By Chavi Mehta
(Reuters) – Data analytics software maker Palantir Technologies on Monday beat first-quarter revenue expectations on bigger projects from existing commercial and government clients and said it expects to turn a profit every quarter in fiscal 2023.
Shares of the company, known for its work with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, rose 11.3% in trading after the bell.
The company last month launched a new generative artificial intelligence platform that works on the same technology that’s behind ChatGPT.
The interest in the new platform has been “unlike anything we have seen”, CEO Alexander Karp said in a letter to shareholders, adding the AI platform can assist militaries in targeting enemies.
The first iteration of the platform will be made available to some customers this month.
The customers include “one of the largest insurance companies in the world” and supply chain and security customers, Chief Revenue Officer Ryan Taylor told Reuters, who in a February interview said Palantir was looking to integrate generative AI technologies into its software.
Still, Palantir does not expect the platform to start driving revenue right away. Finance chief David Glazer said the company is trying to draw in more customers.
The company forecast second-quarter revenue in the range of $528 million and $532 million, below estimates of $536.2 million, per Refinitiv data. Its full-year revenue forecast, however, was largely in line with estimates.
The company continues to tighten its cloud spending and is investing in focus areas like AI, said Glazer. In February, it said it would cut 2% of its workforce.
First-quarter revenue rose 18% to $525.2 million, above analysts’ average estimate of $505.6 million.
The company remains bullish on demand for its offerings in the United States, but faced challenges in “certain areas” internationally, Taylor said, without elaborating.
(Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
