Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir, will attend a “Tech For Good” event at the Hotel Marigny in Paris on May 15, 2019, to discuss good behavior for technology giants.
Bertrand Guay | AFP | Getty Images
Palantir reported a loss for the fourth quarter on Tuesday, while revenue analysts beat analysts’ expectations.
The shares of Palantir fell almost 12% in trading before the market.
Here are the key numbers:
- Income: According to a survey by Refinitiv among analysts, $ 322 million is expected compared to $ 300.7 million
- Loss per share: 8 cents, not comparable to estimates
The company said that the average revenue per customer for 2020 is $ 7.9 million, with 41% higher than in 2019. Its 20 best customers generated an average of $ 33.2 million in 2020, which is 34% higher than in the previous year.
In the fourth quarter, Palantir said it closed 21 deals worth at least $ 5 million in total contract value, 12 of which were worth at least $ 10 million.
Palantir said it would earn $ 4 billion in revenue by 2025. In 2021, Palantir said it expects revenue growth of more than 30%. It expects revenue growth of 45% in the first quarter of the year.
In a pre-recorded video released on the company’s earnings webcast, CEO Alex Karp highlighted the company’s long-term prospects.
“We hope that those who are currently investors stay with us and those who prefer a more short-term focus, that you choose companies that are more suitable for you,” he said.
The tight-knit government contractor began a live listing on the New York Stock Exchange in September with an initial trade of $ 10 per share. This gave a market capitalization of $ 16.5 billion. Palantir has more than tripled in value since then, with shares closing at $ 31.91 on Friday, giving a market capitalization of $ 52.6 billion.
Palantir aimed to differentiate itself from other technology enterprises born in Silicon Valley. In a letter to investors in its prospectus of becoming public, Karp said that while Palantir started in Silicon Valley, “it seems we are sharing less and less of the technology sector’s values and commitments.” Karp said the company had repeatedly turned down ‘opportunities to sell, collect or mine’ data, as opposed to ‘built on advertising dollars’. The company has said it will move its headquarters from Palo Alto, California, to Denver.
Palantir was more willing to cooperate with Donald Trump’s presidency with government agencies than other technology companies in California that received significant setbacks from their employees on such contracts. Employees of Amazon, Google and Microsoft called on the company to relinquish agencies and military divisions, including U.S. immigration and customs enforcement, customs and border protection, and the military.
In contrast, Palantir has built its business largely on profitable government offerings for its data analytics software, including with ICE. But the company also said it would generally not do business “with customers or governments whose positions or actions we do not consider with our mission to support Western liberal democracy and its strategic allies.”
The company also serves commercial customers, who make up less than half of the business. Palantir reported in its first revenue that 56% of its revenue in the third quarter came from its government segment, which grew faster than its commercial business.
Palantir said its government segment generated $ 190 million in revenue in the fourth quarter, up 85% from a year earlier. The commercial segment brought in $ 132 million, up 4% year-on-year.
Palantir did not offer an updated customer count or its first earnings in November this time, after announcing in its prospectus that it had 125 customers in the first half of the year. However, the company said its customers’ concentration dropped, with 61% of revenue during the third quarter from its top 20 customers instead of 68% during the same period in 2019.
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