Palantir Q3 2026: revenue up 96% to $2.31B, while new contract value grew 6%

Palantir sells software that pulls an organization’s data into one model of its operations (Foundry and its Ontology) and, through its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), puts AI models to work on top of it. It reports revenue from U.S. government and U.S. commercial customers separately, and alongside recognized revenue it publishes contract metrics: total contract value (TCV) closed in the quarter and the remaining deal value (RDV) of signed contracts.

Those two series moved apart this quarter. Recognised revenue grew faster than in Q2, and U.S. commercial passed U.S. government for the first time. The contract figures slowed sharply from Q2, when U.S. commercial TCV was a record. This piece sets the revenue run against the bookings, then looks at margins, cost growth and the raised outlook.

Palantir Q3 2026 results at a glance

$ millions, except per share	Q3 2026	Q2 2026	Q3 2025
Revenue	2,313	1,935	1,181
U.S. commercial revenue	984	764	—
U.S. government revenue	953	809	—
Income from operations (GAAP)	1,085	912	393
Adjusted income from operations	1,427	1,194	601
Net income attributable to common	1,128	1,062	476
Diluted EPS	$0.44	$0.41	$0.18
Adjusted free cash flow	1,216	1,220	540
Total contract value (TCV)	2,918	3,373	—

The releases report year-ago U.S. segment revenue and TCV only as growth rates, so those cells are blank. U.S. revenue in total was $1,937 million, up 119% from a year earlier.

Revenue came in about $150M above Palantir’s own guide

In August, Palantir guided Q3 revenue to $2.160–2.164 billion. It reported $2,313 million, about $149 million, or 7%, above the top of that range (our arithmetic). Growth was 96% from a year earlier and 20% from Q2, as the release puts it, against 93% year-over-year growth in Q2.

U.S. commercial revenue grew 148% to $984 million and 29% from Q2. U.S. government revenue grew 96% to $953 million. Together, the United States was about 84% of revenue (our arithmetic). Revenue from outside the US, about $376 million, was roughly 4% above Q2’s ~$362 million (our arithmetic: total revenue less U.S. revenue in each quarter).

TCV grew 6%, U.S. commercial RDV 4% from Q2

Contract indicators	Q3 2026	Q2 2026
Total contract value closed ($M)	2,918	3,373
TCV growth from a year earlier	6%	49%
U.S. commercial TCV ($M)	1,463	2,132
U.S. commercial TCV growth from a year earlier	11%	153%
U.S. commercial RDV ($M)	6,517	6,238
U.S. commercial RDV growth from prior quarter	4%	27%
Deals of at least $1M / $5M / $10M	212 / 107 / 64	220 / 98 / 73

Total contract value closed in the quarter fell about 13% from Q2 and U.S. commercial TCV about 31% (our arithmetic). Q2’s U.S. commercial TCV was a record, per the Q2 release, so part of the step down is a hard comparison. Even so, the ratio of new contract value to revenue recognized in the quarter fell to about 1.3 times from about 1.7 times in Q2; for U.S. commercial, to about 1.5 times from about 2.8 times (our arithmetic). U.S. commercial RDV, the remaining value of signed U.S. commercial contracts, rose 4% from Q2 and 79% from a year earlier, against 124% year-over-year growth at the end of Q2.

TCV and RDV assume customers exercise all contract options and do not terminate, as the release’s definitions note, so they are indicators rather than backlog. Remaining performance obligations, the accounting backlog measure the release also defines, are not quantified in the release.

A 47% GAAP margin, with stock compensation up 85%

GAAP income from operations was $1,085 million, a 47% margin, against about 33% a year earlier (our arithmetic) and 47% in Q2. Gross profit was $1,930 million, about 83.4% of revenue, against 82.4% (our arithmetic).

Operating expenses rose about 46% to $845 million, slower than revenue. Research and development grew fastest, about 52% to $220 million; sales and marketing rose about 44% to $397 million (our arithmetic). Stock-based compensation was $319 million, about 85% more than the $172 million of a year earlier, though at about 13.8% of revenue it is a slightly smaller share than a year ago (14.6%, our arithmetic). Adjusted income from operations, which excludes it and the related payroll taxes, was $1,427 million, a 62% margin against 51%.

Net income attributable to common stockholders was $1,128 million, above operating income because of $89 million of interest income, partly offset by $26 million of other expense; the tax provision was $14 million. Diluted EPS rose to $0.44 from $0.18 on almost unchanged diluted weighted shares of 2,574 million. Adjusted EPS was also $0.44.

$1.2B of free cash flow and $10.4B of cash and Treasuries

Cash from operations was $1,205 million and adjusted free cash flow $1,216 million, a 53% margin against 46% a year earlier. That is slightly below Q2’s $1,220 million even though revenue grew 20%; accounts receivable rose to $1,883 million at September 30 from $1,042 million at December 31, 2025. Cash, cash equivalents and U.S. Treasury securities were $10.4 billion, per the release, and the condensed balance sheet carries no debt line.

What Palantir guided for Q4 and 2026

For Q4, Palantir expects revenue of $2.649–2.653 billion, about 15% above Q3 at the midpoint (our arithmetic), and adjusted income from operations of $1.640–1.644 billion. It raised its 2026 guidance:

• Revenue: $8.530–8.534 billion, from $8.150–8.158 billion in August, about $378 million higher at the midpoint (our arithmetic).
• U.S. commercial revenue: in excess of $3.559 billion, growth of at least 143%, from in excess of $3.424 billion (at least 134%).
• Adjusted income from operations: $5.245–5.249 billion, from $4.889–4.897 billion.
• Adjusted free cash flow: $4.8–5.0 billion, from $4.5–4.7 billion.

It again expects GAAP operating income and net income in each quarter of the year. Nine-month revenue was $5,881 million, so the full-year guide implies about $2.65 billion in Q4, consistent with the quarterly range (our arithmetic).

What to watch in Q4

• TCV and RDV. Whether Q3’s 6% TCV growth and 4% sequential RDV growth were a pause after a record Q2 or the start of slower bookings.
• U.S. commercial vs government. Commercial passed government in Q3; the full-year guide asks for at least 143% commercial growth.
• Outside the US. About $376 million of revenue, roughly 4% above Q2 (our arithmetic), while U.S. revenue grew 23%.
• Receivables. Up about 81% since December 31 (our arithmetic), a nine-month change set against Q3 revenue up 96% from a year earlier.
• Stock compensation. Up 85% from a year earlier; the adjusted margins exclude it.

Quick answers

What was Palantir’s revenue in Q3 2026?

Revenue was $2,313 million, up 96% from $1,181 million a year earlier and 20% from Q2. It was above the $2.160–2.164 billion Palantir had guided to in August. U.S. commercial revenue was $984 million, up 148%.

What were Palantir’s earnings per share in Q3 2026?

GAAP diluted EPS was $0.44, against $0.18 a year earlier and $0.41 in Q2. Net income attributable to common stockholders was $1,128 million. Adjusted EPS was also $0.44.

What is Palantir’s revenue guidance for 2026?

Palantir raised its 2026 revenue guidance to $8.530–8.534 billion from $8.150–8.158 billion, and guided Q4 revenue to $2.649–2.653 billion. It expects U.S. commercial revenue above $3.559 billion, growth of at least 143%.

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Sources and method. Every company figure is Palantir’s own disclosure, read directly from SEC EDGAR and linked above. Third-quarter revenue, U.S. segment revenue and growth rates, deal counts, TCV and RDV, the income statement, stock-based compensation, the September 30 balance sheet, nine-month cash flow, the non-GAAP reconciliations (including year-ago adjusted income from operations, operating cash flow and adjusted free cash flow) and the Q4 and full-year outlook come from Exhibit 99.1 to the Form 8-K filed 2026-11-02 (accession 0001321655-26-000045) for the quarter ended 2026-09-30. Second-quarter figures, Q2 TCV and RDV, and the Q3 and full-year guidance issued in August come from the second-quarter release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1, filed 2026-08-03, accession 0001321655-26-000039). The results were filed with the SEC at 4:06 pm ET on 2026-11-02 (Form 8-K acceptance time on the EDGAR filing index), after the US market closed; the release scheduled its webcast for 5:00 PM ET the same day.

No consensus estimate is included, so this piece makes no claim that the quarter beat or missed expectations. Guidance comparisons are against Palantir’s own published outlook only. This piece makes no claim about the share-price reaction.

Our arithmetic, labelled as such: revenue about $149 million (7%) above the top of the Q3 guide; the U.S. share of revenue (84%); revenue outside the US (about $376 million and $362 million) and its 4% growth from Q2; TCV down 13% and U.S. commercial TCV down 31% from Q2; TCV-to-revenue ratios of 1.3 and 1.7 times, and 1.5 and 2.8 times for U.S. commercial; operating margin of about 33% a year earlier; gross margins of 83.4% and 82.4%; operating expense growth of 46%, R&D 52% and sales and marketing 44%; stock-based compensation growth of 85% and its 13.8% and 14.6% shares of revenue; Q4 guidance at about 15% above Q3; the $378 million raise in the full-year revenue guide midpoint and the ~$2.65 billion Q4 implied by it; and receivables growth of 81% since December 31. These are approximations, not reported numbers. The 96%, 20%, 148%, 29%, 119%, 6%, 11%, 4%, 79% and margin percentages are as printed in the releases. The interpretation (that bookings indicators slowed while recognized revenue accelerated) is our analysis, not a company statement or a forecast.

Related: Palantir Q2 2026, the prior quarter; Microsoft Q1 FY2027 and Alphabet Q3 2026, where enterprise AI spending shows up on the cloud side.