Palantir reported a third-quarter earnings beat this week, and during his victory lap, CEO Alex Karp provided a window into the values that drive him and his company despite what he frames as outside noise.
The software platform reported $1.18 billion in earnings for the third quarter, which narrowly beat analysts’ forecasts. Despite the earnings announcement and a quarter-four outlook that also beat Wall Street forecasts, Palantir shares fell 7.95% on Tuesday, erasing an initial 7% spike following the report. Analysts shared concerns that the tech giant’s performance and guidance don’t justify its valuation.
But what a valuation, though. Despite Tuesday’s sell-off, Palantir shares are up a whopping 154% year-to-date. Karp attributes the continued growth of his company to a strong allyship with the U.S. government and a business that supports “the American worker that we helped make rich.”
Palantir “was really the first company to be completely anti-woke,” Karp told investors on the earnings call after market close on Monday. The tech giant has cozied up to President Donald Trump’s administration, sending its CTO Shyam Sankar to the White House dinner that hosted Silicon Valley tech leaders in September. In an earnings call last year, Karp said wokeness was a “central risk” to Palantir, the U.S., and the world, and labeled it “a regressive way of thinking that is corrupting and corroding our institutions.”
