“We were the freak show,” Karp said. “And we spent 20 years for this moment.”
His unorthodox style, however, doesn’t appear to be getting in the way of results. On Monday, Palantir raised its forward guidance, projecting revenue to grow 36% to between $3.89 billion and $3.902 billion in 2025.
High expectations, however, are already baked into the stock price. Palantir shares currently trade at roughly 200 times its projected earnings over the next 12 months, according to estimates from S&P Capital IQ, compared with a forward P/E ratio of just over 20 for the S&P 500. That helps explain why the stock was down about 13% as of midday Tuesday, but shares are still up over 40% this year compared with the S&P’s 4% decline.
“When you use our software, when you use AIP, you will get demonstrably more value than what you’re paying for,” Karp said. “And you will share some of that value with us. And then I would say also, culturally, we just don’t see the resistance to the way we roll that we did in the past.”
“All part of our core mission to provide an unfair advantage to the noble warriors of the West,” he said.
Karp said an increased focus on efficiency in Washington will be a tailwind for Palantir.
“We need pressure on the system,” he said. “We need people to have to change. We need people to have to transform. This is why they put up with us. And once they see those results, they stick with us.”
