Aug 3 (Reuters) - Palantir Technologies on Monday raised its annual revenue forecast again, signaling strong demand for its data analytics software from government and commercial clients, sending its shares up 8% in extended trading.
Modern warfare and geopolitical uncertainty have prompted governments to invest in advanced defense technologies such as Palantir's AI-powered battlefield software and Anduril's autonomous drones.
Anduril and Palantir are working together to develop software for U.S. President
Donald Trump's Golden Dome antimissile shield initiative, Reuters has reported.
"Our business is compounding at a rate and scale that we have never before witnessed," Palantir CEO Alex Karp said in a letter to shareholders.
The company, which enables government and enterprise clients to make decisions using their own data, forecast annual revenue between $8.150 billion and $8.158 billion, up from its prior range of $7.650 billion to $7.662 billion.
Palantir also raised its annual forecast for U.S. commercial revenue to more than $3.424 billion, up from its previous estimate of $3.224 billion.
"The core of our business, in the United States, continues to expand at an unrelenting and breakneck pace," Karp said.
Meanwhile, Palantir is drawing scrutiny in Europe as governments in the region grow increasingly wary about dependency on U.S. tech platforms.
The company is also challenging a decision to block a two-year, £50 million ($67.15 million) contract with the London police to use its AI systems to automate certain tasks and for evidence analysis in criminal investigations.
Palantir's third-quarter revenue forecast of between $2.160 billion and $2.164 billion was above analysts' average estimate of $2 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The company reported adjusted earnings per share of 41 cents for the second quarter, beating estimates of 35 cents.
Revenue rose 93% to $1.94 billion, exceeding estimates of $1.80 billion.
($1 = 0.7446 pounds)
(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru and Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
