Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR) closed at $186,96 up $4,76 or 2.61% on Friday, extending a rally that has already seen the AI software maker gain more than 140% year-to-date.
The surge comes on the back of record-breaking quarterly results, a series of lucrative government contracts, and growing investor conviction that Palantir is emerging as one of the defining players in the artificial intelligence boom.
Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives, one of Wall Street’s most outspoken tech bulls, now believes Palantir could join Big Tech’s exclusive trillion-dollar market cap club within the next three years.
Ives likened Palantir once again to the “Messi of AI,” pointing to the company’s ability to consistently outperform expectations while positioning itself at the center of the AI adoption curve.
The optimism follows a standout Q2 earnings report, where Palantir topped $1 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time, comfortably beating consensus estimates. Management also raised full-year revenue guidance to between $4.142 billion and $4.150 billion. That growth is being driven by both sides of the business: U.S. commercial revenue surged 93% year-over-year, while U.S. government sales climbed 53%.
Ives points to key 3 driver for PLTR shares
Ives highlighted three drivers behind his bullish call: Palantir’s expanding role in U.S. defense and intelligence contracts, accelerating adoption of its AI-powered Foundry platform across commercial sectors, and a disciplined cost structure that has allowed revenue to scale without ballooning headcount.
This “crazy, efficient revolution,” as CEO Alex Karp recently described it, has translated into margin expansion and increased cash generation, a combination Ives says is rare among high-growth tech names.
The market reaction to earnings underscored investor enthusiasm. Shares jumped 7.85% on Tuesday immediately following the release, then added to gains in subsequent sessions. The stock’s momentum is also being supported by inclusion in Ives’ own Wedbush AI Revolution ETF, where Palantir is a top holding alongside other AI leaders.
