Palantir tops estimates on 85% revenue growth, fastest expansion since market debut in 2020

Palantir reported first-quarter results on Monday that sailed past analysts' expectations, and also issued guidance that topped estimates.

Here's how the company did compared to analyst estimates as compiled by LSEG:

Earnings per share:33 cents adjusted vs. 28 cents expectedRevenue:$1.63 billion vs. $1.54 billion expected

Palantir's revenue grew about 85% in the quarter, according to a statement, marking the fastest increase in sales since at least 2020, the year the company went public through a direct listing.

Net income roughly quadrupled to $870.5 million, or 34 cents per share, from $214 million, or 8 cents per share, a year earlier. Adjusted net income excludes impact from stock-based compensation and income taxes.

Palantir, which has seen its market value soar in the past few years, also lifted its full-year guidance. The company now anticipates $4.2 billion to $4.4 billion in adjusted free cash flow, above StreetAccount's $4.05 billion consensus. In February, the company said it was looking for adjusted free cash flow between $3.925 billion and $4.125 billion.

"Our financial results now demonstrate a level of strength that dwarfs the performance of essentially every software company in history at this scale," Palantir CEO Alex Karp wrote in a letter to shareholders. Revenue per employee reached $1.5 million on an annual basis, Karp wrote.

Management called for $1.8 billion in second-quarter revenue, above the $1.68 billion consensus among analysts surveyed by LSEG.

The company sees $7.65 billion to $7.66 billion in 2026 revenue, an annual jump of 71% and higher than the $7.27 billion LSEG consensus. In February, the company guided to between $7.182 billion and $7.198 billion in full-year revenue.

Karp told CNBC's Seema Mody he expects the U.S. business, across government and commercial, to double again in 2027.

Palantir is best known for providing software, services and artificial intelligence tools to the U.S. government for military operations and defense.

Revenue to domestic government agencies climbed 84% in the first quarter to $687 million, accelerating from 66% growth in the fourth quarter. Last year Palantir announced a U.S. Army contract worth up to $10 billion over 10 years.

In an interview with CNBC in March, Karp said his company's AI is giving the U.S. and its allies an edge in the escalating conflict in Iran and across the Middle East.

"What makes America special right now is our lethal capabilities, our ability to fight war," Karp said at Palantir's AIPCon 9 in Maryland. He added that another major advantage is that "the AI revolution is uniquely American."

Commercial revenue from U.S. clients totaled $595 million in the quarter, up 133% from a year ago but below StreetAccount's consensus of $605 million. During the quarter, Palantir announced deals with Airbus, Bain, GE Aerospace and Stellantis.

While Palantir's stock is up about 23-fold since the end of 2022, it's dropped 18% this year. The slide has come alongside a broader retreat in software stocks due to fears that AI models might hurt growth and that models like those from Anthropic and OpenAI would disrupt older businesses.

Karp sought to differentiate Palantir from the model developers.

"There seems to be a rotation amongst AI model companies who engage in an intensely competitive race in which we have seen token costs suffer a thousandfold decline over just a few years and where winners and losers swap places every six months," Karp wrote. "Our path has been different, building a juggernaut of a business that is delivering results to our partners in the world as it is today."

Executives will discuss the results with analysts on a conference call starting at 5 p.m. ET.

— CNBC's Seema Mody contributed to this report.

WATCH: Palantir 30% off highs: Here's what options traders are looking at