Palantir Q1 Revenue Jumps 85%, BofA Stays Bullish
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- Palantir posted Q1 2026 adjusted EPS of $0.33 and revenue of $1.63 billion, up 84.4% year-over-year, beating analyst estimates, with management raising full-year revenue, operating income, and free cash flow guidance.
- Bank of America reiterated its Buy rating and $255 price target, called the print "step-function," and lifted its 2026 sales estimate to $7.85 billion (from $7.37B) and EPS estimate to $1.47 (from $1.30).
- Palantir's U.S. business was the primary growth engine, with U.S. revenue topping $1.28 billion (up 50%+), U.S. commercial sales skyrocketing 133%, and U.S. government revenue climbing 84% — fueled by the Maven Smart System and Joint Fires Network funding.
- The company secured 72 deals worth nearly $5 million and 47 deals worth at least $10 million in the quarter, while commercial revenue rose 18% sequentially, supporting BofA's view that the growth story is still early.
- Palantir trades at over 101 times forward non-GAAP earnings (321% above the sector median) and nearly 48 times forward sales (1,367% above the sector median), the core fuel for the bear case that the stock has priced in years of growth.
- BofA flagged competitive threats from OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and cloud vendors that could compress Palantir's pricing power, alongside stronger-than-expected public-sector pushback against commercial off-the-shelf software.
- Wall Street targets diverged sharply: Rosenblatt raised to $225 (from $200), Wedbush held $230 (Outperform), Oppenheimer sits at $200 (Outperform), DA Davidson cut to $165 (from $180), and RBC reiterated Underperform at $90.
Why it matters: Palantir's 85% revenue surge and 133% U.S. commercial growth give BofA fresh cover for a $255 target despite the stock trading at 101x forward earnings. The Wall Street target spread — from RBC's $90 to Rosenblatt's $225 — shows this remains a battleground name where the bull case rests on structured AI deployment outpacing commoditization from OpenAI, Anthropic, and cloud giants.
