By Senad Karaahmetovic
Shares of Palantir (NYSE:PLTR) are down about 14% at the market open after the software company offered lukewarm revenue guidance.
Palantir reported Q2 revenue of $473 million, somewhere in line with the Bloomberg consensus of $472.5 million. PLTR also reported an adjusted loss per share of 1c, better than the analyst estimate of 2.9c. The adjusted operating margin came in at 23%.
For this quarter, Palantir said it expects to see revenue between $474 million and $475 million, down from the prior estimate of $506.3 million. On a full-year basis, revenue is seen at $1.9 billion, again lower than the $1.98 billion consensus.
“Revised guidance excludes any new major US government awards and we believe this to be the base case,” the company said in a press release.
A Citi analyst weighed in negatively amid “weak” Q3 guidance against “much easier comps”.
He reiterated a Sell rating as Q2 results “showed signs of continuing slowing growth and deteriorating margins at PLTR with another skinny beat on top-line (<1%), despite messaging incremental conservatism last Q,” the analyst said in a client note.
“While Q4 implied guidance was just 17% y/y, well below management’s 30%+ topline growth CAGR, and we think could indicate customer churn into the 2H. Q3 (and implied q4) operating margins were guided significantly below street by 16-17 pts, likely reflecting significant reinvesting. We expect stock to trade lower,” he added.