Palantir Technologies (PLTR 0.56%) lost $0.08 per share in the fourth quarter on revenue that came in ahead of analyst expectations. The company is forecasting dramatic sales growth in the years to come, which will be needed to justify Palantir's current valuation.
Data analytics specialist Palantir went public in late September, and the stock has soared more than 215% in the months since. The company has products catering to both government and commercial customers, but is best known for its work with U.S. spy agencies.
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On Tuesday morning, Palantir said it generated $322 million in revenue during the fourth quarter, topping the consensus estimate for $300 million in sales. The company said it closed 21 deals worth at least $5 million in total contract value in the quarter.
The government business led the way in the quarter, generating $190 million in revenue.
For the year, Palantir generated $1.1 billion in revenue, up 47% year over year, and said it expects revenue growth "greater than 30%" in 2021. Palantir is targeting $4 billion in revenue by 2025.
Palantir's growth forecast is impressive, but arguably a lot of that is already baked into the share price. The company is currently trading at about 42 times its projected 2021 revenue, well above the multiples of other government IT providers and high even for commercial data analytics companies.
