stockrowWhat it does
Palantir builds software that helps organizations bring together data, decisions and operations. Its customers include government agencies and commercial businesses. The company was founded in 2003, is headquartered in Miami and is led by Chief Executive Officer Alexander Karp.
Its four principal platforms are Gotham, Foundry, Apollo and the Artificial Intelligence Platform, or AIP. Gotham helps defense and intelligence users combine information from different sources to support operations. Foundry helps organizations connect and analyze data, build applications and manage workflows. All commercial customers and many government customers use Foundry.
AIP connects customers’ data and operations to large language models and other AI tools. It includes tools for building AI agents and automations, as well as controls for reviewing and governing their use. Apollo helps customers deploy and update software across cloud, on-premises and other environments.
A feature called the Ontology maps an organization’s data to its business context, including the logic and actions associated with decisions. Different users can work with that shared representation to build connected workflows. Customers can use the platforms together as an ecosystem, and Apollo can also be used to manage deployment of customers’ own software.
Palantir builds software for customers to use with data they can already access; it does not collect, mine or sell that data as its business. Its platforms include access controls and audit tools intended to help customers govern how information is used.
How it makes money
Customers pay Palantir to use its software platforms. Contracts generally run for one to five years, although some are shorter, and revenue is generally recognized evenly over the contract term. Many contracts allow customers to terminate them for convenience. The amount and timing of customer billings and payments vary by contract.
Palantir generated $4.5 billion in revenue for the year ended December 31, 2025.
The company has government and commercial operating segments. Government primarily serves U.S. and non-U.S. government agencies, while commercial primarily serves customers in non-government industries. Its platforms can be bundled: AIP works with Foundry, Gotham and Apollo, while Apollo can also support the deployment of customers’ own software.
Palantir seeks large government and commercial opportunities and uses an account-based sales force to find customers and further opportunities. It also runs pilots and bootcamps, generally at its own expense and without a guarantee of future returns. AIP bootcamps let prospective customers develop workflows using their own data in days.
Within existing accounts, Palantir sells additional software capabilities and implementations for specific uses. It can expand a contract across more divisions or functions, or add users and user groups within an institution. Partnerships with cloud providers and other organizations can also broaden distribution.
Contract value is not necessarily the same as future revenue. Some agreements include customer options or termination rights, and Palantir may not realize their full deal value. Revenue recognition can also be seasonal because the company has historically executed many contracts in the third and fourth quarters.
| Segment | Revenue, FY2025 | Share | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Government Operating Segment | $2.4 billion | 53.7% | 53.1% |
| Commercial | $2.1 billion | 46.3% | 60.0% |
Customers and how it sells
Palantir serves government agencies and commercial organizations across a range of industries. Its software is used by people including utility analysts, manufacturing workers, pharmaceutical researchers, public health administrators and military personnel. During the trailing twelve months ended December 31, 2025, it had 954 customers, compared with 711 in the corresponding period ended December 31, 2024.
For large government institutions, separately contracting and invoiced divisions or agencies can count as separate customers. Palantir defines a customer as an organization from which it recognized revenue during the trailing twelve-month period.
In 2025, 54% of revenue came from government customers and 46% from commercial customers. Customers in the United States accounted for 74% of revenue, with 26% coming from customers abroad. The average revenue from Palantir’s top twenty customers was $93.9 million during the trailing twelve months ended December 31, 2025.
Palantir sells through its own account-based sales force and works directly with customers on implementation and development. Cloud partnerships give it access to providers’ existing customer bases, and the company also explores channel sales relationships. Its Developer Tier offers limited access to Foundry and AIP in the United States and select countries.
| Segment | Revenue, FY2025 | Share | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Government Operating Segment | $2.4 billion | 53.7% | 53.1% |
| Commercial | $2.1 billion | 46.3% | 60.0% |
Suppliers and costs
Palantir depends on third-party computing infrastructure and technology, and its platforms must work with third-party products and services. AIP connects to large language models supplied by others. Palantir also partners with providers of public, private and hybrid cloud services; those relationships developed in part from the computing requirements of its platforms.
Its costs include delivering its platforms, sales and marketing, research and development, and general administration. Research and development staff design, develop, test and refine the platforms, including by working directly with users. Palantir also invests in sales staff and generally bears the cost of customer pilots and bootcamps.
For the year ended December 31, 2025, gross margin was 82%, and income from operations was $1.4 billion. Palantir expects costs of revenue and operating expenses to increase as it expands, hires, upgrades infrastructure and invests in areas including research and development and sales and marketing.
The company had 4,429 full-time employees as of December 31, 2025. It also uses part-time employees, independent contractors and third-party personnel.
- Revenue$4.5B
- Cost of revenue−$789.2M
- Research and development−$557.7M
- Selling, general and administrative−$1.7B
- Operating income$1.4B
Competitive position
Palantir competes with customers’ own software development efforts. Organizations may try to build data platforms using a mixture of custom software, outside consultants, IT services, packaged and open-source software, and internal IT staff. Palantir also competes with enterprise software companies, government contractors, system integrators and emerging companies. It does not name individual competing companies.
The company identifies platform functionality, security and privacy, deployment speed, innovation, pricing, customer support and reputation as competitive factors. Some competitors have larger customer bases, sales budgets or financial and technical resources, as well as more established partner relationships.
Our reading: The integration of data, decisions and operational workflows can support a meaningful advantage when customers build their processes around the platforms, although the available information does not establish how often customers switch away.
Our reading: Experience deploying software in complex environments can be a barrier to entry, because such projects can involve high installation costs, failure risk and long sales cycles. Those same conditions can also make Palantir’s own sales and implementations difficult.
Our reading: Intellectual property offers some protection, but its strength is difficult to gauge: Palantir uses patents, trade secrets and contracts, while saying it is not dependent on any particular patent.
Growth opportunities
Palantir generated $4.5 billion in revenue in 2025, up from $2.9 billion in 2024. Government segment revenue was $2.4 billion in FY2025 and grew 53.1% from FY2024. Commercial revenue was $2.1 billion in FY2025 and grew 60.0% from FY2024.
The company is seeking to broaden access to its platforms across both commercial and government customers. AIP bootcamps introduce prospective customers to workflows built with their own data, while the Developer Tier gives developers limited access to Foundry and AIP without substantial upfront enterprise costs. Palantir has also invested in an account-based sales force.
At existing customers, Palantir seeks to sell additional capabilities and extend use across departments, functions and user groups. It is developing industry operating systems and partnerships intended to distribute its software across institutions in sectors such as healthcare, telecommunications, automotive and government. Cloud and channel partnerships offer another route to customers.
Palantir is investing in research and development to broaden platform capabilities, including software and models deployed in disconnected environments and integrations with hardware. It is also identifying components embedded in its platforms that could potentially be sold on their own. The company intends to capture a greater share of U.S. federal government spending on software systems, while continuing to expand in commercial markets.
- $1.5BFY2021
- $1.9BFY2022
- $2.2BFY2023
- $2.9BFY2024
- $4.5BFY2025
- $8.5BFY2026 guidance
Structural risks
- A limited number of customers account for a substantial portion of revenue. Many contracts can be terminated for convenience, and Palantir may not realize their full deal value. Customer options may also go unexercised.
- Government sales depend on budgets, spending priorities and procurement decisions. Contract awards can be delayed, and changes in public-sector contracting or fiscal policies may affect Palantir’s ability to maintain or receive contracts.
- Sales efforts can require considerable time and expense, with long and unpredictable sales cycles. The platforms are complex and may require lengthy implementation. Palantir may also be unable to sustain revenue growth or maintain profitability as expenses rise.
- Third-party infrastructure or technology can fail, and breaches or unauthorized access could affect Palantir, its customers or third parties. Defects in the platforms and difficulties replacing third-party technology are also risks.
- AI use may result in reputational harm or liability, while privacy, data protection and security laws are complex and evolving. Palantir may not successfully develop or deploy new technology to meet customer needs.
- The multi-class share structure and founder voting agreements concentrate voting power with Stephen Cohen, Alexander Karp, Peter Thiel and their affiliates. Results and business measures may also fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter.
Leadership
Palantir’s multi-class share structure and founder voting agreements concentrate voting power with founders Stephen Cohen, Alexander Karp and Peter Thiel and their affiliates.
| Name | Role | Since | Total pay, FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander KarpChief Executive Officer | — | $8.6 million | |
| Stephen CohenPresident & | Secretary | — | $1.0 million |
| Shyam SankarChief Technology Officer & Executive | Vice President | — | $1.2 million |
| David GlazerChief Financial Officer & | Treasurer | — | $28.0 million |
| Ryan TaylorChief Revenue Officer and | Chief Legal Officer | — | $28.0 million |
Bottom line
Our reading
Our reading: Palantir is a software business built around embedding data and AI tools into customers’ operations, with revenue generally recognized over multiyear contracts. Our reading: Its opportunities include expanding existing accounts and reaching more commercial and government users, but concentrated customer revenue, contract termination rights and government procurement cycles can make results less predictable. Our reading: Complex deployments may help distinguish the platforms from alternatives while also making sales and implementation costly.