Key Notes
- Palantir’s Q3 revenue rose 96% to $2.313 billion, while GAAP and adjusted diluted earnings both reached $0.44 a share.
- The company raised its 2026 sales outlook to about $8.53 billion and forecast roughly $2.65 billion in fourth-quarter revenue.
- American commercial revenue reached $984 million, surpassing domestic government revenue for the first time.
Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) raised its full-year outlook after third-quarter revenue jumped 96% to $2.313 billion, as demand from American businesses lifted commercial sales above U.S. government revenue for the first time. The results put the software company on course for approximately $8.53 billion in 2026 revenue.
The company reported diluted earnings of $0.44 a share on both a GAAP and adjusted basis. That compares with the $0.41 adjusted EPS and $2.18 billion revenue forecasts cited in a pre-release preview. Revenue exceeded that estimate by approximately 6.1%.
PLTR shares fluctuated after the release, trading at $180.25, up 1.07% from their regular-session close, in a Yahoo Finance snapshot at 21:13 UTC on November 2. The stock had closed at $178.34, down 3.13% for the day. The after-hours reading is an early reaction, rather than the final verdict on the report.
Commercial Sales Overtake Government Revenue
Palantir’s U.S. commercial business generated $984 million in the quarter, an increase of 148% from a year earlier and 29% from the preceding quarter. U.S. government sales rose 96% to $953 million. Commercial revenue exceeded government revenue by $31 million within the American business.
The milestone changes the mix of a company long associated with defense and government work. It also extends the expansion we previously reported after its second-quarter results, when U.S. commercial revenue reached $764 million and management raised its annual forecast.
American commercial customers supplied about 42.5% of total third-quarter revenue, calculated from the reported figures. They also accounted for just over half of U.S. sales. That gives investors a clearer measure of how much corporate adoption now contributes alongside public-sector contracts.
Chief Executive Alex Karp attributed the performance to demand for sovereign AI: software that lets institutions use AI while retaining control over their data, operations and models. That is management’s explanation of the opportunity, rather than a guarantee that the latest growth rates will persist.
Palantir Raises Its Annual Forecast Again
For the fourth quarter, Palantir expects revenue of $2.649 billion–$2.653 billion. The $2.651 billion midpoint implies approximately 14.6% sequential growth from the third quarter. It also puts the next quarterly sales target more than $300 million above the latest result.
Full-year revenue guidance increased to $8.530 billion–$8.534 billion from the $8.150 billion–$8.158 billion range issued in August. The midpoint rose by $378 million, or about 4.6%. The new outlook represents roughly 91% annual growth.
Palantir also raised its annual adjusted operating-income target to $5.245 billion–$5.249 billion and its adjusted free-cash-flow forecast to $4.8 billion–$5 billion. These remain management forecasts for the year, distinct from income and cash already generated.
The successive increases are significant because the company is raising its target from an already elevated base. The Q4 midpoint would exceed the latest quarterly revenue record again, requiring continued customer expansion and contract delivery through year-end.
Profit Growth Comes With an Adjustment Gap
Palantir generated $1.085 billion in GAAP operating income in the third quarter, equivalent to a 47% margin. Adjusted operating income was $1.427 billion, or 62% of revenue. Operating cash flow reached $1.205 billion, while adjusted free cash flow was $1.216 billion.
The approximately $342 million difference between GAAP and adjusted operating income matters when comparing profitability. Palantir excludes stock-based compensation and related employer payroll taxes from its adjusted operating measure. The higher adjusted margin therefore should not be presented as the accounting operating margin.
The matching $0.44 GAAP and adjusted diluted EPS figures do not remove that distinction. Per-share net earnings and operating profit measure different parts of the income statement, and their adjustments can have different effects.
What PLTR Investors Will Watch Next
The report strengthens the evidence that Palantir is turning AI adoption into recognized sales and operating cash. It also raises the performance level against which the next quarter will be judged: sustaining growth matters more once a stronger outlook becomes the new baseline.
Investors will be watching whether commercial expansion continues without weakening profitability, and whether the fourth-quarter forecast translates into delivered revenue. Our earnings calendar tracks the wider reporting season, as results across the sector test the financial returns companies are generating from AI.
