Palantir's U.S. commercial revenue passes its government business for the first time

Palantir reported third-quarter 2026 results after the bell on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026: revenue of $2.313 billion, up 96% from a year earlier, with U.S. commercial revenue of $984 million edging past U.S. government revenue of $953 million.

For twenty years Palantir was "the government's data contractor." This quarter, ordinary U.S. companies sent it more money than Washington did, which is the clearest sign yet that the AIP pitch, the AI product Palantir sells to companies, is landing in boardrooms, not just bases. Raising guidance again and still dropping 3% after hours tells you how priced-for-perfection the stock is; the business keeps clearing the bar, the bar just keeps moving.

Palantir's third-quarter revenue was $2.313 billion. That is up 96% from a year earlier, close to double, and up 20% from the quarter before, about $1.20 for every $1. It is the first quarter the company has topped $2 billion. The LSEG consensus, the average of the estimates LSEG compiles, was $2.18 billion. Those figures are Palantir's and LSEG's.

Adjusted earnings were 44 cents a share. LSEG had expected 41 cents. Adjusted earnings per share is profit per share after the company sets aside items it does not count in the ordinary comparison. Under GAAP, the standard accounting rules, net income was $1.13 billion, also 44 cents a share, up from about $476 million, or 18 cents, a year earlier. Those figures are Palantir's and LSEG's.

U.S. commercial revenue rose 148% to $984 million. A rise of 148% is about two and a half times the year before. That passed U.S. government revenue of $953 million, which was up 96%, for the first time. Total U.S. revenue was $1.937 billion, up 119%, a bit more than double. CNBC notes that U.S. commercial revenue has more than quintupled over two years, which means it is more than five times what it was. Those lines are Palantir's and CNBC's.

Palantir raised its forecast again. Guidance is the company's own prediction, not money already collected. For the fourth quarter it now expects revenue of $2.649 billion to $2.653 billion. For all of 2026 it expects revenue of $8.530 billion to $8.534 billion, about 91% growth. It expects full-year U.S. commercial revenue above $3.559 billion, at least 143% growth, up from the $3.42 billion forecast last quarter. Adjusted free cash flow, cash left after the spending Palantir counts as needed to run the business, on its adjusted measure, is guided to $4.8 billion to $5.0 billion. Those ranges are the release's.

The release also lists total contract value booked of $2.918 billion. That is the stated value of contracts signed in the quarter, not cash already in the bank. Net dollar retention was 165%. On that measure, the same customers are spending $1.65 now for every $1 they spent a year earlier. Cash and equivalents were about $10.4 billion. Those figures are Palantir's.

The shares still fell about 3% in extended trading, the session after the regular market close. That drop is the market's reaction the same evening.

Chief executive Alex Karp told CNBC: "I don't believe anyone's had consistent results like this in the history of software AI, ever." He said the business is succeeding without salespeople. He also told CNBC, "Beware of thinking you can delay the future in AI," and he repeated his recent call to nationalize AI labs, meaning to put them under government ownership. He called that the "only realistic way" to manage liability. Those quotations are his, to CNBC.

The picture is a UK Government photograph of Alex Karp at the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park on Nov. 1, 2023. He is wearing a summit lanyard. The credit is the UK Government, under a Creative Commons BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.

In plain terms, Palantir's quarter nearly doubled and crossed $2 billion for the first time, and U.S. companies paid it slightly more than the U.S. government did. The company raised its forecast again. The stock still slipped about 3% after the close.