Palantir soars 24% to record as AI powers strong earnings and guidance

Palantir surged more than 24% on Tuesday to a record high after reporting stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter results and guidance driven by ongoing artificial intelligence gains.

The company’s shares have skyrocketed 36% since the start of the year and were on pace for their best day in nearly a year. The move pushed its market capitalization within close range of IBM and Cisco Systems.

The Denver-based software company posted adjusted earnings of 14 cents per share and $828 million in revenue. That topped the 11 cents per share and revenue of $776 million expected by analysts polled by LSEG.

Palantir also issued upbeat guidance for the current quarter and full year. In the first quarter, the company forecast revenue between $858 million and $862 million. The LSEG estimate called for $799 million. The company projects sales of $3.74 billion to $3.76 billion for the full year, ahead of a $3.52 billion estimate.

The software company has been on a record run, with its shares surging 340% in 2024 as its AI platform gained traction amid ongoing investor excitement around the technology trend. Palantir provides software and technology services and is most widely known for its work with defense agencies.

In a letter to shareholders, co-founder and CEO Alex Karp called the momentum within its commercial and government segments “unlike anything that has come before.”

The company reported 64% growth in its U.S. commercial revenue, while U.S. government revenue rose 45% year over year. Palantir forecast 54% U.S. commercial sales growth in 2025.

“We are at the way beginning of our trajectory, we are at the way beginning of a revolution, and we plan to be a cornerstone — if not the cornerstone company — and driving this revolution in the U.S. over the next three to five years,” Karp said during the earnings call.

Karp said Palantir is “very long America” and at the forefront of making the country “more lethal” to scare off adversaries.

His comments come after DeepSeek’s climb in popularity last week shook financial markets and raised concerns about the high costs associated with AI models.

“Hopefully it wakes America up,” Karp told CNBC’s Morgan Brennan. “Just because we’re the first mover and we have the best tech scene, and we’re the inventors and we’re the builders, doesn’t mean adversaries can’t copy, and we have to just keep running.”

Several Wall Street firms lifted their price targets on the stock in the wake of the report. Bank of America’s Mariana Perez Mora called the company an AI “value adder” and lifted her price target, while Morgan Stanley upgraded the shares to equal weight from underweight,

“Given the strength of the outlook, we acknowledge that we were wrong about our core fundamental catalyst of slowing growth below the 30% level due to the tougher compares in 2025,” wrote analyst Sanjit Singh. “This leaves us with valuation as the primary remaining concern.”