Planet Labs surges on revenue beat, first profit milestone
Satellite imagery company achieves Adjusted EBITDA profitability with $900M backlog as FY27 guidance shows 35-43% growth outlook
Planet Labs PBC shares surged in Thursday trading after the satellite imagery company reported a fourth-quarter revenue beat that far exceeded analyst expectations and marked a significant milestone in its path to profitability.
The San Francisco-based company reported quarterly revenue of $86.8 million, beating analyst estimates of $72 million by 20.5% and representing 41% year-over-year growth, according to the company's regulatory filing with the SEC. Full-year revenue reached $307.7 million, up 26% from the prior fiscal year.
More notably, Planet Labs achieved its first-ever Adjusted EBITDA profitability of $15.5 million and generated positive free cash flow of $52.9 million. The company's stock closed at $26.94, up 8.6% on the day, building on pre-earnings gains as investors anticipated strong results for its satellite and AI services.
The earnings strength was underpinned by robust demand for the company's Earth observation capabilities. Planet Labs' backlog surged 79% year-over-year to $900 million, while remaining performance obligations jumped 106% to $852 million, indicating substantial revenue visibility for future periods.
Looking ahead, Planet Labs provided fiscal 2027 revenue guidance of $415 million to $440 million, implying growth of 35% to 43% from the just-completed fiscal year. The guidance suggests the company expects to maintain strong momentum as it scales its commercial and government customer base.
Not all metrics moved in the right direction. Gross margins compressed to 54% from 62% in the prior-year quarter, and the company reported a widened GAAP net loss of $152.5 million. However, Planet Labs attributed the loss increase primarily to warrant revaluation rather than operational weakness, a non-cash accounting adjustment.
The company, which operates a constellation of Earth-observing satellites, has positioned itself in the rapidly growing remote sensing and analytics market. Founded in 2010, Planet Labs provides continuous monitoring capabilities that support global sustainability initiatives and help organizations across agriculture, forestry, and urban planning make data-driven decisions.
Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with 7 analysts rating the stock a buy or strong buy and 3 maintaining hold ratings. The consensus price target of $24.71 is below the current trading level, though the strong earnings beat may prompt revisions.
Planet Labs' high beta of 1.96 reflects the stock's volatility, with shares having traded in a 52-week range of $2.79 to $30.90. The current market capitalization stands at approximately $8.4 billion.
Institutional investors hold roughly 74% of outstanding shares, indicating strong institutional confidence in the company's long-term prospects. The achievement of Adjusted EBITDA profitability represents a critical inflection point for the business, which has been investing heavily in building its satellite constellation and analytics capabilities.
As the company transitions from growth-at-all-costs to sustainable profitability, investors will focus on margin recovery and execution against the ambitious fiscal 2027 guidance. The $900 million backlog provides substantial revenue visibility, though gross margin pressure will be a key metric to monitor in coming quarters.