Palantir: A Perfectly Good Company, Probably

Palantir [PLTR 1.22%] is, let’s admit, a bit of a puzzle. Some folks see a software company that’s also inexplicably good at wrangling artificial intelligence. Others just shake their heads, muttering about valuations. So it goes.

They call it Wall Street’s most hated stock. Which, honestly, sounds like a perfectly good reason to take a closer look. Of the analysts offering opinions – and people are always offering opinions – only 23% suggest buying it. The other 77%? They’ve moved on to less troublesome investments, like beanie babies or hope.

The arguing will continue, of course. It always does. But in the short term, I suspect Palantir is about to offer a small surprise. Not a pleasant surprise, necessarily. Just a surprise. Everything is temporary, you know.

An Object in Motion

Sir Isaac Newton, a man who clearly had too much time on his hands, observed that things keep moving unless something stops them. A simple idea, really. And applicable to Palantir. They’ve been moving, and I suspect they’ll keep moving, at least for a little while.

The numbers, if you insist on numbers, are mildly impressive. Revenue has grown by about 700% since they went public in 2019. Net income? Up 1,320%. It’s not magic, it’s just compounding. And compounding, like everything else, eventually stops.

More interesting is that the revenue growth has been accelerating. They released their Artificial Intelligence Platform, and suddenly things sped up. It integrates with existing business systems – sales, shipping, finance – and spits out solutions. Real-time solutions, they say. As if time itself isn’t a problem we should be addressing.

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Palantir is guiding for roughly $1.33 billion in revenue when they report Q4 results on February 2nd. That’s 61% growth year-over-year. They’ve also raised their full-year outlook for U.S. commercial revenue to 104% growth, including the AIP. They usually beat expectations, so take that as you will. It’s all just a game, really.

Given their track record, I think Palantir’s about to surprise everyone. Not with world peace, of course. Just a slightly better-than-expected quarterly report. And then, the relentless march of time will continue. So it goes.

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2026-01-27 08:32