Alex Karp could barely contain his glee as he took the microphone on Palantir Technologies’ second-quarter earnings call Monday evening. The company’s co-founder and CEO grinned broadly, tapping his pen against the table in a rhythm of triumph, and did not hold back his disdain for unnamed Silicon Valley AI competitors. “They eat vegetables and don’t support the U.S. military,” he quipped, drawing a clear line between Palantir’s patriotic, enterprise-focused mission and the more sanitized, consumer-oriented ethos of its rivals.

Karp had every reason to be exuberant. For the quarter ended June 30, Palantir posted one of its strongest financial performances ever. Revenue surged 93% year over year to $1.94 billion, comfortably surpassing the $1.801 billion analysts had anticipated. Net income landed at roughly $1.1 billion, or 41 cents per share, beating the consensus estimate of 35 cents. “Obviously, we are loving these results and what they mean for our customers and, broadly speaking, the West,” Karp said.

Investors, who had sent Palantir shares down about 30% this year after a blistering rally in 2025, reacted with a newfound enthusiasm. The stock jumped more than 14% in after-hours trading Monday, a sharp reversal from the previous quarter. In May, Palantir had also delivered a blowout quarter—85% revenue growth, beats on both top and bottom lines—but the stock fell about 7% as concerns mounted over whether expectations had grown too high. This time, the market’s reaction was unequivocally positive.

Karp attributed the shift to a growing credibility. “We are fully aligned with what’s right and what’s good, and what actually works well in the enterprise. And for the first time people believe us,” he said. “And if you didn’t believe us, you can believe 149% growth in the U.S.” That figure refers to the company’s U.S. commercial revenue growth in the second quarter, a staggering jump that underscores Palantir’s deepening footprint in the private sector.

The company’s deal-making momentum was equally impressive. Palantir closed 220 contracts valued at $1 million or more, including 98 deals worth at least $5 million and 73 deals exceeding $10 million. In the U.S., commercial revenue climbed 149% from a year earlier, while government revenue rose 90%. The dual engine of commercial and government demand is propelling Palantir’s expansion, and its updated guidance suggests the AI boom is still accelerating.

For the third quarter, Palantir forecasts revenue between $2.160 billion and $2.164 billion, well above the $2 billion analysts had projected. Adjusted income from operations is expected to land between $1.292 billion and $1.296 billion. The company also raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to a range of $8.150 billion to $8.158 billion, up from a prior outlook of $7.182 billion to $7.198 billion. U.S. commercial revenue growth is now forecast to reach at least 134%.

The results come amid a year of intense skepticism about Palantir’s long-term prospects. Worries have persisted that businesses might abandon Palantir’s customized AI services in favor of off-the-shelf “frontier” models from the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic. Palantir has fought back aggressively, arguing that those models underperform and risk exposing customers’ private data—a claim the other companies dispute.

Ryan Taylor, Palantir’s chief revenue officer and chief legal officer, underscored the company’s competitive edge on the call. “Our customers are making the decision to go deep with us with greater urgency and conviction than I’ve ever seen before—choosing AI sovereignty over dependency and compounding their alpha in a way that their competitors and adversaries will forever envy,” he said.

Palantir’s outspoken support for the U.S. military and its use of technology in anti-terrorism and border control have made the company a frequent target of protests. Yet Karp sees that stance as a differentiator. “We are a colony of believers and artists that are very motivated to drive value, and that sets aside much more than I would have imagined 10 years ago,” he said. For Karp, the quarter’s success was not just a financial win—it was a validation of a culture that has long bet on unconventional ideas before the market caught up.