | ~$373M (+45%) | ~$391M (44%) | ~83 |
| Q2 2025 | ~$1,040M (~63% YoY) | ~$309M (+93%) | ~$426M (+53%) | ~$479M (~46%) | ~109 |
| Q3 2025 | ~$1,144M (~63% YoY) | ~$397M (+121%) | ~$486M (+52%) | ~$586M (~51%) | ~114 |
| Q4 2025 | $1,406.8M (+70% YoY) | $507M (+137%) | $570M (+66%) | $798.5M (57%) | 127 |
Q1-Q3 2025 values derived from cumulative FY2025 disclosures. All Q4 figures are exact from the Feb 2, 2026 earnings release.
SEC Filing Key Findings
In FY2025, 54% of $4.5B revenue came from government customers, 46% from commercial — a marked commercial shift from FY2024's ~70/30 split. U.S. share of total revenue rose to 74.2% from 66.3%.
FY2025 10-K, filed Feb 17, 2026 (CIK: 0001321655)
GAAP income from operations reached $1.414B in FY2025, up from $310.4M in FY2024. The company committed to GAAP operating and net income in each quarter of FY2026. GAAP operating margin expanded from 10.8% to 31.6% YoY.
FY2025 10-K / Q4 2025 Earnings Release, Feb 2026
Palantir's four principal software platforms are: Gotham (intelligence/defense), Foundry (enterprise data operations), Apollo (deployment orchestration across classified/cloud environments), and AIP (Artificial Intelligence Platform). Revenue is not separately disclosed by platform in SEC filings.
FY2025 10-K (Business Overview), FY2024 10-K
Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term U.S. Treasury securities: $7.177B as of December 31, 2025. Zero long-term debt. The company generated $2.134B in operating cash flow during FY2025.
FY2025 10-K Balance Sheet
Total SBC was $684.0M in FY2025 (vs $691.6M in FY2024). SBC as a % of revenue compressed sharply from 24.1% to 15.3% as revenue scaled, a critical leverage point for GAAP profitability improvement.
FY2025 10-K / Q4 2025 Earnings Release
Deferred revenue (current) increased to $409.0M from $259.6M (+57.5% YoY) and customer deposits rose to $357.1M from $265.3M (+34.6% YoY) — indicating growing prepayment velocity and backlog confidence.
FY2025 10-K Balance Sheet
The majority of government contracts contain termination-for-convenience provisions. FY2025 U.S. government revenue: $1.855B (+55% YoY). Single-customer concentration in the U.S. federal government remains a material risk factor disclosed in the 10-K.
FY2025 10-K Risk Factors
Accumulated deficit improved materially: ($3.562B) as of Dec 31, 2025, compared to ($5.187B) as of Dec 31, 2024 — reflecting $1.625B net income in FY2025.
FY2025 10-K Balance Sheet
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 2025 Total TCV Bookings | $4.262B | Q4 2025 | Q4 2025 Earnings Release, Feb 2, 2026 |
| TCV YoY Growth | +138% | Q4 2025 | Q4 2025 Earnings Release |
| U.S. Commercial TCV (Q4) | $1.344B | Q4 2025 | Q4 2025 Earnings Release |
| U.S. Commercial RDV | $4.38B | Dec 31, 2025 | Q4 2025 Earnings Release |
| U.S. Commercial RDV YoY | +145% | vs Dec 31, 2024 | Q4 2025 Earnings Release |
| Deals Closed >$1M (Q4) | 180 | Q4 2025 | Q4 2025 Earnings Release |
| Deals Closed >$5M (Q4) | 84 | Q4 2025 | Q4 2025 Earnings Release |
| Deals Closed >$10M (Q4) | 61 | Q4 2025 | Q4 2025 Earnings Release |
| Total Customer Count | 954 | Dec 31, 2025 | Q4 2025 Earnings Release |
| Customer Count YoY Growth | +34% | vs Dec 31, 2024 | Q4 2025 Earnings Release |
| Top 20 Customers TTM Revenue | $94M per customer | Q4 2025 TTM | Q4 2025 Earnings Call |
| Top 20 TTM Revenue YoY | +45% | vs prior year | Q4 2025 Earnings Call |
| Rule of 40 Score | 127 | Q4 2025 | Q4 2025 Earnings Release |
| Rule of 40 YoY Change | +46 points | vs Q4 2024 (score: 81) | Q4 2025 Earnings Call |
Earnings Call Intelligence
Source: Q4 FY2025 Earnings Call, February 2, 2026. Speakers: Alexander C. Karp (CEO), Shyam Sankar (President), David Glazer (CFO), Ryan Taylor (CRO).
Palantir's Rule of 40 score is now an incredible 127%. Last quarter, our U.S. revenue grew 93% year-over-year and U.S. commercial revenue grew 137% year-over-year. We are also announcing a 2026 revenue growth guide of 61% year-over-year. We are an n of 1, and these numbers prove it.
Q4 FY2025 Earnings Release Statement, February 2, 2026 — Announcing full-year and Q4 2025 results.
In Q4, overall revenue surged 70% year over year, our highest growth rate as a public company, propelled by the relentless momentum of our US business, which now commands 77% of our total revenue, up 93% year over year and 22% sequentially. Our rule of 40 score reached new heights at 127.
Q4 FY2025 Earnings Call, February 2, 2026 — Opening prepared remarks summarizing Q4 2025 performance.
Full year 2025 adjusted operating income was $2.3 billion, representing a margin of 50% and expansion of 1,100 basis points compared to 2024. We're guiding the full year 2026 revenue of $7.19 billion at the midpoint, representing 61% growth year over year.
Q4 FY2025 Earnings Call, February 2, 2026 — Presenting FY2025 full-year results and FY2026 guidance.
These numbers are extraordinary because they're fully organic. They're not just organic because we don't do acquisitions. We don't do acquisitions because we are a thick dense culture.
Q4 FY2025 Earnings Call, February 2, 2026 — Responding to analyst question about growth sustainability.
We closed 61 deals over $10 million. That's because of the impact we're delivering to customers. We're the only one that's delivering that leverage impact from the models with the ontology, with the FD, with our products in those organizations.
Q4 FY2025 Earnings Call, February 2, 2026 — Discussing enterprise deal velocity and differentiation.
Strip OS, of course, we're starting with the sub fleet, but people are asking us to help with all sorts of different weapon systems, fighters, bombers, surface vessels, drones, weapons themselves, munitions. And it's a big area for us that spans not only the production of the weapon but also sustainment of them.
Q4 FY2025 Earnings Call, February 2, 2026 — Describing Warp Speed defense platform expansion into the U.S. defense industrial base.
| Metric | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 Revenue | $1.532B - $1.536B | Q1 2026 |
| Q1 2026 Adj. Income from Operations | $870M - $874M | Q1 2026 |
| FY2026 Revenue | $7.182B - $7.198B (~61% YoY at midpoint) | FY2026 |
| FY2026 U.S. Commercial Revenue | $3.144B+ (+115% YoY at minimum) | FY2026 |
| FY2026 Adj. Income from Operations | $4.126B - $4.142B | FY2026 |
| FY2026 Adjusted FCF | $3.925B - $4.125B | FY2026 |
| GAAP Profitability | Operating income & net income in each quarter | FY2026 |
Risk Factors
54% of FY2025 revenue derives from government customers. Most government contracts are subject to termination for convenience, budget appropriation uncertainties, and annual renewal cycles. Changes in federal budget priorities, sequestration, or continuing resolutions create revenue timing risk.
A small number of large government customers represent a disproportionate share of revenue. Top 20 customers averaged $94M TTM revenue per customer — meaning adverse changes at even one large client would have meaningful revenue impact.
Enterprise and government procurement cycles remain long and unpredictable, making quarter-to-quarter revenue forecasting difficult. Large deals can shift between quarters, causing guidance risk.
International revenue grew only ~20% YoY in FY2025 vs. U.S. revenue growth of 75%. Management noted on the Q4 2025 call that European procurement structures are not well-suited to adopting advanced AI platforms. International revenue fell to 25.8% of total from 33.7% in FY2024.
Palantir competes with hyperscalers (AWS, Azure, GCP), large enterprise software vendors, and AI-focused startups for both government and commercial contracts. Large platforms can bundle AI offerings at low marginal cost.
Significant portion of government work involves classified environments and export-controlled technology. Changes to ITAR, EAR, FOCI regulations, or FedRAMP requirements could restrict customer expansion or increase compliance costs.
SBC totaled $684M in FY2025. Diluted share count was 2.565B. While SBC as a % of revenue improved dramatically, equity compensation remains a substantial non-cash expense and a source of ongoing dilution.
TCV and RDV represent total potential contract value and may not convert to recognized revenue if customers exercise termination-for-convenience provisions, reduce scope, or fail to satisfy payment conditions. RDV exclusions for impaired customers are applied at management's discretion.
Competitive Positioning
Palantir competes across two distinct markets with different competitive dynamics. In government/defense, competitors include Booz Allen Hamilton, CACI, SAIC, and Leidos — but these are primarily services firms rather than software platforms. No other company has equivalent classified network deployment infrastructure (Apollo) or the operational intelligence data fabric (Gotham) at scale within the intelligence community and DoD.
In commercial enterprise AI, Palantir competes with cloud hyperscalers (AWS SageMaker, Azure OpenAI Service, Google Vertex AI), Databricks, Snowflake, and pure-play AI startups. The differentiator Palantir cites is the ontological data model — Foundry's semantic layer that maps enterprise data to real-world entities and relationships — which makes AI outputs auditable, traceable, and actionable in production, rather than pilot-only.
| Dimension | Palantir | Hyperscalers | Defense IT Contractors | AI Startups |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classified Network Deployment | ✓ Apollo | Limited | Custom builds | No |
| Ontological Data Model | ✓ Foundry/AIP | No | No | Rarely |
| Government Revenue Base | $2.42B FY2025 | Large but fragmented | Dominant | Minimal |
| GAAP Profitability | Yes (FY2025) | Yes | Yes | Mostly No |
| AI Boot Camp / Fast Onboarding | ✓ AIP | No | No | Some |
| Organic Growth (no M&A) | 100% organic | Mixed | M&A-driven | Organic |
Verikal Assessment
Palantir delivered $4.475B in FY2025 revenue (+56% YoY), with GAAP net income of $1.625B and adjusted operating income of $2.254B at a 50% margin. The Rule of 40 score reached 127 in Q4 2025, combining 70% revenue growth with a 57% adjusted operating margin — a combination with no direct peer in enterprise software. Cash and short-term securities reached $7.177B with zero long-term debt.
The U.S. commercial business is the primary growth engine: $1.465B in FY2025 revenue, up 109% YoY, driven by AIP. Q4 2025 U.S. commercial revenue grew 137% YoY and accelerated sequentially through every quarter of the year (93% in Q2, 121% in Q3, 137% in Q4). AIP's Boot Camp go-to-market approach collapsed enterprise sales cycles from months to weeks, enabling customers to start with $80M-$96M initial contracts. U.S. commercial RDV stood at $4.38B at year-end — +145% YoY — providing strong forward revenue visibility.
The government segment (54% of revenue, ~$2.42B) remains the revenue anchor. U.S. government grew 55% YoY to $1.855B, driven by platforms including Gotham (intelligence/defense), Maven Smart System (military AI), Warp Speed (defense industrial base), and Strip OS (submarine fleet sustainment). The company provides software infrastructure to U.S. military operations across classified and unclassified networks. Termination-for-convenience clauses in government contracts represent the most material near-term revenue risk. International growth (20% YoY) remains structurally constrained by procurement barriers in European allied nations.
FY2026 guidance calls for $7.19B in revenue (+61% YoY at midpoint) and $4.13B in adjusted income from operations — implying continued GAAP profitability in every quarter. SBC as a percentage of revenue compressed from 24.1% in FY2024 to 15.3% in FY2025, the primary driver of GAAP margin expansion. U.S. commercial revenue guidance of $3.144B+ implies 115%+ growth, contingent on AIP demand sustaining above-consensus velocity. The FY2026 guidance at 61% growth represents an upward revision from the initial FY2025 guidance of ~31% growth — a pattern of consistent guide-and-beat characteristic of this management team.
Sources & Methodology
All financial data sourced from SEC EDGAR: Palantir Technologies Inc. (CIK: 0001321655) 10-K Annual Report for fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (filed February 17, 2026, Acc-no: 0001321655-26-000011); 10-K Annual Report for fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 (filed February 18, 2025, Acc-no: 0001321655-25-000022); Exhibit 99.1 Q4 FY2025 Earnings Press Release (filed February 2, 2026, Acc-no: 0001321655-26-000004). Management quotes sourced from the Q4 FY2025 Earnings Call Transcript (February 2, 2026). All figures reflect the most recently reported period as of the report date. Derived figures (International revenue, segment approximations) are computed from disclosed data. No forward projections or price targets are provided.