Feb 13, 2023 7:29pm | 3 min read
Palantir Technologies Inc (NYSE:PLTR) shares rose in Monday’s after-hours session as the data software company’s surprise earnings jump eclipsed its poor guidance. Here’s a look at the results and what CEO Alex Karp said after the press.
Q4 Revenue: $508.62 million over $502.25 million Q4 EPS: $0.04 topped estimates of $0.03
Despite Palantir completing its first-ever profitable quarter and continuing to be profitable for 2023, Palantir issued a soft revenue guidance for the year. The company said it had revenue in a range of $503 million to $507 million in the first quarter, versus $520 million estimates. Palantir also forecast full-year 2023 sales of between $2.18 billion and $2.23 billion versus estimates of $2.29 billion.
The data intelligence company has seen a huge increase in customer base, particularly in its US commercial business, which grew nearly 80% year over year.
Watch this: Palantir stock trading strategies before and after Q4 results
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Karp Comments: In a letter to shareholders, the Palantir CEO highlighted the company’s AI advantage as a strong driver for increased momentum. He noted that demand has accelerated in recent months, and he attributed much of the surge to the accelerated adoption of artificial intelligence by companies across myriad industries.
“We expect this new source of demand to contribute to our continued growth beyond what we anticipated at the end of last year,” Karp said.
Although the use of AI in civilian applications is only just beginning to be recognized, Palantir has been using AI on battlefields around the world for some time. This technology essentially rendered traditional military calculus useless, he said.
In the conference call with analysts and shareholders, Karp further noted the company’s AI capabilities. When asked specifically about Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) ChatGPT, Karp told listeners that Palantir is way ahead of much of the competition. He noted that Palantir was exploring use cases for AI when most thought it was just a “PowerPoint bordering on fraud.”
“We gave this a lot of thought and spent the last five years building the core infrastructure you need to run and train AI algorithms,” said Karp.
Palantir’s CEO indicated that it will take other companies “four or five years to build the precursor technologies” needed to introduce AI into enterprise applications.
What else: Palantir shareholders have long been diluted by stock-based compensation, but company executives told Reuters Palantir has cut stock-based compensation and cloud spending in recent months in response to a spending slowdown.
Finally, Karp told CNBC that Palantir had received “some acquisition interest” over the past few months, but he didn’t comment further. The combination of the company turning profitable two years ahead of previous guidance, AI advantage management highlighted on the earnings call, and recent takeover interest appears to be driving buyers into the stock after hours.
Also Read: Kevin O’Leary Says AI Will Be the Fastest Growing Sector in His Portfolio in 2023: How Much He Will Invest
PLTR Price Action: Palantir has a 52-week high of $14.86 and a 52-week low of $5.84.
The shares are up 16.29% after the close of business, to $7.61 at the time of publication on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro.
Photo: Screenshot of Palantir’s Q4 conference call webcast.
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