Peter Thiel, co-founder and chairman of Palantir Technologies Inc., pauses during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, Nov. 18, 2019.
Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Palantir, the maker of software and analytics tools for the defense industry and large corporations, reported 49% revenue growth for its first quarter, beating Wall Street estimates. It also came in line with top-line estimates.
Shares fell more than 6% in the premarket.
Here are the key numbers:
- Earnings per share: 4 cents, adjusted vs. 4 cents expected, according to a Refinitiv survey of analysts
- Revenue: $341 million vs. $332.2 million expected, per Refinitiv
Co-founded in 2003 by Peter Thiel, Joe Lonsdale, CEO Alex Karp and others, Palantir has built its business largely on lucrative government deals for its data analytics software. The company said U.S. government revenue gained 83% year-over-year. It also beefed up its commercial segment during the quarter, with strong growth in the U.S. Commercial revenue in the States was up 72% year-over-year.
The company said average revenue per customer grew to $8.1 million. In its fourth quarter report, the company said average revenue for 2020 came to $7.9 million. As of this past quarter, Palantir has 149 customers. The company first disclosed in its prospectus last fall it had 125 customers in the first half of 2020.
Palantir partly attributed the quarter’s growth to economic recovery U.S. and U.K., which helped boost commercial growth.
Palantir said it expects to earn $360 million in revenue in its second quarter. That’s higher than Refinitiv analyst estimates of $344.3 million. For the full fiscal year, the company anticipates adjusted free cash flow in excess of $150 million. The company also reaffirmed that it expects annual revenue growth of 30% or more for 2021 through 2025.
The company went public last September through a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange with an opening trade of $10 per share. The initial price gave Palantir a market cap of $16.5 billion, and the company has since shot up in value. It was worth $30.44 billion as of Monday’s close.
