Weaponized Deep State surveillance company Palantir Technologies posted impressive third-quarter numbers that raise as many questions. Is the company’s deep entanglements with government surveillance programs really that profitable? You betcha!
Revenue climbed to $1.18 billion, up 63% from last year and beating estimates of $1.09 billion. This growth stems largely from its AI platforms, but skeptics point to Palantir’s origins in projects inspired by DARPA’s Total Information Awareness initiative, which aimed to track global data for security threats. U.S. commercial revenue doubled to $397 million.
The Surveillance Industrial Complex had a great year.
Net income tripled to $475.6 million from $143.5 million a year earlier, with GAAP earnings per share at 18 cents and adjusted at 21 cents, topping predictions. The government side, growing 52% to $486 million, includes potential deals like a $10 billion Army contract, but Palantir’s history of aiding NSA spying efforts casts a shadow over these wins.
Founded with CIA backing through In-Q-Tel, the company has embedded itself in the all of the spinoffs from the Patriot Act, blending private profit with state oversight in ways that blur lines between security and overreach.
U.S. commercial contract values quadrupled to $1.31 billion, driven by ties to firms like Snowflake, Lumen, and Nvidia. These partnerships amplify AI’s role in business, but they also risk centralizing data power in hands that have long prioritized government intelligence over individual freedoms.
CEO Alex Karp pushed back against critics: “The reality is that Palantir has made it possible for retail investors to achieve rates of return previously limited to the most successful venture capitalists in Palo Alto… And we have done so through authentic and substantive growth.” He dismissed doubters as in a “kind of deranged and self-destructive befuddlement.”
The company boosted its full-year revenue forecast to $4.4 billion, a 53% rise exceeding Wall Street’s $4.17 billion view, with fourth-quarter expectations at $1.33 billion for 61% growth. Free cash flow projections now range from $1.9 billion to $2.1 billion.
In an interview, Karp commented on AI: “The strong companies are going to get much stronger, and the people pretending they’re doing stuff are going to disappear very quickly.” Shares fell about 4% after hours despite the beat, signaling investor wariness.
Palantir’s trajectory spotlights the double-edged sword of tech innovation tied to defense agencies like DARPA and the broader intelligence community. While boosting economic metrics through jobs and stock gains, it amplifies a system where corporate-government alliances could erode core American values like liberty and free enterprise, potentially steering toward a future of unchecked surveillance that harms everyday citizens more than it protects them.
