Palantir’s Playbook: What Comes Next for the AI Giant?

On Thursday, March 13th, Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) is scheduled to host the sixth AIPCon, standing for Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) Conference. Previously, in early December 2024, the intelligence software company launched its Warp Speed operating system specifically designed to streamline manufacturing in sync with President Trump’s re-industrialization initiative.

At that time, Warp Speed included Anduril Industries, L3Harris, Shield AI, and Panasonic Energy of North America (PENA) as first clients. The sixth AIPCon will unveil how other companies are utilizing Palantir’s tech, from Red Cat, Saildrone and SNC to Ursa Major. 

Additionally, Palantir gained new clients. Most notably, Heineken, Walgreens, R1 RCM, RaceTrac and Ripcord. Ahead of the AIPCon, PLTR stock is priced at $83.76 per share, having gained 11% value year-to-date after a steep drop in late February from its all-time high of $124.62 per share.

The question is, should retail investors jump into PLTR exposure to preempt AIPCon impressions?

What Does Warp Speed Bring to Palantir’s Valuation?

Under the Arsenal OS platform, Warp Speed gives manufacturers tools to break down complex production processes to boost operational efficiency. Anduril Industries, known for its unmanned aerial systems (UAS), made the case in late November that Warp Speed enhanced their material resource planning by 200x.

Dubbed as the “manufacturing OS for American re-industrialization”, Warp Speed is flexible enough to attach to existing manufacturing systems. The company leadership can then gain new operational insights by feeding data into Warp Speed’s modules.

This is all made possible with the operational layer called Ontology, named for the philosophical study of being. By defining semantics into objects and properties, Ontology framework creates a digital mirror of the organization and its physical assets. 

The digital twin of the company then provides contextual relationships between objects and actions, making it easier to visualize data, reveal patterns, trends, anomalies and ultimately remove manufacturing choke points.

Previously, Palantir boasted that its data integration platform Foundry used Ontology to more effectively deploy vaccination efforts during the pandemic narrative.

“Foundry, a configuration of the Palantir Platform, is helping to facilitate pandemic management across agencies such as HHS, CDC, FEMA, DOD, NIH, and FDA during the COVID-19 outbreak.”

Palantir’s Federal Health section

It took President Trump’s second term to start distancing himself from the pandemic narrative, as he signed an Executive Order (EO) to prohibit federal funding for covid-19 vaccine mandates in schools.

Palantir’s Earnings and AI Positioning

As previously covered in Palantir as a dark horse AI stock, the company is positioning itself as the AI-powered layer of governance, both commercial and nation-state. In the context of the US, this translates to hegemony technology provider, facilitating the analysis of Big Data and centralized data control from disparate sources.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp is often seen at high-level meetings with Elon Musk and government officials. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is aiming to reduce government waste by at least $1 trillion, already having made historic revelations by exposing USAID patronage networks.

Karp sees this development as beneficial for the company in the long run. In Q4 2024 earnings call on February 3rd, Palantir CEO noted that “whatever is good for America will be good for Americans and very good for Palantir.” He further expressed optimism on the overall direction of the US.

“There’s a revolution. Some people get their heads cut off. Like — you know, it’s like, we’re expecting to see really unexpected things and to win basically. That’s what we’re going to do. See unexpected things, report expected things, and win. And we’re planning to do that, and we’re pretty optimistic about the U.S. environment.”

Palantir CEO Alex Karp in Q4 2024 earnings call

For the quarter, Palantir’s revenue grew year-over-year by 36% to $828 million. Karp sees such impressive growth as a “new phase” for Palantir’s business, one that is gaining both commercial and government momentum.

With government contract sales growing 45% year-over-year to $1.2 billion annual sales, it is then reasonable to extrapolate that Palantir will keep accruing more commercial clients. After all, with granular AI tools that have already shown efficacy in the real world, large businesses can ill-afford to remain behind. 

Most recently, Palantir delivered two TITAN systems to the U.S. Army. The Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node systems make use of AI to collect and analyze data from various sensors, which is then delivered to the boots on the ground. Palantir won that contract last year, worth $178 million, beating its competitor RTX Corporation.

Palantir Price Targets

According to Wall Street Journal, the average PLTR price target is $95.28 vs the current price of $83.76 per share. The ceiling target has double the profit potential, at $160, while the low estimate holds at $40 per share. 

In the scenario of recession as officially announced, it is likely that the stock market will undergo another major price correction. At that time, PLTR shares should be considered as the optimal exposure for long-term play.

Do you think Palantir will help bridge the gap between China’s manufacturing prowess and the US? Let us know in the comments below.

About the author

Tim Fries is the cofounder of The Tokenist. He has a B. Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Tim served as a Senior Associate on the investment team at RW Baird’s US Private Equity division, and is also the co-founder of Protective Technologies Capital, an investment firm specializing in sensing, protection and control solutions.