Palantir raises 2026 guidance

Palantir Technologies raised its full-year 2026 forecast after second-quarter revenue nearly doubled, extending a run of growth that the company has tied to demand for its artificial intelligence software. The company said revenue for the quarter ended June 30 rose 93% to $1.94 billion, above analyst expectations cited by CNBC. Palantir lifted its 2026 revenue guidance to $8.15 billion to $8.16 billion, from a prior range of $7.65 billion to $7.66 billion. (cnbc.com) Shares jumped after the results, according to CNBC and other market coverage. (investors.palantir.com) The new outlook adds to a year in which Palantir has leaned heavily on U.S. commercial customers while continuing to expand its government business. CEO Alex Karp told CNBC after the results that the company’s growth “looks like this is going to go on for at least another 18 months.” The company’s investor materials and recent product announcements have also emphasized “sovereign” and controlled AI deployments for governments and enterprises. ### Where did the quarter beat come from? Palantir’s U.S. commercial business was the clearest driver. (cnbc.com) CNBC reported that U.S. commercial revenue rose 149% from a year earlier to $764 million, while U.S. government revenue increased 90% to $809 million. Those two segments together accounted for most of the company’s acceleration in the quarter. The guidance increase was also broad. CNBC reported that Palantir raised its U.S. commercial revenue outlook for 2026 to more than $3.42 billion, from a prior forecast of $3.22 billion. (cnbc.com) The company also said remaining U.S. commercial deal value more than doubled year over year to $6.24 billion, a measure investors watch for future revenue conversion. ### Why does “AI sovereignty” keep coming up? Palantir has spent much of 2026 framing its pitch around control over data, models and deployment. On its website, Palantir says sovereignty can include on-premise, sovereign-cloud and edge deployments designed to let customers keep control in sensitive environments. (cnbc.com) A June 29 press release announced an engine for deploying NVIDIA Nemotron open models in “sovereign environments,” underscoring that message. Alex Karp has linked that positioning to broader competition in AI. CNBC reported that Karp said Palantir wants more competition among model providers and has argued against overreliance on frontier labs’ token-based model economics. (cnbc.com) That stance fits Palantir’s effort to present itself as the software layer that helps institutions use AI inside their own operating and security constraints. ### How unusual is this level of growth? A 93% revenue increase is unusual for a company of Palantir’s scale. Karp told CNBC, “To my knowledge, no businesses at our scale has even grown half this much.” CNBC also reported net income of $1.07 billion, compared with about $329 million a year earlier, showing that the company remained profitable while expanding. (palantir.com) Palantir had already raised guidance once this year. Its May 4 first-quarter update said the company expected 2026 revenue growth of 71% year over year and lifted U.S. commercial guidance to 120% growth. (cnbc.com) The August increase pushed those expectations higher again after the second-quarter results. ### What are investors watching next? Palantir’s investor relations site lists quarterly earnings materials, shareholder letters and webcasts as the company’s standard reporting cadence. The latest shareholder letter is dated August 3, 2026, and the next scheduled milestone will be the company’s third-quarter 2026 earnings release, which Palantir typically posts through that same channel. (cnbc.com) U.S. commercial growth, government contract momentum and any further changes to the 2026 outlook are likely to remain central when Palantir next reports. Investors will also be watching whether the company continues to tie new customer wins to sovereign and controlled AI deployments, an area Palantir has highlighted across both earnings commentary and product announcements. (palantir.com) (cnbc.com) (palantir.com)