Palantir earnings for the third quarter of 2026 showed revenue of $2.31 billion, up 96% from a year earlier, as sales to American businesses passed sales to the American government for the first time. The company reported the results on Monday, November 2, after the market closed, and raised its forecast for the full year.
Profit in the Palantir earnings report reached $1.13 billion, or 44 cents a share, compared with $475.6 million, or 18 cents a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, earnings were 44 cents a share, above the 41 cents expected by analysts polled by FactSet. Revenue also came in above the $2.18 billion analysts had expected, and the quarter was the first in which Palantir revenue passed $2 billion.
Palantir earnings driven by US commercial growth
The Palantir earnings report was led by the United States commercial business, where revenue rose 148% to $984 million. Revenue from the United States government rose 96% to $953 million. Total revenue in the United States reached $1.94 billion, up 119% from a year earlier and 23% from the second quarter, and it made up 84% of total company revenue.
Palantir said businesses are turning away from artificial intelligence labs in some cases and seeking more direct control over how they use the technology. The company makes data management and analysis software for businesses and governments, and its platforms include Foundry, Ontology and its Artificial Intelligence Platform. Chief Executive Alex Karp wrote in the Palantir earnings letter to shareholders that the rate of expansion in the quarter was unusually strong.
Palantir earnings show deals and cash flow
The Palantir earnings release said the company closed 212 deals worth at least $1 million in the quarter, including 107 deals worth at least $5 million and 64 deals worth at least $10 million, according to company summaries of the results. Total contract value in the quarter was $2.92 billion. Adjusted income from operations was $1.43 billion, a margin of 62%, and adjusted free cash flow reached $1.22 billion, or 53% of revenue.
The company held $10.4 billion in cash, cash equivalents and United States Treasury securities at the end of the quarter. International revenue was $376 million in total, with international commercial revenue up 21% to $184 million and international government revenue up 31% to $192 million. The figures show growth outside the United States at a slower pace than the American commercial business, which has now more than doubled twice over in twelve months on the reported quarterly figures.
Outlook raised for the fourth quarter
In the Palantir earnings guidance, the company raised its full-year 2026 revenue forecast to between $8.53 billion and $8.534 billion, up from earlier guidance of $8.15 billion to $8.158 billion. Analysts had expected $8.21 billion for the full year before the results. For the fourth quarter, the company expects revenue of between $2.649 billion and $2.653 billion, above the $2.46 billion analysts currently expect.
The company also expects full-year United States commercial revenue above $3.559 billion, growth of at least 143% for the year. Palantir said its United States commercial remaining deal value stood at $6.52 billion at the end of the quarter, up 79% from a year earlier. That backlog, together with the raised forecast, gives the company a larger base of contracted work heading into the final quarter of the year.
What the shift means for Palantir
The change in the revenue mix matters because Palantir began as a supplier focused heavily on government work, and government contracts shaped its early reputation. A quarter in which commercial sales in the United States exceed government sales shows that private-sector demand for its software has grown faster than its public-sector business, at least for now.
The next Palantir earnings report will show whether that gap widens, and it will depend on deal closings in the fourth quarter and on how quickly new commercial customers expand their use of the software after an initial contract. The company reports its fourth-quarter results early next year, and the guidance it gave on Monday sets the bar for that report at revenue close to $2.65 billion.