Palantir reported a third-quarter earnings beat this week, and during his victory lap, CEO Alex Karp provided a window into the values that drive him and his company despite what he frames as outside noise.
Still, he said wokeness is “actually a form of a thin pagan religion,” on the May 2024 earnings call.
In sharp contrast, on Monday Karp described his efforts to keep his company as “cultus”— a system of religious worship— and “unique” as it was when it started over 20 years ago. One such way is to continue to support “making the American warfighter fight the way the American warfighter is born to fight,” he said, without explaining what he meant by that.
Almost half of Palantir’s success comes from U.S. government revenue, which is up 52% from last year and 14% from the second quarter at $486 million. Demand for its AI-driven platforms and deeper margins through improved operating leverage despite heavy investment in research and hiring have also contributed to its robust sales.
But despite much-publicized ethical concerns over the business being a major U.S. defense contractor and about the tech company’s access to Americans’ personal data, CEO Karp says he just doesn’t understand why the work his company does draws so much negative attention. The Peter Thiel-backed firm has a name taken from Lord of the Rings, like at least two other Thiel-associated companies. A “palantir” was a penetrating and all-seeing sort of crystal ball in those books, either an inspiring or ominous namesake, depending on one’s perspective.
“We’re on the front line of all adversaries, including vis-à-vis China. And we support—we’re at ICE and we’ve supported Israel,” Karp said on the earnings call on Monday. “I don’t know why this is all controversial, but many people find that controversial.”
Palantir contracts with a number of U.S. government agencies including the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the CIA, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In the first three quarters of 2025, it received almost $1.3 billion in revenue from the government, according to company financial disclosures.
Palantir did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment, but Karp told investors Monday that he thinks they are “fighting for the right side of what should work in this country: meritocracy, lethal technology, vis-à-vis adversaries,” and products that spread GDP to the working class.
“It was the American worker that we supported and the American worker that we helped make rich,” Karp said on Monday’s earnings call.
Karp had a different outlook on the reported earnings.
“Get some popcorn,” Karp told investors on the call. “They’re crying,” he said of those that haven’t invested in the company.
