Planet Labs PBC (PL -1.25%), a daily satellite imagery and geospatial analytics provider, closed at $18.11, down 1.28%. Shares slipped after mixed premarket analyst updates, following Thursday's earnings beat and guidance raise. Trading volume reached 30.8M shares, coming in about 182% above its three-month average of 10.9M shares. Planet Labs PBC IPO'd in 2021 and has grown 83% since going public.
How the markets moved todayThe S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.38%) fell 0.39% to 7,718, and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -0.29%) slipped 0.29% to 26,507. Among aerospace & defense -- satellite-based earth observation and geospatial analytics peers, BlackSky Technology (BKSY -0.63%) closed at $20.50, down 0.63%, while Satellogic (SATL +0.22%) ended at $4.64, up 0.22%, underscoring a mixed session for the group.
What this means for investorsIt was an excellent Q2 for Planet Labs as sales rose 58% and the company delivered a surprise positive adjusted EPS of $0.02 -- both above Wall Street's expectations. However, the stock slid 1% on mixed analyst price target changes and subsequent evaluations today.
For the most part, Planet Labs' earnings looked strong, but its backlog growth of just 11% year over year may have helped keep the stock largely flat today. Furthermore, the company guided for Q3 sales to land between $101 million and $105 million -- well short of analysts' expectations of $114 million. While this would equal 27% sales growth at the midpoint, it'd be a large step back from Q2's outsize growth.
I'm not racing out to buy shares of PL stock at 17 times sales. However, I believe the company could build a moat around its historical data and insights, especially as it continues to incorporate AI into its processes and looks for newer, leading-edge applications for its customers.
Josh Kohn-Lindquist has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends BlackSky Technology and Planet Labs PBC. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Planet Labs investors dumped the stock before earnings, then scrambled back in after results hit. The question now is whether a sovereign satellite pipeline worth billions can hold up a guidance number that already rattled the market.
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Planet Labs (NYSE:PL) stock is rallying 10% to $20.10 in early Friday trading after the Earth-observation company posted a record Q2 FY2027 revenue beat that overshadowed a softer third-quarter revenue outlook. The reversal stands out because the stock closed at $18.35 on Thursday, falling 8% into the report. Planet Labs stock was up 185% over the past year through Thursday’s close, so the pre-earnings selloff came out of a running gain.
The setup matters here. Investors sold Planet Labs into the report, then bought it back on results that cleared the bar on revenue, earnings, and profitability, even as the near-term revenue guide came in light. The counterweight to that guide is a sovereign satellite-services pipeline the company argues is worth more than the imagery subscription business Planet Labs was originally valued on.
Record Revenue and a Rule of 40 Encore Planet Labs reported record second-quarter revenue of $116.1 million, up 58% year over year and well above the $104.22 million consensus estimate. Planet Labs also delivered adjusted earnings of $0.02 per share against an expected loss of $0.02 per share, its fifth straight EPS beat. Planet Labs cleared the Rule of 40, which combines revenue growth and adjusted EBITDA margin, for a fourth consecutive quarter.
Underneath the headline, defense and intelligence revenue grew more than 90% year over year, and EMEA revenue rose over 130%. The mix reflects the ramp of sovereign satellite-services contracts, including the handover of the first Pelican satellite to the Swedish Armed Forces during the quarter. Non-GAAP gross margin came in at 59% and adjusted EBITDA reached $13.9 million, more than double the prior-year figure.
Planet Labs also called out new contract wins, including an $8 million award from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for a Global Monitoring Service, a German government tender for dedicated-capacity satellite services worth up to €25 million over five years, and a national program with the Rwanda Space Agency. Planet Labs’ recurring annual contract value was 98% of the end-of-period book of business, underscoring how much of Planet Labs’ revenue base sits under multi-year commitments.
Sovereign Pipeline Reframes the Q3 Soft Spot The wrinkle is the forward guidance. Planet Labs guided Q3 revenue to a range of $101 million to $105 million, below the $114.49 million consensus, partly because revenue from the Swedish military satellite was recognized in Q2 rather than Q3. Planet Labs also raised the lower end of its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook to $430 million to $441 million and forecast adjusted EBITDA profit of $3 million to $10 million for the year.
Planet Labs’ sovereign satellite-services pipeline now exceeds $4 billion, with more than $1 billion classified as near-term. CEO Will Marshall stated, “I’ve never seen it as big as it is now.” Sovereign, dedicated-capacity contracts are longer-dated and margin-attached, which is why the Rule of 40 print carries weight alongside the pipeline commentary.
The caveat is real. A pipeline still needs to convert to signed backlog before it becomes revenue, and Planet Labs’ conversion rate on those larger sovereign deals is still being established, which leaves room for the guide to slip if timing again works against a quarter.
Space Peers in the Frame Sector reads are mixed heading into the session. Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB | RKLB Price Prediction) has become a much larger space-systems name after its Q2 2026 revenue of $234.07 million and a backlog around $2.36 billion, though Rocket Lab stock has traded softer in recent weeks. AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) posted $31.52 million in Q2 2026 revenue with a $1.3 billion backlog and reaffirmed 2026 revenue guidance of $150 million to $200 million as it builds out its Bluebird constellation.
The Procure Space ETF (NASDAQ:UFO), which counts Planet Labs among its largest disclosed equity holdings, offers a diversified proxy for how the broader space group is trading around the report. Both featured peers are capital-hungry constellation stories, and Planet Labs is positioning as the imagery and sovereign-services arm of the same sector, with a lighter capex profile and a stated path to full-year adjusted EBITDA profit.
What to Watch Next The follow-through question is whether backlog conversion in the back half of fiscal 2027 validates the raised full-year midpoint and lands the company inside its adjusted EBITDA range, according to Planet Labs. Sell-side reaction on Friday and any tightening of the Q3 range in coming weeks can shape sentiment through the next investor update, especially if analysts fold the sovereign pipeline commentary into revised out-year models.
Investors adding new exposure to Planet Labs stock after this reversal can watch for signs that the sovereign pipeline converts into current-period revenue at a durable pace. Buying a stock coming off a 185% one-year run takes its own rulebook, and we spelled out ten of them in a free breakout guide here. Traders coming in on the move can keep their positions sized to the reality that a $4 billion pipeline is a lead indicator, and their risk framed against a stock that gave up 8% into Thursday’s close.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
As businesses rely on specialized data for decision-making, choosing between satellite imagery and cloud analytics is a tough call. Is Planet Labs PBC (PL -8.20%) or Snowflake (SNOW +16.55%) the better buy today?
Planet Labs provides high-frequency satellite imagery, capturing the entire Earth every day. Snowflake operates a cloud data platform that lets companies store and analyze massive datasets. While they serve different niches, both companies represent high-growth plays on the modern data economy, making them frequent targets for investors seeking exposure to tech-driven disruption.
The case for Planet Labs PBCPlanet Labs operates a fleet of approximately 200 satellites to provide daily Earth-imaging data and analytics. It serves a diverse customer base including agriculture, energy, and forestry, and its latest annual report mentions recent contracts with NATO and the government of Sweden. High revenue concentration with a small number of customers adds a layer of risk to the business since a single departure could significantly impact the top line.
In its 2026 fiscal year (FY), revenue reached $307.7 million, representing a growth rate of 25.9% compared to the previous year. However, the company reported a net loss of $246.9 million for the period. This net margin, which measures the percentage of revenue left as profit after all expenses, stood at negative 80.2%, compared to negative 50.4% in the prior year.
As of its January 2026 balance sheet, the current ratio, which compares short-term assets to short-term liabilities, is 1.7x. The debt-to-equity ratio, measuring total debt against shareholder equity, stands at 2.5x. Note that stock-based compensation (SBC) represented 40.9% of operating cash flow, which inflates reported cash generation since SBC is a non-cash expense added back in the cash flow statement.
Snowflake provides an AI Data Cloud platform used for data engineering, analytics, AI, and secure data sharing. The company operates a consumption-based model, serving 790 of the Forbes Global 2000 as of its latest annual report for the year ended Jan. 31, 2026. This platform is essential for organizations to manage data pipelines across various cloud environments.
In FY 2026, revenue reached $4.7 billion, a growth of 29.2% over the previous fiscal year. Despite this increase, the company reported a net loss of $1.3 billion. This resulted in a net margin of negative 28.4% for the fiscal year, though this was an improvement from the negative 35.5% margin reported in FY 2025.
According to its January balance sheet, the current ratio stands at 1.3x. The debt-to-equity ratio is 1.4x. Note that stock-based compensation represented 130.9% of operating cash flow, meaning reported cash generation is heavily inflated by this non-cash add-back.
Risk profile comparisonPlanet Labs faces significant operational risks involving satellite manufacturing and potential launch failures. The company also manages regulatory risks due to the geopolitical sensitivity of geospatial data, which can limit where and how it sells its imagery.
Snowflake is dependent on public cloud infrastructure providers such as Amazon and Microsoft, which are also its primary competitors in the data space. The company faces litigation risks, including securities fraud class action lawsuits and concerns regarding unauthorized customer account access. Furthermore, the consumption-based revenue model can make it difficult to accurately forecast future financial results during periods of economic uncertainty.
Valuation comparisonBoth companies command high P/S ratio figures, which compare market value to annual revenue, but Planet Labs appears slightly more affordable. It does not have a Forward P/E ratio, which measure a stock price against future earnings estimates, since it is not expected to make a profit any time soon.
MetricPlanet Labs PBCSnowflakeForward P/En/a161.3xP/S ratio18.3x21.7xValuation metrics sourced from Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) and may differ from other data providers.
Which stock would I buy in 2026?Planet Labs and Snowflake both released impressive earnings reports in recent days. Planet Labs announced record revenue of $116.1 million, representing 58% year-over-year growth in its fiscal second quarter ended July 31.
Over the same time period, Snowflake reported revenue of $1.6 billion, which was 35% year-over-year growth. The data giant is benefiting from the artificial intelligence boom, as its AI products experienced robust customer adoption, and its consumption-based pricing model means the more clients use its AI, the greater Snowflake sales will grow.
Its success in the rapidly expanding AI sector would make Snowflake the better stock to buy in 2026. However, after delivering an outstanding fiscal Q2, its stock price soared to a 52-week high of $384.56 on Sept. 3, causing its valuation to rise.
Now, Planet Labs boasts the better valuation, and with its remaining performance obligations totaling $753.1 million in fiscal Q2, its sales are poised to continue seeing strong sales growth. Consequently, I would buy Planet Labs stock right now.
Cleo Palmer-Poroner - Director of Investor Relations
William Marshall - Co-Founder, CEO & Chairman of the Board
Ashley Whitfield Johnson - President & CFO
Conference Call Participants
Xin Yu - Deutsche Bank AG, Research Division
John Godyn - Citigroup Inc., Research Division
Mike Latimore - Northland Capital Markets, Research Division
Trevor Walsh - Citizens JMP Securities, LLC, Research Division
Ryan Koontz - Needham & Company, LLC, Research Division
Michael Filatov - Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG, Research Division
Daniel Hibshman - Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC, Research Division
Noah Poponak - Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Research Division
Kyle Benvenuto - Morgan Stanley, Research Division
Gregory Pendy - Clear Street LLC., Research Division
Gabriel Flouret - Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Research Division
Christopher Quilty - Quilty Space Inc., Research Division
Presentation
Operator
Thank you for joining us, and welcome to the Planet Labs PBC Second Quarter of Fiscal Year 2027 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions]
I will now hand the conference over to Cleo Palmer-Poroner, Director of Investor Relations.
Cleo Palmer-Poroner
Director of Investor Relations
Thanks, operator, and hello, everyone. I'm joined by Will Marshall and Ashley Johnson, who will provide a recap of our results and discuss our current outlook. We encourage everyone to please reference the earnings press release and earnings update presentation for today's call, which are available on our Investor Relations website.
Before we begin, we'd like to remind everyone that we will make forward-looking statements related to future events or our financial outlook. Any forward-looking statements are based on management's current outlook, plans, estimates, expectations, and projections. The inclusion of such forward-looking information should not be regarded as a representation by Planet that future plans, estimates, or expectations will be achieved. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties and assumptions as detailed in our SEC filings, which can be found
Planet Labs PBC (PL - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.02 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $0.02 per share. This compares to a loss of $0.03 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.
This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +200.00%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this company would post a loss of $0.03 per share when it actually produced a loss of $0.03, delivering no surprise.
Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times.
Planet Labs PBC, which belongs to the Zacks Satellite and Communication industry, posted revenues of $116.05 million for the quarter ended July 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10.67%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $73.39 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters.
The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.
Planet Labs PBC shares have added about 1.4% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 12%.
What's Next for Planet Labs PBC?While Planet Labs PBC has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?
There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.
Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.
Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Planet Labs PBC was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is -$0.02 on $113.41 million in revenues for the coming quarter and -$0.07 on $436.68 million in revenues for the current fiscal year.
Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Satellite and Communication is currently in the bottom 11% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
Paychex (PAYX - Free Report) , another stock in the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector, has yet to report results for the quarter ended August 2026.
This payroll processor and human-resources services provider is expected to post quarterly earnings of $1.33 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +9%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.
Paychex's revenues are expected to be $1.62 billion, up 5.1% from the year-ago quarter.
AST SpaceMobile Stock Soared 12%—This Was the CatalystPlanet Labs PBC NYSE: PL reported record second-quarter revenue of $116 million, up approximately 58% from a year earlier, as satellite services execution and demand from defense and intelligence customers drove growth. The company also raised the low end of its full-year fiscal 2027 outlook for revenue and adjusted EBITDA.
Chief Executive Officer, Chairperson and Co-Founder Will Marshall said the company’s non-GAAP gross margin reached 59% during the quarter, exceeding expectations, while adjusted EBITDA was profitable. Planet also exceeded the “Rule of 40” metric for a fourth consecutive quarter, combining its revenue growth rate with adjusted EBITDA margin.
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Satellite Services Drives Quarterly Outperformance Could Falling Yields Make REIT Stocks Worth a Second Look?President and Chief Financial Officer Ashley Johnson said the company’s quarterly outperformance was primarily related to execution on satellite services contracts, including the handover of its first Pelican satellite for the Swedish Armed Forces. Planet launched the satellite in May, four months after signing the contract, and completed commissioning quickly enough for the handover to contribute point-in-time revenue in the second quarter.
Defense and intelligence revenue increased more than 90% year over year, including satellite services revenue. Commercial-sector revenue rose more than 15%, while civil government revenue grew more than 5%.
Satellogic Is Tiny But Its Revenue Growth Is Hard to IgnoreRegionally, Planet reported year-over-year revenue growth of approximately 3% in Latin America, more than 15% in Asia-Pacific, about 25% in North America and more than 130% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Johnson said the growth in international and defense revenue reflected the company’s delivery against satellite services backlog.
Point-in-time revenue represented 12% of second-quarter revenue, compared with 1% in the prior-year period. Johnson said this measure may vary from quarter to quarter as the company expands satellite services, because certain contracts are recognized when delivery milestones are completed.
Planet ended the quarter with approximately $753 million in remaining performance obligations, up about 9% year over year, and estimated backlog of roughly $815 million, up approximately 11%. About half of backlog applies to the next 12 months, according to the company.
Government Awards and Expanding Pipeline Planet announced an $8 million contract with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to deploy its Global Monitoring Service in support of national-defense priorities. Marshall said the award followed a Defense Innovation Unit pilot supporting INDOPACOM and includes options to expand and extend the work.
The company also received a seven-figure, one-year agreement with a European defense and intelligence customer for high-resolution global mosaics and operational-planning support. In August, the German government announced a tender award for dedicated-capacity satellite services with a maximum possible value of €25 million over five years, including options.
Marshall said Planet has identified more than $4 billion of satellite-services opportunities, with more than 25% classified as near-term pipeline. In response to analyst questions, he defined near term as “quarters, not years,” and said the opportunity set spans EMEA, Asia-Pacific and North America. He also said the pipeline includes both smaller civil-government opportunities and larger transactions.
Outside defense, Planet signed a contract with the Rwanda Space Agency to provide national high-resolution data and analytics for government entities and public universities. The data will support applications including agriculture, urban management, spatial planning and disaster response. Marshall called it Planet’s first national program of its kind in Africa.
In the commercial market, Planet cited an expanded six-figure renewal with a hyperscale AI developer that uses Planet’s Pelican imagery to monitor construction of data centers and semiconductor manufacturing facilities. The company also detailed partnerships with FarmQA on AI-powered agricultural intelligence tools and Bragger Technologies on change detection and natural-resource management analytics.
AI, Fleet Investments and Manufacturing Expansion Marshall said Planet’s AI application has progressed to open beta. The tool is designed to make the company’s archive of daily Earth imagery searchable using natural-language queries. He said the company is focused on learning from users before determining the product’s broader commercialization and go-to-market strategy.
Management emphasized the strategic value of Planet’s archive and daily imaging coverage. Marshall said the company’s Global Monitoring Service and maritime-domain-awareness capabilities rely on historical data to identify meaningful changes and patterns over time.
Planet launched a next-generation Pelican technology demonstration satellite in July. Marshall said the satellite met its major goals and supports the company’s path toward 30-centimeter-class imagery, though it is not intended to serve customers. The company also shipped its second Tanager hyperspectral satellite and 18 SuperDove satellites for a planned fall launch on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 mission.
The company is accelerating development of its planned Owl next-generation monitoring system, which is intended to improve imagery resolution from 3-meter to 1-meter class and reduce latency to as little as one hour in key areas. Marshall said the system is expected to deliver roughly 10 times more data about 10 times faster, potentially enabling higher-priced applications.
Planet is expanding manufacturing capacity in San Francisco and Berlin. Its German facility is expected to roughly double manufacturing capacity, with clean-room fit-out planned for September and initial production expected this year. The company also announced a launch partnership with Isar Aerospace for a Pelican mission planned next year.
Guidance Raised as Spending Increases For the third quarter, Planet forecast revenue of $101 million to $105 million, representing approximately 27% year-over-year growth at the midpoint. The company expects non-GAAP gross margin of 56% to 58% and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $6 million to $1 million.
For fiscal 2027, Planet raised its revenue outlook to $430 million to $441 million, implying growth of 40% to 43%. It projected non-GAAP gross margin of 55% to 57% and adjusted EBITDA of $3 million to $10 million.
Capital expenditures are expected to total approximately $100 million to $115 million for the year, reflecting investments in manufacturing facilities, supply-chain resiliency and next-generation Pelican and Owl fleets. Johnson said the company is making advanced purchases of longer-lead-time items in response to demand and to maintain its ability to deliver satellites quickly.
Planet generated approximately $68 million in net cash from operating activities year to date and ended the quarter with about $865 million of cash equivalents and short-term investments. During the quarter, the company raised approximately $120 million through stock sales under its at-the-market program. Johnson said the capital was intended primarily to provide strategic balance-sheet flexibility while management seeks to minimize dilution.
About Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL)Planet Labs PBC is a public benefit corporation that operates one of the largest fleets of Earth-imaging satellites, providing high-frequency, high-resolution imagery and data analytics to a broad range of industries. The company's multi-spectral satellite constellation captures daily snapshots of the planet, enabling clients to monitor changes in agriculture, forestry, urban development, energy infrastructure and environmental conditions. Planet's imagery platform is designed to support timely decision-making by transforming raw satellite data into actionable insights for business and government users.
Founded in 2010 by former NASA scientists Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler and Chris Boshuizen, Planet Labs grew from a small startup into a key provider in the satellite imaging sector.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
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Should You Invest $1,000 in Planet Labs PBC Right Now?Before you consider Planet Labs PBC, you'll want to hear this.
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SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL) (“Planet” or the “Company”), a leading provider of daily data and insights about change on Earth, today announced financial results for the period ended July 31, 2026. “Planet delivered an outstanding second quarter, with record revenue of $116.1 million, representing 58% year-over-year growth and our fourth consecutive quarter of meeting or exceeding the Rule of 40,” said Will Marshall, Planet's Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and.
Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PATH) posted its fiscal 2027 second-quarter results after Thursday’s closing bell, beating analysts’ revenue expectations. Here’s a look at the details inside the report.
PL stock is moving. Watch the price action here. Planet Labs reported quarterly losses of three cents per share, which missed the consensus estimate for losses of two cents, per Benzinga Pro data.
Quarterly revenue came in at $116.05 million, which beat the Street estimate of $104.12 million by 11.46%.
Planet Labs reported the following quarterly highlights:
Second quarter revenue increased 58% year-over-year to a record $116.1 million. Percent of recurring annual contract value (ACV) was 98% as of the end of the second quarter. Second quarter non-GAAP gross margin was 59%, compared to 61% in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026. Second quarter net loss was ($9.4) million, compared to ($22.6) million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026. “Planet delivered an outstanding second quarter, with record revenue of $116.1 million, representing 58% year-over-year growth and our fourth consecutive quarter of meeting or exceeding the Rule of 40,” said Will Marshall, Planet’s CEO.
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PL Stock Price: According to data from Benzinga Pro, Planet Labs stock was up 6.32% to $19.51 in Thursday’s extended trading.
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A new European defense contract and a fresh analyst Buy rating landed for Planet Labs on Thursday, yet the stock cratered anyway while the broader market rallied. Something specific to this sector is spooking investors ahead of a closely watched…
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Space and satellite names are pulling back Thursday morning even as major U.S. benchmarks climb, with a mix of company-specific catalysts failing to stem selling across the commercial space complex. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) is up 0.6% to $769.76, tracking the S&P 500, so the risk-off in space is idiosyncratic to the sector rather than a reflection of the wider market.
Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) stock is down 8% to $18.48, even after the company announced a new European defense contract and picked up a fresh Buy initiation from Berenberg. Meanwhile, Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR) stock is falling 2% to $14.52 as risk comes out of the space complex. AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) stock is sliding 1% to $61.78, sitting out today’s broad-market advance.
Contract and Buy Rating Fail to Lift Planet Labs Planet Labs disclosed a seven-figure, one-year agreement with a European defense and intelligence customer covering Planet Mosaics imagery and dedicated professional services support, according to Planet Labs PBC. Jon Powers, its Vice President of Global Defense and Intelligence, stated, “Defense and intelligence organizations around the globe rely on Planet’s high-frequency, scalable satellite solutions to address complex and fast-evolving security environments.” That agreement extends Planet Labs’s run of government wins from earlier this year, including deals with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Swedish Armed Forces and the Defense Innovation Unit.
Scale is the problem for bulls. A seven-figure deal is small next to the 8-figure and 9-figure awards Planet Labs has booked earlier this year, so it doesn’t materially shift the revenue base or full-year guidance math.
The sell-side signal is more constructive. Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB | RKLB Price Prediction) was named alongside Planet Labs and AST SpaceMobile in a Berenberg initiation, with analyst Michael Filatov launching coverage of all three at Buy and setting a $25 price target on Planet Labs stock, citing its daily whole-Earth imaging and multi-year imagery archive as a moat rivals would struggle to reproduce. Yet, that initiation isn’t drawing buyers in Planet Labs stock during this session.
Sector Risk Comes Off Ahead of Results Positioning offers the cleaner read. Planet Labs is scheduled to report quarterly results after the close, though the company hasn’t confirmed the date, and short-dated options activity has tilted defensive into the release. That’s a familiar setup for a name that’s run hard.
The year-to-date figure sharpens the picture. Planet Labs stock was up 1% year to date through Wednesday’s close despite a 201% advance over the past year, meaning the entire twelve-month gain predates 2026, and current holders have sat through eight quiet months.
The commercial space peers show the same tone. Intuitive Machines stock was down 8% year to date through the prior close, and AST SpaceMobile stock was down 14% year to date over the same span, extending an underperforming stretch even as the S&P 500 climbs. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note is down 4 basis points to 4.74%, a rate move typically supportive of long-duration growth names.
What to Watch The immediate event is Planet Labs’ scheduled results release. A quarterly print in line with the FY2027 revenue and adjusted EBITDA guide could unwind the day’s de-risking. Any softness in backlog conversion or the current-quarter revenue outlook may confirm the caution the session is pricing in.
Peer-group price action matters, too. If Intuitive Machines and AST SpaceMobile stabilize while Planet Labs continues to lag, the move looks stock-specific rather than sector-wide. Should the whole space complex keep sliding, it points to broader rotation regardless of tonight’s numbers.
Investors sizing their exposure into the release should calibrate their positions carefully given the volatility already visible in the session and in short-dated options activity. There’s no shame in waiting for the report itself; the setup here is asymmetric only for holders willing to stomach a gap either way.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) shares are in the spotlight, with earnings on deck, key growth metrics in focus and a technical setup showing the stock trading below every major moving average.
Earnings Preview & HistoryPlanet Labs is scheduled to report second-quarter fiscal-year 2027 earnings on September 3 after market close. Analysts estimate a loss of 2 cents per share along with revenue of $104.12 million. For the prior quarter, Planet Labs reported EPS of negative 3 cents, beating the consensus estimate of negative 4 cents by 25%. The company also posted revenue of $94.15 million, beating the consensus estimate of $89.85 million by 4.78%.
Backlog, Defense Growth, FY27 Guidance in FocusInvestors will be closely tracking backlog and remaining performance obligations, which stood at approximately $906 million and $816 million, respectively, at the end of the first quarter, up more than 70% year-over-year, as a key indicator of future revenue visibility. Defense and intelligence segment growth will also be in focus, given it grew more than 65% year-over-year last quarter and has become the company’s primary growth driver, alongside any updates on international contract wins and the pace of Pelican satellite deployments.
Commentary on full-year fiscal 2027 guidance, currently set at $425 million to $441 million in revenue with adjusted EBITDA between breakeven and $10 million, along with progress toward sustained positive free cash flow, should offer additional signals on whether Planet Labs can justify its valuation heading into the back half of the year.
Planet Labs Trades Below Every Major Moving AverageFrom a trend perspective, PL is still in a defensive posture: it’s trading 13.8% below its 20-day SMA, 19.6% below its 50-day SMA, 37.7% below its 100-day SMA, and 27.3% below its 200-day SMA. That "below all the key averages" setup typically means rallies can run into supply faster than they find follow-through.
The moving-average structure also leans bearish, with the 20-day SMA below the 50-day SMA and a death cross in August (the 50-day SMA below the 200-day SMA). In longer-term trend work, that combination often signals the stock needs time (and multiple closes back above key averages) before the trend picture improves.
MACD is the cleaner momentum lens right now: it’s below its signal line and the histogram is negative, which points to fading upside pressure versus the prior upswing. In plain terms, when MACD sits below its signal line, it usually means momentum is cooling unless buyers can push price back into a stronger uptrend.
Near-term levels are tight, which can make Tuesday’s open important if volatility picks up with the futures tone:
Key Resistance: $21.00 — a round-number area that can cap rebounds before the stock can work back toward its short-term moving averages Key Support: $19.50 — a nearby floor traders may defend, sitting right around the current trading area Read Next
Planet Labs Shares DropPL Price Action: At the time of publication, Planet Labs shares are trading 1.91% lower at $19.47, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
Image via Shutterstock
This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL), a leading provider of daily data and insights about change on Earth, today announced that its Tanager-2 satellite and the 18 SuperDove satellites of Flock 4J have arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California ahead of their launch aboard the upcoming Transporter-18 rideshare mission with SpaceX. Building on the operational success of Planet's recent launches, this multi-constellation shipment marks a significant milestone in the.
Key Takeaways RKLB provides launch services, spacecraft manufacturing and integrated mission solutions for space missions.Rocket Lab will build a GEO satellite bus for Viasat's Protected Tactical SATCOM-Global program.Planet Labs' Rwanda program uses satellite data for agriculture, forest monitoring and disaster management. Rocket Lab Corporation (RKLB - Free Report) and Planet Labs PBC (PL - Free Report) are benefiting from increasing demand for satellite infrastructure, space-based services and Earth-focused applications. As governments and commercial organizations expand their use of space technologies, both companies are strengthening capabilities across spacecraft, satellite systems and related services while addressing a broadening range of orbital and Earth-observation needs.
The space industry continues to develop through greater use of satellites for communications, remote sensing, Earth observation and data-driven applications. The rising adoption of satellite imagery, spacecraft systems and space-based data is creating opportunities for companies providing the hardware, infrastructure and information needed to support these applications. Both Rocket Lab and Planet Labs are positioned across different but complementary parts of this expanding space ecosystem.
Let’s compare the stocks’ fundamentals to determine which one is the better investment option at present.
The Case for RKLB StockRocket Lab provides launch services, spacecraft manufacturing, satellite components and mission-related solutions for commercial and government customers. Its capabilities span launch vehicles, spacecraft platforms, solar power systems, radios, optical systems, software and other components, allowing the company to support missions from launch through on-orbit operations.
Rocket Lab announced on Aug. 17, 2026, that Viasat selected it to build a GEO satellite bus for the Protected Tactical SATCOM-Global program. The company will provide its Lightning-GEO spacecraft platform to host Viasat’s payload, using vertically integrated systems, including radios, solar power, star trackers, reaction wheels and software. The agreement expands Rocket Lab’s spacecraft manufacturing opportunities and strengthens its position in GEO satellite programs and integrated space systems.
The Case for PL StockPlanet Labs operates a satellite-based Earth observation platform that combines its satellite fleet with data processing, analytics and software capabilities. The company collects frequent imagery of the Earth and provides data and related solutions to government and commercial customers across areas such as agriculture, resource management, environmental monitoring and other applications.
On Aug. 10, 2026, Planet Labs and the Government of Rwanda announced the launch of a national satellite data program, providing Planet’s data to government agencies, public universities, selected startups and development partners. The program will use satellite data for agriculture and food security, forest monitoring, urban planning and disaster management, expanding Planet Labs’ presence in national-level satellite data applications and creating additional opportunities for its Earth observation platform.
How Does the Zacks Consensus Estimate Compare for RKLB & PL?The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Rocket Lab’s 2026 earnings per share (EPS) indicates a rise of 58.33% in the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The consensus estimate for Planet Labs’ fiscal 2027 EPS has remained unchanged in the past 60 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Debt Position of RKLB & PLDebt position is an important financial indicator that reflects a company’s financial stability and ability to manage debt obligations efficiently. Currently, Rocket Lab's debt-to-capital ratio is 0.83%, while Planet Labs' stands at 50.22%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
RKLB & PL: Stock Price PerformanceOver the past six months, shares of RKLB and PL have fallen 3.1% and 10.7%, respectively.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Valuation for RKLB & PLRKLB shares are trading at a forward 12-month Price/Sales (P/S F12M) multiple of 33.69 compared with PL’s P/S F12M of 14.88.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Summing UpBoth companies operate across the expanding commercial space industry. Rocket Lab focuses on launch services, spacecraft manufacturing and integrated space systems that support orbital missions, while Planet Labs specializes in Earth observation, satellite imagery, data processing and analytics for government and commercial customers.
Our choice at the moment is Rocket Lab, supported by its stronger earnings estimate trends, broader capabilities across the space ecosystem, better price performance and debt management compared with Planet Labs.
Rocket Lab currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), while Planet Labs carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Listen to the audio version of this article (generated by AI).
In the fourth quarter of 2027, if Elon Musk’s timetable holds, a SpaceX (SPCX) rocket will carry a very unusual payload into orbit…
Part of an AI factory.
The first-generation Starmind satellite is expected to contain an optimized version of Nvidia’s (NVDA) Vera Rubin NVL72 system – the same computing architecture SpaceXAI is adopting for Grok’s data centers on Earth. SpaceX expects the orbital program to begin reaching significant scale in 2028.
Plenty can still go wrong. SpaceX has to redesign the system around radiation, heat, power, reliability, and the violence of launch. Musk is also known for his audacious targets, so the timeline may slip.
But the processor has been chosen. Engineers have a target platform. The launch window is on the calendar.
Back in April, we laid out the economic case for moving part of the AI grid into orbit. SpaceX and Nvidia are putting real hardware and a timetable behind it.
The AI race is now leaving the planet.
SpaceX Is Taking Nvidia’s AI Architecture From Earth to Orbit SpaceX is building Starmind around the same computing platform Grok already uses on Earth.
SpaceXAI will use Vera CPUs to help Grok’s agents coordinate tools, execute code, process information, and run simulations. Its largest terrestrial AI factories will run on the full Vera Rubin platform. Then an optimized version of that architecture will fly aboard Starmind.
Nvidia describes the strategy as one computing foundation spanning enormous Earth-based data centers and orbital AI infrastructure.
That means software developed for Grok’s Earth-based systems does not have to be rebuilt from scratch for orbit. Engineers can start with the same chips, networking, and software, then redesign the hardware for radiation, launch vibration, tight power limits, and the challenge of cooling equipment in space.
SpaceX is starting with a proven AI platform and adapting it for a much harder environment.
AI Agents Could Give Space Data Centers Their First Real Market GPUs handle the heavy mathematical work behind modern AI. Between those bursts, an agent has to decide what comes next: run code, process data, coordinate with another system, or launch a simulation.
Vera is built to speed up that surrounding work, which makes it especially useful in orbit.
Satellites already collect enormous amounts of imagery, radar readings, communications signals, and scientific data. Today, much of that data has to travel back to Earth for analysis to inform the next step.
An AI agent running beside the sensor could begin making those decisions onboard.
A satellite could scan an image, flag military movement or a wildfire, and transmit the useful intelligence instead of sending every raw pixel to the ground. A constellation could coordinate its own observations, adjust routes, or respond to changing conditions without waiting for orders from a human command center.
That gives orbital AI a practical place to start: missions where faster answers are worth more than cheaper computing.
Defense, Earth observation, autonomous spacecraft, and other time-sensitive missions can justify any premium by turning raw data into useful intelligence before it ever reaches the ground.
SpaceX Has Put a 2027 Launch Window on Starmind SpaceX had already said Starmind could begin launching in 2027.
Musk has now narrowed that target to the fourth quarter and offered a scale year: 2028.
Treat the dates as targets, not promises.
Musk’s timelines have slipped before, from the long-delayed Roadster to Tesla’s slower-than-expected robotaxi rollout. Orbital AI poses an even tougher challenge: SpaceX has to redesign data-center-class hardware for radiation, extreme temperature swings, launch forces, and years of remote operation.
A Launch Date Forces Real Procurement Decisions But the date still matters because it forces the program onto a real build schedule. Parts have to be ordered. Power and cooling systems have to be designed. Solar arrays, shielding, networking, software, and satellite structures all have to come together on time.
SpaceX is building the launch infrastructure for the larger vision, too.
The company recently announced plans to invest $100 billion in a new Starbase campus in Louisiana. The proposed site would span roughly 125,000 acres and eventually support thousands of Starship flights each year, with construction expected to begin in 2027 and initial launches targeted for 2029.
That facility will arrive too late to support a fourth-quarter 2027 Starmind launch if Musk’s current timetable holds.
Its true purpose is scale.
One orbital AI satellite can fly from existing facilities. A large constellation filled with heavy compute systems requires something closer to a launch factory.
SpaceX is developing both the computer and the transportation system needed to scale it.
Space Data Centers Still Cost Far More Than Earth-Based Compute Let’s keep our feet on the ground for a moment.
Orbital compute remains expensive.
SemiAnalysis estimates that a comparable GPU cluster deployed in space today costs nearly four times as much as one deployed on Earth. Its model puts the current all-in cost at roughly $8.64 per GPU-hour in orbit, versus $2.37 on Earth.
Its base case does not put orbit on equal cost footing with Earth until around 2040, though the gap could shrink to roughly 30% by the early 2030s.
The engineering problems are real.
Cooling remains difficult. Space is cold, but there is no air to carry heat away, so orbital data centers need large radiators.
Radiation can damage chips. Hardware failures are difficult to repair. Solar arrays and batteries add mass. Launch remains the single largest upfront cost in many orbital-compute designs.
And every kilogram of shielding, networking equipment, power systems, and cooling hardware has to survive the ride uphill.
Those problems remain unsolved. What’s changed is that orbital compute now has an engineering program, a chosen processor, and a launch window working against them.
Orbital compute only needs a few high-value jobs to justify its early premium. Falling launch and hardware costs can expand the market from there.
Space Data Centers Could Open a New Market for Nvidia For Nvidia, Starmind creates a demand that barely existed a year ago.
Every orbital Vera Rubin system represents advanced CPUs, GPUs, networking, and software sold into an entirely new physical market.
More importantly, Nvidia’s existing dominance gives it a head start.
Developers already know its tools. AI labs already build around its software. Data-center operators already understand the platform. Taking the same platform into orbit means developers do not have to learn an entirely new system.
Nvidia brings the compute platform. SpaceX brings everything else.
It supplies the rockets. Builds the satellites. Operates the Starlink communications network. Develops Grok through SpaceXAI. And now it is designing the orbital infrastructure that could run those AI workloads.
A Starmind Constellation Would Create a New Supply Chain Turning Starmind from one satellite into a constellation would pull an entire supply chain into orbit:
launch and spacecraft manufacturing radiation-tolerant electronics solar arrays and energy storage thermal-control systems laser communications autonomous operations software servicing and replacement infrastructure That puts companies such as Rocket Lab (RKLB), Redwire (RDW), Microchip Technology (MCHP), and Planet Labs (PL) on the orbital-compute watchlist.
Rocket Lab combines launch with a growing space-systems business. Redwire builds space power and structural hardware. Microchip supplies radiation-tolerant electronics. Planet Labs provides the orbital data and satellite expertise that make local processing economically useful.
These companies carry very different risks, and buying them is not the same as buying SpaceX.
But each one supplies something that would have to scale if Starmind grows into a real constellation.
We mapped many of those potential suppliers in our earlier breakdown of the stocks positioned around SpaceX’s first Starmind roadmap.
The Bottom Line: Space Data Centers Now Have a Real Roadmap Phase one of the AI buildout put chips into warehouses the size of city blocks. Phase two may strap them to rockets.
SpaceX and Nvidia are building one AI architecture that can stretch from Grok’s terrestrial data centers into orbit. AI agents give that platform a practical first job: analyze data and make decisions close to the satellites and sensors collecting it.
Earth remains cheaper. Orbit may still win the first workloads where speed, autonomy, and proximity are worth the premium.
That opens a new market for Nvidia and gives investors a fresh reason to watch the companies supplying launch, power, electronics, networking, and spacecraft hardware.
Space data centers promise long-term growth, but profitability is years away due to high launch costs and operational uncertainties. The SPDR S&P Kensho Final Frontiers ETF offers the most efficient, diversified exposure, benefiting from current revenue streams in aerospace and defense.
Bank of America Corp DE cut its holdings in shares of Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL – Free Report) by 46.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 696,045 shares of the company’s stock after selling 597,500 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.20% of Planet Labs PBC worth $19,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in Planet Labs PBC by 40.9% in the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC boosted its stake in Planet Labs PBC by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 15,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. Xponance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 18,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 12,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in Planet Labs PBC by 7.1% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.71% of the company’s stock.
Insider Activity at Planet Labs PBC In related news, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 64,593 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.92, for a total value of $1,674,250.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 825,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,398,022.72. This represents a 7.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 75,035 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total transaction of $1,656,772.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 1,132,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,997,253.76. This represents a 6.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 171,122 shares of company stock valued at $4,148,906 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 16.42% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PL. Wedbush began coverage on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Craig Hallum increased their target price on Planet Labs PBC from $36.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Planet Labs PBC from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Planet Labs PBC from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Planet Labs PBC has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.36. Get Our Latest Report on Planet Labs PBC
Planet Labs PBC Stock Down 3.5% Shares of NYSE PL opened at $22.55 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $8.04 billion, a PE ratio of -19.78 and a beta of 2.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Planet Labs PBC has a 12-month low of $6.10 and a 12-month high of $51.76.
Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.01. Planet Labs PBC had a negative return on equity of 105.29% and a negative net margin of 111.17%.The business had revenue of $94.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.39 million. Planet Labs PBC’s revenue was up 42.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
(Free Report)
Planet Labs PBC is a public benefit corporation that operates one of the largest fleets of Earth-imaging satellites, providing high-frequency, high-resolution imagery and data analytics to a broad range of industries. The company’s multi-spectral satellite constellation captures daily snapshots of the planet, enabling clients to monitor changes in agriculture, forestry, urban development, energy infrastructure and environmental conditions. Planet’s imagery platform is designed to support timely decision-making by transforming raw satellite data into actionable insights for business and government users.
Founded in 2010 by former NASA scientists Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler and Chris Boshuizen, Planet Labs grew from a small startup into a key provider in the satellite imaging sector.
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Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL – Get Free Report) and Experian (OTCMKTS:EXPGF – Get Free Report) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.
Institutional and Insider Ownership 41.7% of Planet Labs PBC shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.0% of Experian shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.4% of Planet Labs PBC shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Recommendations This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Planet Labs PBC and Experian, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Planet Labs PBC 2 4 6 0 2.33 Experian 0 0 0 0 0.00 Planet Labs PBC presently has a consensus price target of $35.36, suggesting a potential upside of 51.22%. Given Planet Labs PBC’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Planet Labs PBC is more favorable than Experian. Profitability This table compares Planet Labs PBC and Experian’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Planet Labs PBC -111.17% -105.29% -35.54% Experian N/A N/A N/A Earnings and Valuation This table compares Planet Labs PBC and Experian”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Planet Labs PBC $307.73 million 27.08 -$246.86 million ($1.14) -20.51 Experian N/A N/A N/A $0.84 46.65 Experian has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Planet Labs PBC. Planet Labs PBC is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Experian, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary Planet Labs PBC beats Experian on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.
(Get Free Report)
Planet Labs PBC engages in the design, construction, and launch constellations of satellites with the intent of providing high cadence geospatial data delivered to customers through an online platform worldwide. The company’s platform offers planet monitoring, basemap, tasking, apps, and application programming interfaces, as well as analytics and planetary variables. It serves agriculture, mapping, energy, forestry, finance and insurance companies, and government agencies. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
About Experian (Get Free Report)
Experian plc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a technology company in North America, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates in two segments, Business-to-Business and Consumer Services. The company collects, sorts, aggregates, and transforms data from various sources to provide a range of data-driven services. It also owns, create, and develops analytics, predictive tools, sophisticated software, and platforms; credit risk, fraud prevention, identity management, customer service and engagement, account processing, and account management services; data analysis, and research and development services. In addition, the company provides credit education, free access to Experian credit reports and scores, and online educational tools. It serves its customers in financial service, direct-to-consumer, health, retail, automotive, software and professional services, telecoms and utility, insurance, media and technology, and other industries, as well as government and public sectors. The company was formerly known as Experian Group Limited and changed its name to Experian plc in July 2008. Experian plc was founded in 1826 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.
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Planet Labs remains a Buy ahead of September 3rd earnings, despite a demanding 20x forward EV/sales multiple and a recent 50% share price pullback. PL's investment case hinges on accelerating revenue, expanding government/defense contracts, international growth, and the shift to higher-margin AI/analytics offerings. Earnings validation requires beating $104M revenue consensus, maintaining or raising FY27 guidance ($436M), and demonstrating improving margins and cash flow.
Planet Labs (PL +0.00%), a developer of satellite constellations, went public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) on Dec. 8, 2021. Its stock closed at $11.35 on the first day and eventually reached a record high of $51.40 on May 28, 2026.
Today, its stock trades at about $25. Like many of its industry peers, Planet Lab had rallied ahead of SpaceX's (SPCX -3.24%) market debut in June, but pulled back after that massive IPO drew investors away from the smaller space stocks. A massive $1.5 billion at-the-market stock offering that same month exacerbated its decline.
Image source: Getty Images.
After that pullback, Planet Lab still trades at 27 times this year's sales. That price-to-sales ratio might seem high, but it actually looks cheap compared to SpaceX or AST SpaceMobile (ASTS -3.26%), which trade at 132x and 43x this year's sales, respectively. So is Planet Labs actually one of the cheapest hypergrowth stocks in the nascent space economy?
What does Planet Labs do? Planet Labs designs, builds, and launches satellite constellations for government and commercial clients. It's deployed 462 satellites since 2013, and about 200 remain in orbit.
It generates most of its revenue from government and defense contracts (especially for sovereign intelligence infrastructure), but it's gaining more commercial customers across the agriculture, digital mapping, insurance, energy, and utilities sectors.
It mainly relies on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets and Rocket Lab's (RKLB +0.11%) Electron rockets to launch its low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, which only have a maximum lifespan of three to five years. These satellites are comparable to Starlink's smaller satellites, but they're tiny compared to AST SpaceMobile's massive satellites. However, these three companies don't directly compete with each other because their satellites serve different markets.
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How fast is Planet Labs growing? From fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2026 (which ended this January), Planet Lab's revenue rose from $131 million to $308 million. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) also turned positive in fiscal 2026.
By the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2027, its backlog had grown 72% year over year to $906 million, driven by its robust growth in the defense and intelligence markets. It's also expanding its AI-driven analytics services to lock its customers into its ecosystem.
From fiscal 2026 to fiscal 2029, analysts expect Planet Lab's revenue and adjusted EBITDA to grow at CAGRs of 35% and 115%, respectively. Those explosive growth rates could justify its valuation, unless it keeps diluting its investors with more stock offerings. It looks cheap relative to its peers, but its outstanding share count has risen 36% since its market debut. Its insiders have also sold more than twice as many shares as they bought over the past 12 months. It might be worth nibbling at these levels, but investors should brace for significant volatility.
Planet Labs earns a Buy rating as it transitions into a sovereign intelligence infrastructure provider with a defensible 10-year temporal data archive and agentic AI capabilities. PL's sticky, high-margin software model, 99% recurring ACV, and 113% net dollar retention underpin a strong long-term moat versus aerospace peers. Short-term dilution risks stem from a $1.5B ATM facility and unhedged $460M 2030 convertible notes, but these are outweighed by long-term AI-led margin expansion.
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL), a leading provider of daily data and insights about change on Earth, and the Government of Rwanda today announced the launch of a new national program to provide Planet's data to governmental agencies, public universities, selected startups, and strategic development partners supporting national development initiatives throughout the country. This groundbreaking deal marks Planet's first national program of its kind in Africa. The prog.
Listen to the audio version of this article (generated by AI).
In May of 2019, Tesla (TSLA) was a $12 stock (split-adjusted).
The company had just bled roughly $1 billion of cash in a single quarter – the latest installment in a free-cash-flow bonfire that had consumed some $24 billion since 2011. And after a furious Model 3 production ramp in late 2018, Wall Street took the early ‘19 delivery slump as a harbinger of doom.
Yet, beneath all the noise, the machine kept whirring. Deliveries were scaling. Gigafactory Shanghai came online, with the first production vehicles rolling out less than a year after breaking ground. Tesla’s stock was falling, but its technology lead kept growing.
Here’s what I wrote in June 2019:
“All in all, not only is the Tesla growth narrative far from dead, but it’s about to get a lot better. As it does, I wouldn’t be surprised to see TSLA stock rally back towards $300.”
You know what happened next.
Within two years, TSLA stock rallied more than 20-fold, and the people who got paid weren’t the ones who were right about the quarter. They were the ones who were right about the decade.
I bring this up because we just watched Elon Musk report earnings twice in two weeks – once at Tesla, and once at the newly public SpaceX (SPCX).
Both reports carried the exact same growth profile: explosive top-line growth, ugly bottom-line optics, gargantuan capex, and a market of investors who can’t decide whether they’re looking at a money pit or the ground floor of an empire.
Let’s break down both – and, more importantly, let’s talk about where I think the real torque is hiding.
Tesla Earnings Show the Musk Reinvestment Blueprint Tesla’s second-quarter report on July 22 was like a study in contradiction.
The top line was a monster. Revenue hit a record $28.2 billion, up 26% year-over-year – the company’s first real growth inflection in over a year – on a Q2-record 480,126 vehicle deliveries that blew past estimates. Energy storage deployments jumped more than 40% to 13.5 gigawatt-hours. Services revenue surged 50% to record profitability. And Tesla crossed $100 billion in trailing-twelve-month revenue for the first time in its history.
Meanwhile, the bottom line? A mess. Operating income cratered 57% to just $398 million, compressing operating margins to a razor-thin 1.4%. Adjusted EPS of $0.33 badly missed the ~$0.51 consensus. Regulatory credits – once a reliable profit cushion – collapsed to $146 million from $439 million a year ago. Capex exploded 142% to $5.8 billion, and free cash flow swung negative by about $1.1 billion.
So, which is it: a broken profit engine, or a company reinvesting everything into what comes next?
Look at where the money went: Cybercab production starting at Giga Texas. Robotaxi operations now live in seven metro areas. First-generation Optimus production lines being installed. AI infrastructure spend ramping across the board. Tesla isn’t losing its profitability. It’s spending its profitability – aggressively and all at once – to fund the Physical AI era.
Sound familiar? It should. Because Musk’s other trillion-dollar company just did the exact same thing.
SpaceX Earnings: 92% Growth and an $18.4 Billion Spending Bill SpaceX’s first earnings report as a public company was, directionally speaking, everything the bulls could have asked for.
Revenue surged 92% year-over-year to $7.8 billion. Adjusted EBITDA nearly tripled to $3.5 billion. Starlink subscribers doubled to 12 million. Enterprise and government connectivity revenue jumped 108%, and Starshield locked in more than $6 billion of new contracts.
But the showstopper was AI. SpaceX’s AI revenue soared 247% to $2.6 billion, and the segment swung to $1.1 billion of positive adjusted EBITDA. Management has already signed another $6.7 billion of cloud business in Q3, with new compute investments paying back in under a year. The company expects compute capacity to exceed 2 gigawatts this year and approach 10 gigawatts by the end of 2027.
The integrated space-connectivity-AI flywheel isn’t a slide-deck fantasy anymore. This quarter put real numbers behind it.
Now, was it a clean “all clear” for the stock? No. SpaceX spent a staggering $18.4 billion in the quarter – $15.8 billion of it on AI – and expects similarly elevated capex for at least two more quarters. The company is still GAAP-loss-making. Some of those shiny cloud contracts contain easy exit clauses. And a looming insider-share unlock hangs over a stock that has been in free fall since its IPO.
In other words, SPCX has the same fingerprint as TSLA – enormous growth, enormous spend, and near-term optics ugly enough to keep the tourists away.
SPCX Stock Is a Time-Horizon Trade On a six-to-12-month horizon, these are frustrating stocks. Cash-flow optics are ugly. Execution risk is extreme. Every headline is a landmine. There are probably better places for short-term investors to park their money.
Now, on a five-to-10-year horizon, this is exactly what empire-building looks like. Tesla in 2019 looked like a cash bonfire right up until it looked like the best trade of the decade. Musk’s companies have always traded today’s income statement for tomorrow’s market position – and history has, so far, rewarded the patient side of that trade.
Your outlook on TSLA and SPCX will depend almost entirely on which of those two investors you are.
But here’s the thing. I’m actually less interested in what SpaceX’s report said about SpaceX and far more interested in what it said about everyone else.
What SpaceX Earnings Mean for Rocket Lab, Redwire, and Other Space Stocks SpaceX is already a trillion-dollar-plus company. Even in a raging bull market for space, its upside is governed by the law of large numbers.
The smaller space stocks – Rocket Lab (RKLB), Redwire (RDW), Planet Labs (PL), BlackSky (BKSY), AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) – are not. In a bullish regime, those names carry dramatically more upside torque over the next 12 months. And this earnings report may have just flipped the regime back to bullish, because it put real, strong numbers behind the space economy bull thesis.
Commercial space is graduating from being a speculative science project, to a scaled, economically viable infrastructure market with multi-billion-dollar profit potential. And with SpaceX progressing toward rapid Starship reusability, launch costs could collapse, unlocking an explosion in satellite deployments, constellation refreshes, orbital computing, and space-based services.
Rocket Lab and Redwire: The Strongest Earnings Readthrough Rocket Lab and Redwire get the cleanest readthrough. For RKLB, SpaceX just validated the vertically integrated launch-and-space-systems model, accelerating constellation demand, and an enormous national-security opportunity – with Neutron positioned as a strategically important alternative to SpaceX itself. RDW may be an even purer picks-and-shovels play: more satellites, orbital data centers, and lunar infrastructure all mean more demand for Redwire’s power systems, components, and in-space infrastructure. Both stocks have been hammered 50%-plus over the past one to two months – and both charts are starting to act like they want to stage a serious comeback. They’re my favorites in the group right now.
Planet Labs and BlackSky: Government Demand Is Expanding Planet Labs and BlackSky get a strong readthrough, too. Starshield’s $6 billion-plus in new awards confirms governments are racing to embrace commercial space architectures for communications, sensing, and intelligence. That supports PL’s daily Earth-data, sovereign-satellite, and defense businesses, and strengthens demand for BKSY’s high-frequency Gen-3 imagery and AI-powered intelligence platform. Yes, SpaceX’s expanding sensing ambitions create competitive risk, particularly for BKSY. But the bigger takeaway is that the addressable market for real-time space intelligence is growing fast enough to support multiple differentiated winners. Both stocks have also been decimated 50%-plus, and both charts are perking up. Also favorites.
AST SpaceMobile: Validation With a Competitive Warning AST SpaceMobile is the one exception where the readthrough is mixed. SpaceX emphatically validated the enormous direct-to-device opportunity – but it also unveiled a much more aggressive Starlink Mobile roadmap built on next-gen satellites, owned spectrum, and terrestrial infrastructure. That intensifies the competitive threat to ASTS, even as AST retains real differentiation through its carrier partnerships, broadband-first architecture, and global spectrum position. It remains one of my favorite long-term plays in the group. However, between the competition risk and a rather mixed chart, the next few months could be choppy.
The Bottom Line: Own the SpaceX Earnings Readthrough, Not Just the Rocket SpaceX is both the rising tide lifting the entire space economy and the shark swimming within it. That’s strongly bullish for infrastructure suppliers and differentiated platforms – and I like the dip-buy setups forming right now in RKLB, RDW, BKSY, and PL.
But if I’m being honest with you, the most important takeaway from these two earnings reports isn’t any single stock. It’s the pattern that connects them.
Tesla and SpaceX just showed us the same movie twice over: sacrifice the quarter, build the empire. Two trillion-dollar companies, run by the same man, pouring every available dollar into the same handful of converging technologies – AI, compute, energy, autonomy, orbit.
That’s the blueprint.
And it’s the reason I’ve spent the past several months digging into what I believe is the single biggest opportunity hiding inside the Musk universe…
What happened when SpaceX finally hit the public market? Remember, it priced its IPO at $135 on June 12, raising roughly $75 billion at a $1.77 trillion opening valuation. Then SPCX stock ripped toward $226… before it gave back as much as 32% from the highs.
On the one hand, tourists saw a broken IPO. On the other hand, I see a coiled spring.
SpaceX president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell has spoken openly about a convergence between SpaceX and Tesla – two Musk empires increasingly building toward the same future. Wall Street is already choosing sides on how far that convergence goes, with Wedbush pounding the table, and Oppenheimer pushing back.
I believe that convergence points directly at what I call “XPANSE” – a project so big that Elon himself believes it could make early investors 1,000 times their money.
It’s the same project that could help America eliminate a looming threat one high-ranking government official has dubbed “an economic apocalypse.”
In my new briefing, I lay out the three steps you must take to get on the right side of this shift and give away the name and ticker symbol of an investment perfectly positioned to capitalize on it.
Space stocks have been volatile, and Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB | RKLB Price Prediction) captures that whiplash well. Shares have gained 58.13% over the past 12 months, but the last four weeks have reversed course. That sets up the year-end question our model addresses.
RKLB currently trades at $70.43. Based on our proprietary model, the 24/7 Wall St. price target for RKLB is $81.63 by year-end 2026, roughly 15.9% above current levels. Our recommendation is buy, with a moderate confidence level of 50% reflecting elevated volatility.
24/7 Wall St. Price Target Summary Metric Value Current Price $70.43 24/7 Wall St. Price Target (Year-End 2026) $81.63 Implied Upside 15.9% Recommendation BUY Confidence Level 50% A Whiplash Summer for a Defense-Tech Darling RKLB is up 5.21% over the past week but has fallen 29.89% in the past month after peaking near $124.77 in mid-May. The stock sits 24% below its 52-week high of $151 yet still trades far above the $37.57 low. A recent r/wallstreetbets thread titled “RKLB down 35% in a month on zero bad news, generational buying opportunity or are we the exit liquidity?” drew more than 1,100 upvotes.
Fundamentals support the buyers. Q1 FY26 revenue of $200.35 million grew 63.5% year over year and beat consensus by 5.77%, while non-GAAP gross margin expanded to 43% from 33.4%. Backlog reached a record $2.20 billion, and Q2 guidance calls for revenue of $225M to $240M.
CEO Peter Beck confirmed selection for the Department of Defense’s Space Based Interceptor program under Golden Dome for America in partnership with Raytheon.
The Case for $95+ Bulls have substantial catalysts. Rocket Lab signed 31 new Electron and HASTE launch agreements plus five Neutron missions in Q1 alone, and the $816 million SDA Tranche 3 contract remains the largest in company history. Neutron, the medium-lift vehicle, is targeting a debut launch later in 2026.
A clean first flight would validate a competitive alternative to Falcon 9 and unlock a total launch manifest already exceeding 70 contracted missions. Our bull case takes RKLB to $95.07 by December, and Wall Street analysts show 3 Strong Buys and 11 Buys against just 3 Holds.
What Could Go Wrong The bear case starts with cash burn. FY25 delivered a net loss of $198.2 million on $601.8 million in revenue, and Q1 FY26 required $450 million raised through an ATM equity offering. Neutron slipped once already after a stage-1 tank test failure pushed the debut to Q4 2026. Any further delay would rattle the story.
Prediction markets flag near-term skepticism: Polymarket shows only a 34.5% probability RKLB beats its next quarterly earnings. Insider activity has skewed toward net selling across 91 recent transactions.
Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Rocket Lab didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.
Our bear case lands at $77.83 by year-end. The dilution reflects a deliberate build-out ahead of Neutron and Golden Dome revenues, and non-GAAP gross margin has climbed nearly 10 points year over year.
How Rocket Lab Compares to AST SpaceMobile and Planet Labs AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS) is a satellite play with a $17.5 billion market cap but only $14.73 million in Q1 2026 revenue. Against RKLB’s $679.6 million trailing revenue and $40.6 billion market cap, ASTS trades at a dramatically higher revenue multiple with a fraction of the operating scale. Our 24/7 Wall St. price target looks conservative on relative revenue economics.
Planet Labs (NYSE:PL) is a closer commercial analog. Planet guided FY27 revenue of $425M to $441M with backlog above $906 million and a $7.17 billion market cap. RKLB commands roughly 5x that market cap on a comparable growth trajectory, but with Neutron optionality and a larger backlog. On a growth-adjusted basis, RKLB looks fair.
Rocket Lab Price Prediction 2026-2030 The 24/7 Wall St. price target of $81.63 by December 2026 points to modest but meaningful appreciation, with 50% confidence. The factor tipping the scale is backlog.
When contracted work grew 73% year over year to $1.85 billion in 2025 and jumped again in Q1, the setup for the second half looks defensible. The bull scenario strengthens if Neutron stays on schedule for a Q4 debut. The bear scenario gains traction if the next earnings report shows margin compression. On balance, the risk-reward skews positive.
Here is where our model projects RKLB could trade, assuming current growth and margin trajectories hold.
Year 24/7 Wall St. Price Target 2026 $81.63 2027 $124.43 2028 $178.00 2029 $245.00 2030 $331.69 (2031 base) These projections assume Rocket Lab executes on Neutron, Golden Dome, and its SDA-linked satellite constellation programs. Significant upside or downside could result from Neutron reusability milestones, defense budget swings tied to the FY 2027 Space-Based Systems total of $59.7 billion, or execution stumbles on the acquisition integration front.
Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Rocket Lab didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today.
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL), a leading provider of daily data and insights about change on Earth, today announced that it plans to release its fiscal second quarter 2027 financial results for the quarter that ended July 31, 2026, after market close on Thursday, September 3, 2026. Planet's management will host a conference call to discuss the financial results and business outlook at 5:00 p.m. ET / 2:00 p.m. PT the same day. Planet invites you to listen to the confe.
Ashley F. Johnson, President and Chief Financial Officer of Planet Labs PBC (PL +1.29%), sold ~110,000 shares of Class A Common Stock on July 23, 2026, for a total value of $2.4 million, according to an SEC Form 4 filing.
Transaction summaryMetricValueTransaction value$2.4 millionShares sold~110,000Shares sold (directly held)75,035Shares sold (indirectly held)34,993Post-transaction shares (directly held)~1.1 millionPost-transaction shares (indirectly held)~561,000Post-transaction value$37.87 millionInsider ownership0.51%Transaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average sale price ($22.08); post-transaction value based on July 23, 2026 market close ($22.36).
Key questionsWhat is the context for this transaction?
The sale was conducted as part of routine portfolio management under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan established on April 23, 2026. This regulatory framework allows insiders to schedule stock sales in advance to avoid concerns regarding the possession of material non-public information.How has the company performed financially leading up to this trade?
Planet Labs reported a 226% one-year return as of the July 23, 2026 transaction date. During the most recent trailing-twelve-month period, the company generated $335.6 million in revenue while recording a net loss of $373.1 million.What is the status of the executive's remaining equity position?
Following this transaction, Johnson retains a significant interest in the company, including ~1.1 million shares held directly and ~561,000 shares held indirectly through a revocable trust. The directly held position includes 1,132,122 restricted stock units (RSUs) that are scheduled to vest in quarterly installments through December.Company OverviewMetricValueShare Price (as of market close 2026-07-23)$22.36Market Capitalization$6.9 billionRevenue (TTM)$335.6 millionNet Income (TTM)-$373.1 millionCompany SnapshotPlanet Labs designs, deploys, and operates extensive satellite constellations that deliver frequent, high-resolution geospatial imagery and data to customers worldwide through a proprietary cloud-native platform.The company generates revenue through subscription-based access to its satellite imagery and geospatial analytics platform, leveraging its proprietary technology stack to process and integrate temporal data for advanced analytical applications.Planet Labs serves government agencies, commercial enterprises, and institutional customers requiring real-time geospatial intelligence for applications spanning agriculture, urban planning, disaster response, and defense and security operations.Planet Labs PBC operates as a leading provider of frequent, global geospatial data through its constellation of Earth-imaging satellites. The company's differentiated competitive position derives from its extensive satellite network, proprietary cloud-native processing infrastructure, and ability to deliver sub-meter resolution imagery at unprecedented temporal frequency.
With a market capitalization of $6.9 billion, Planet Labs is scaling its commercial and government customer base while advancing its technological capabilities in satellite operations and geospatial analytics.
What this transaction means for investorsThe July 23 sale of Planet Labs stock by CFO Ashley Johnson for a weighted average price of $22.08 occurred during a time when shares were on the decline, having fallen substantially from a 52-week high of $51.76 reached in May. The drop was due in part to the company’s plan to sell up to $1.5 billion Class A shares, a large equity offering that prompted dilution concerns among shareholders.
The CFO’s disposition combined with other insider sales also added to a Planet Labs stock sell-off. That said, her July 23 transaction does not appear to raise red flags for investors, given it was a non-discretionary transaction executed as part of a pre-established Rule 10b5-1 plan.
Moreover, Johnson retained more than one million directly-held shares post-transaction, and over half a million indirectly-held stock in a trust. This demonstrates she maintains a sizable equity position, ensuring her continued alignment with shareholder interests.
Robert Izquierdo has positions in Planet Labs PBC. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Planet Labs PBC. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
[url="]Planet Labs Germany[/url], a leading provider of daily data and insights about change on Earth, recently announced that it was selected for a 7-figure aw
Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL – Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,013,187 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 70,986 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.16% of Planet Labs PBC worth $112,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PL. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Planet Labs PBC during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 92.5% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new stake in Planet Labs PBC during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its position in Planet Labs PBC by 40.9% during the first quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Planet Labs PBC in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.71% of the company’s stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, Director John W. Raymond sold 6,494 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.16, for a total value of $169,883.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 37,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $970,902.24. This represents a 14.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 75,035 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total transaction of $1,656,772.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,132,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,997,253.76. This represents a 6.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 171,122 shares of company stock worth $4,148,906 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 16.42% of the company’s stock.
Planet Labs PBC Price Performance Shares of PL stock opened at $20.42 on Wednesday. Planet Labs PBC has a 12 month low of $5.87 and a 12 month high of $51.76. The company has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.91 and a beta of 2.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $32.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.
Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $94.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.39 million. Planet Labs PBC had a negative return on equity of 105.29% and a negative net margin of 111.17%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 42.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.92 EPS for the current year.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several brokerages have weighed in on PL. Zacks Research raised Planet Labs PBC from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Northland Securities set a $50.00 price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Craig Hallum lifted their price objective on Planet Labs PBC from $36.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Planet Labs PBC from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $40.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Planet Labs PBC presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.36.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on PL
Planet Labs PBC Profile (Free Report)
Planet Labs PBC is a public benefit corporation that operates one of the largest fleets of Earth-imaging satellites, providing high-frequency, high-resolution imagery and data analytics to a broad range of industries. The company’s multi-spectral satellite constellation captures daily snapshots of the planet, enabling clients to monitor changes in agriculture, forestry, urban development, energy infrastructure and environmental conditions. Planet’s imagery platform is designed to support timely decision-making by transforming raw satellite data into actionable insights for business and government users.
Founded in 2010 by former NASA scientists Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler and Chris Boshuizen, Planet Labs grew from a small startup into a key provider in the satellite imaging sector.
Featured Articles Five stocks we like better than Planet Labs PBC These 3 Stocks Have Soared in 2026—Can They Keep Climbing? Hasbro’s Earnings Beat Shows Why This Is No Longer Just a Toy Story Rambus: Another AI Phoenix Ready to Rise From the Ashes of Correction Chips & Clips: Memory Tariffs Rewire Tech Supply Chains Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL – Free Report).
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Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL – Free Report) by 80.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,932,381 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 861,306 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.56% of Planet Labs PBC worth $54,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PL. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 92.5% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new position in Planet Labs PBC in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its position in Planet Labs PBC by 40.9% in the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Planet Labs PBC during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.71% of the company’s stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at Planet Labs PBC In other Planet Labs PBC news, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 25,000 shares of Planet Labs PBC stock in a transaction on Friday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.92, for a total value of $648,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 225,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,836,432.32. The trade was a 9.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John W. Raymond sold 6,494 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.16, for a total transaction of $169,883.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 37,114 shares in the company, valued at $970,902.24. This trade represents a 14.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 96,087 shares of company stock worth $2,492,134 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 16.42% of the company’s stock.
Planet Labs PBC Price Performance Shares of PL opened at $21.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.47 and a beta of 2.06. Planet Labs PBC has a twelve month low of $5.87 and a twelve month high of $51.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $32.45 and a 200-day moving average of $30.70. The company has a quick ratio of 2.78, a current ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.
Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.01. Planet Labs PBC had a negative net margin of 111.17% and a negative return on equity of 105.29%. The business had revenue of $94.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.39 million. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 42.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several research firms have recently commented on PL. Weiss Ratings raised Planet Labs PBC from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Wedbush started coverage on Planet Labs PBC in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Planet Labs PBC from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Planet Labs PBC from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.36.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on PL
Planet Labs PBC Company Profile (Free Report)
Planet Labs PBC is a public benefit corporation that operates one of the largest fleets of Earth-imaging satellites, providing high-frequency, high-resolution imagery and data analytics to a broad range of industries. The company’s multi-spectral satellite constellation captures daily snapshots of the planet, enabling clients to monitor changes in agriculture, forestry, urban development, energy infrastructure and environmental conditions. Planet’s imagery platform is designed to support timely decision-making by transforming raw satellite data into actionable insights for business and government users.
Founded in 2010 by former NASA scientists Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler and Chris Boshuizen, Planet Labs grew from a small startup into a key provider in the satellite imaging sector.
See Also Five stocks we like better than Planet Labs PBC AirJoule’s Kubota Deal Is a Major Validation—But the Hard Part Comes Next Dividend Stocks May Be the Quiet Rotation Trade Investors Are Missing Now Refiner Stocks Are Near Record Highs—Can Iran-Driven Margins Keep Them There? Verizon May Be an AI Infrastructure Stock Hiding in Plain Sight Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL – Free Report).
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Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL – Free Report) by 44.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 961,155 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 295,043 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.28% of Planet Labs PBC worth $26,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 92.5% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. acquired a new stake in Planet Labs PBC in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 40.9% in the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Planet Labs PBC in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.71% of the company’s stock.
Insider Buying and Selling In other Planet Labs PBC news, Director John W. Raymond sold 6,494 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.16, for a total value of $169,883.04. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 37,114 shares in the company, valued at $970,902.24. This represents a 14.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 64,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.92, for a total transaction of $1,674,250.56. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 825,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,398,022.72. The trade was a 7.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 96,087 shares of company stock valued at $2,492,134 over the last ninety days. 16.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Planet Labs PBC Trading Up 2.9% Shares of NYSE:PL opened at $21.05 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a PE ratio of -18.47 and a beta of 2.06. The company’s 50 day moving average is $32.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.70. Planet Labs PBC has a 52 week low of $5.87 and a 52 week high of $51.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.81, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.
Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $94.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.39 million. Planet Labs PBC had a negative net margin of 111.17% and a negative return on equity of 105.29%. The company’s revenue was up 42.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research analysts have commented on PL shares. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Planet Labs PBC from $40.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Planet Labs PBC from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Craig Hallum increased their target price on Planet Labs PBC from $36.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research upgraded Planet Labs PBC from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, New Street Research started coverage on Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Planet Labs PBC has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $35.36.
View Our Latest Analysis on PL
Planet Labs PBC Company Profile (Free Report)
Planet Labs PBC is a public benefit corporation that operates one of the largest fleets of Earth-imaging satellites, providing high-frequency, high-resolution imagery and data analytics to a broad range of industries. The company’s multi-spectral satellite constellation captures daily snapshots of the planet, enabling clients to monitor changes in agriculture, forestry, urban development, energy infrastructure and environmental conditions. Planet’s imagery platform is designed to support timely decision-making by transforming raw satellite data into actionable insights for business and government users.
Founded in 2010 by former NASA scientists Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler and Chris Boshuizen, Planet Labs grew from a small startup into a key provider in the satellite imaging sector.
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Marvell Technology is successfully pivoting toward artificial intelligence infrastructure through high-profile partnerships and acquisitions. Planet Labs maintains a unique market position by providing daily global Earth imagery via a large satellite constellation.
Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL – Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 39,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,105,000.
Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,358,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,750,000 after purchasing an additional 806,818 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Planet Labs PBC by 0.3% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,820,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,704,000 after buying an additional 20,400 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Planet Labs PBC by 320.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,678,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,429,000 after buying an additional 5,851,758 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,702,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,475,000 after buying an additional 71,381 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,137,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,599,000 after buying an additional 301,757 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.71% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth PL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Craig Hallum raised their price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC from $36.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Wedbush assumed coverage on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Planet Labs PBC from $40.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Planet Labs PBC from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, New Street Research initiated coverage on Planet Labs PBC in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Planet Labs PBC has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.36.
View Our Latest Analysis on Planet Labs PBC
Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, Director John W. Raymond sold 6,494 shares of Planet Labs PBC stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.16, for a total value of $169,883.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 37,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $970,902.24. The trade was a 14.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.92, for a total transaction of $648,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 225,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,836,432.32. This trade represents a 9.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 96,087 shares of company stock valued at $2,492,134. 16.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Planet Labs PBC Stock Down 8.5% NYSE PL opened at $20.46 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.64. Planet Labs PBC has a one year low of $5.87 and a one year high of $51.76. The firm has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a PE ratio of -17.95 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.81 and a quick ratio of 2.78.
Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 4th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $94.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.39 million. Planet Labs PBC had a negative return on equity of 105.29% and a negative net margin of 111.17%.The company’s revenue was up 42.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Planet Labs PBC will post -0.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
About Planet Labs PBC (Free Report)
Planet Labs PBC is a public benefit corporation that operates one of the largest fleets of Earth-imaging satellites, providing high-frequency, high-resolution imagery and data analytics to a broad range of industries. The company’s multi-spectral satellite constellation captures daily snapshots of the planet, enabling clients to monitor changes in agriculture, forestry, urban development, energy infrastructure and environmental conditions. Planet’s imagery platform is designed to support timely decision-making by transforming raw satellite data into actionable insights for business and government users.
Founded in 2010 by former NASA scientists Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler and Chris Boshuizen, Planet Labs grew from a small startup into a key provider in the satellite imaging sector.
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John W. Raymond, a member of the Board of Directors at Planet Labs PBC (PL -1.08%), sold 6,494 shares of Class A Common Stock on July 13, 2026, according to an SEC Form 4 filing.
Transaction summaryMetricValueTransaction value~$169,883Shares sold6,494Post-transaction shares43,593Post-transaction shares (directly held)6,479Post-transaction shares (indirectly held)37,114Post-transaction value$1.13 millionTransaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average sale price ($26.16); post-transaction value based on July 13, 2026 market close.
Key questionsWhat precipitated this transaction?
The disposition was carried out under a Rule 10b5-1 plan established on January 22, 2026, which allows insiders to set up a pre-determined schedule for selling stock to avoid concerns about trading on non-public information.What is the current composition of the director's equity stake?
Following the transaction, the director retains 6,479 shares directly and 37,114 shares indirectly through the Raymond Family Rev Trust U/A DTD 05/30/2023, representing a total beneficial interest of 43,593 shares.What market performance preceded this transaction?
As of the July 13, 2026 transaction date, the company's stock had generated a 323% total return over the preceding 12 months, during which time it maintained a market capitalization of $8.6 billion.What are the core operations of Planet Labs PBC?
The company manages satellite constellations to provide global geospatial data, utilizing a cloud-native platform to process imagery for data integration and temporal analysis.Company OverviewMetricValueShare Price (as of market close 2026-07-13)$25.96Market Capitalization$8.6 billionRevenue (TTM)$335.6 millionNet Income (TTM)($373.1 million)Company SnapshotPlanet Labs designs, deploys, and operates extensive satellite constellations that deliver frequent, global geospatial imagery and data to institutional and commercial customers through a cloud-native platform.The company generates revenue through subscription-based access to its satellite imagery platform and value-added geospatial analytics services, leveraging proprietary processing technology to deliver actionable intelligence.The company serves government agencies, defense contractors, agricultural enterprises, and commercial entities requiring real-time or near-real-time Earth observation data for strategic decision-making and operational monitoring.Planet Labs PBC operates as a leading provider of frequent, global Earth observation data through its proprietary satellite constellation and cloud-native analytics platform. The company has achieved significant market capitalization of $8.6 billion, reflecting strong institutional demand for geospatial intelligence.
With 945 employees and a strategic focus on expanding satellite constellation capacity and platform capabilities, Planet Labs is positioned to capture growing demand across defense, intelligence, agriculture, and commercial sectors for persistent, actionable Earth observation intelligence.
What this transaction means for investorsThe July 12 sale of Planet Labs stock by Director John Raymond, a retired general who served as the first Chief of Space Operations for the United States Space Force, was executed as part of a pre-established Rule 10b5-1 plan. This makes the disposition a non-discretionary transaction.
Moreover, Raymond moved 43,608 shares into a trust from which the July 12 sale occurred, leaving over 37,000 indirectly-held shares. This action suggests he is not in a rush to dispose of his Planet Labs stock in anticipation of share price appreciation in the future. Consequently, the disposition does not appear to be a cause for investor concern.
The company’s stock soared to a jaw-dropping 52-week high of $51.76 in May as Wall Street feverishly awaited the June public debut of Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, better known as SpaceX. This was a tidal wave that raised all boats in the space sector. As Raymond’s sale at a weighted average price of $26.16 demonstrates, shares have fallen back down to earth post-SpaceX IPO.
Robert Izquierdo has positions in Planet Labs PBC. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Planet Labs PBC. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Planet Labs UK, a leading provider of daily data and insights about change on Earth, today announced the opening of its new office in central London. It marks a significant milestone in Planet's commitment to the United Kingdom as a critical partner within the high-growth space economy. The office will serve as a national hub for AI and analytics partnerships, placing Planet at the epicentre of Britain's leading commercial technology sector. This strategic location, ste.
The commercial space sector has crossed from promise into a real, revenue-generating industry with a backlog north of $500 billion. Starfighters Space, Inc. (NYSE American: FJET) is betting the next phase belongs less to bigger rockets than to cheaper, faster, more flexible ways of reaching altitude.
, /PRNewswire/ -- (Equity Insider News Commentary) — For most of the last decade, the story of commercial space was told in rocket sizes. Bigger boosters, heavier payloads, taller vehicles on bigger pads. That story produced real results and one enormous winner. But it also obscured something the numbers now make impossible to ignore: the space economy has quietly become an actual industry, with actual revenue, actual backlog, and an actual bottleneck. And the bottleneck is not ambition. It is access. Starfighters Space, Inc. (NYSE American: FJET) has built its entire thesis around that gap.
Key Takeaways
The sector has crossed into industry status. Estimates put the global space economy around $626 billion in 2025, heading toward roughly $670 billion in 2026 and projected past $1 trillion by 2040, with the most aggressive forecasts reaching $1.8 trillion by 2035. Commercial space is growing at an estimated 12% to 15% annually, outpacing the broader economy. Capital markets have validated it. The 2025 IPOs of Voyager Technologies and Firefly Aerospace, Amazon's $11.6 billion acquisition of Globalstar, CACI's $2.6 billion purchase of ARKA, and SpaceX's Nasdaq debut on June 29, 2026 collectively mark a sector that public and strategic investors now treat as investable infrastructure. Government demand is the floor. The U.S. FY2027 space budget totals $59.7 billion and funds 31 launches, a step-change from prior years, while NASA routes roughly 73.5% of its $24.44 billion FY2026 budget through contracts with outside businesses and institutions. Access is the constraint. Space launch services are projected to grow from roughly $13.85 billion in 2026 to $24.42 billion by 2030 at a 15.2% compound rate. Demand for flight testing, payload validation and small-satellite delivery is rising faster than conventional launch capacity can absorb it. A different route to altitude. Starfighters Space operates what it describes as the world's only commercial fleet of flight-ready Mach 2+ F-104 supersonic aircraft, providing commercial supersonic flight-test services that support hypersonic research and development programs while developing its STARLAUNCH air-launch program, and joined the Russell 3000 Index effective June 29, 2026. From Science Project to Industry
The most important thing that happened to commercial space is that it stopped being a story about the future and became a story about revenue. Estimates place the global space economy at roughly $626 billion in 2025, rising to about $670 billion in 2026 as operational Starship flights begin, and approaching $740 billion by 2028 as the Kuiper constellation deploys. By 2030, the market could approach $950 billion, supported by commercial space stations. The most aggressive long-range forecasts put the sector at $1.8 trillion by 2035, factoring in space tourism, in-space manufacturing and cislunar activity.
Those are large numbers, and large numbers in emerging sectors deserve skepticism. The sector has declared inflection points before. What makes this moment different is the mix of evidence underneath the projections. The World Economic Forum, examining the same trend, pointed to the 2025 IPOs of Voyager Technologies and Firefly Aerospace, Amazon's $11.6 billion acquisition of Globalstar, and CACI's $2.6 billion purchase of ARKA as signals of something more durable than a single mega-listing. Then came the biggest marker of all: SpaceX debuted on the Nasdaq on June 29, 2026, giving public investors direct access to the sector's dominant player for the first time.
The structural shift the WEF identified is worth stating plainly: value is moving from selling space assets to selling the outcomes they enable. That is the difference between a hardware business and an infrastructure business, and it is why the growth rates hold up. Commercial space is estimated to be compounding at 12% to 15% annually against roughly 9% for the space economy overall, itself outpacing global GDP.
The Floor Under the Sector
Speculative sectors get repriced violently when sentiment turns. What limits the downside in space is that a large share of the demand is not sentiment at all. It is appropriated. The U.S. FY2027 space budget totals $59.7 billion and funds 31 launches, a meaningful step up from prior years. NASA's FY2026 budget of $24.44 billion routes roughly 73.5% of annual spending through agreements and contracts with nearly 5,000 businesses, universities and nonprofits, an explicit structural preference for commercial partners over government-owned systems.
That preference shows up in program design. The Commercial Lunar Payload Services program began with a ceiling near $2.6 billion and has been raised to roughly $4.2 billion by 2026, with a Phase 2 roadmap targeting 77 lunar lander missions over the next decade at an estimated $6 billion, explicitly engineered to drive per-mission cost from about $129 million toward $91 million. Defense demand runs on a parallel track, with hypersonic flight testing, missile-defense programs and space-based interceptor work all funded through sustained procurement cycles.
The practical consequence is that the commercial-space backlog recently crossed $500 billion. Backlog is not revenue, and conversion is where companies live or die. But a half-trillion-dollar order book anchored substantially in government appropriations is a fundamentally different risk profile than a sector running purely on venture optimism.
The Bottleneck Is Access, Not Ambition
Here is the part the rocket-size narrative obscures. Before a satellite can beam data or a vehicle can reach orbit, the hardware has to be tested, the crews trained, the payloads validated, and the sensors flown in real conditions. That infrastructure layer, the unglamorous work of getting things to altitude repeatedly and affordably, is where demand is currently outrunning supply.
The market data reflects it. Space launch services are projected to grow from roughly $13.85 billion in 2026 to $24.42 billion by 2030, a 15.2% compound annual rate, driven by rising LEO and MEO satellite deployment, expanding private launch providers and growing demand for navigation and surveillance systems. Commercial satellite launch services specifically are forecast to move from about $8.65 billion in 2026 to $11.15 billion by 2030. The constraint is not whether payloads exist. It is launch cadence, test capacity, and cost per attempt.
This is the gap Starfighters Space is targeting, and it does so with an approach almost nobody else is running. The company operates a fleet of F-104 Starfighter jets, aircraft originally built for pure speed, which it says can sustain Mach 2, roughly twice the speed of sound. That fleet provides commercial supersonic flight-test and R&D services supporting hypersonic programs for government and commercial clients today, from the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA Kennedy Space Center. The company describes it as the world's only commercial fleet of flight-ready Mach 2+ supersonic aircraft.
The longer-term program is STARLAUNCH, an air-launch architecture designed to use the aircraft as a reusable first-stage lifting platform, carrying launch vehicles with payloads and satellites to high altitude before release. CEO Tim Franta has described a staged development path beginning with a planned drop test, followed by progressively more advanced flight demonstrations and, ultimately, orbital launch capability. The company added two senior leaders from Blue Origin's New Glenn program in May 2026 and secured a $17.5 million strategic investment to advance the work.
Regulation is moving in a helpful direction too. Starfighters publicly backed the FAA's proposal to modernize supersonic flight rules. "As the operator of the world's only commercial fleet of flight-ready Mach 2+ aircraft, we view this proposal as an important milestone for the future of high-speed aviation," said Franta, adding that a modern regulatory framework "can help support continued investment in commercial flight testing while reinforcing America's leadership in space." The company also joined the broad-market Russell 3000 Index effective June 29, 2026.
The Cohort: Four Doors Into the Same Trade
Starfighters is a small, development-stage company, and the names below are larger and are referenced here only as market and thematic context, not as peers, competitors, or financial comparables to FJET. Together they map the sector's segments: launch, lunar services, connectivity and data. One honest caveat up front, because it matters for reading the chart: this group sold off sharply in the weeks around SpaceX's Nasdaq debut, with several names down double digits over the past month after enormous runs. Coverage of the pullback has largely characterized it as profit-taking and rotation within the sector rather than a break in the underlying thesis. All figures are approximate and subject to change.
Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) is the closest thing the sector has to a proven challenger, and the clearest read on launch demand. The company has built a roughly $2.2 billion backlog, was selected for the Department of War's Space Based Interceptor program under Golden Dome for America alongside Raytheon, closed its acquisition of laser-communications firm Mynaric, and is targeting the debut of its medium-lift Neutron vehicle in the fourth quarter of 2026. Rocket Lab is the proof that launch demand is real and fundable. It is also the reminder that launch is brutally capital-intensive: the company is still burning cash and ran a $450 million ATM raise in the first quarter. That combination, enormous demand meeting expensive supply, is exactly the tension an air-launch approach is designed to attack.
Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR) demonstrates how quickly government demand can compound into a real business. The lunar-services company is up roughly 166% year to date even after a sharp monthly drawdown, delivered about 199% revenue growth, and carries a record backlog near $1.06 billion, anchored by a U.S. Space Force Andromeda IDIQ contract with an anticipated ceiling of $6.2 billion. Its FY2026 revenue guidance stands at $900 million to $1 billion. Intuitive Machines shows what the CLPS-style commercial procurement model produces when it works, and also its concentration risk: a single federal budget shift can reset the earnings power of a business built this way.
AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) represents the demand side that makes launch capacity valuable in the first place. The company is building a satellite constellation designed to connect directly to unmodified smartphones, with roughly 60 mobile network operator partnerships covering more than 3 billion subscribers, $3.03 billion in cash, and reaffirmed FY2026 revenue guidance of $150 million to $200 million while targeting about 45 satellites in orbit by year-end. Every constellation like this one is, from a launch provider's perspective, a multi-year stream of payloads that has to get to orbit. ASTS is also a fair warning about timelines: its first-quarter revenue badly missed consensus, and it remains effectively pre-revenue at commercial scale.
Planet Labs (NYSE: PL) is arguably the best illustration of the WEF's point that value is migrating from assets to outcomes. The Earth-observation company sells subscription access to daily global imagery rather than selling satellites, posted first-quarter revenue growth of roughly 42% year over year, raised full-year guidance to a range of $425 million to $441 million, and rose about 16% on that news in late June. It also moved up from the Russell 2000 into the Russell 1000, a step on the same index ladder
Starfighters recently joined at the Russell 3000 level. Planet shows the recurring-revenue endgame the sector is building toward, once the access problem is solved at scale.
What Has to Be True
A sector-level thesis does not exempt any individual company from having to execute, and Starfighters is early. It has not flown STARLAUNCH. Suborbital is a next-year objective and orbital sits 18 months to two years beyond that on the company's own stated timeline. It will need capital, regulatory progress, and successful hardware milestones to convert an unconventional idea into a business. The $17.5 million investment and the Blue Origin hires are inputs, not outcomes.
What is worth understanding is the shape of the bet. If the space economy really is on a path from roughly $670 billion today to something multiples of that within a decade, the constraint will not be demand for what satellites do. It will be the cost, cadence and flexibility of getting hardware to altitude and proving it works. The companies solving that layer, whether with reusable rockets, air-launch platforms, or approaches nobody has funded yet, sit upstream of everything else in the industry. Starfighters is pursuing a specific, staged development strategy built around an existing aircraft fleet and reusable airborne infrastructure, from a fleet of aircraft that already exists and already flies. Future flight-test milestones, including the planned drop test, are expected to provide important validation of the STARLAUNCH development program.
CONTINUED… Follow Starfighters Space as STARLAUNCH advances toward its first drop test and get the full story and updates here.
About Starfighters Space, Inc.
Starfighters Space, Inc. (NYSE American: FJET) is an space company and the owner and operator of what it describes as the world's only commercial fleet of flight-ready Mach 2+ F-104 supersonic aircraft, operating from the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Current programs include commercial supersonic flight-test services supporting hypersonic research and development, air-launch development through the STARLAUNCH program, planned microgravity missions, and space research activities. The company joined the Russell 3000 Index effective June 29, 2026. Tim Franta serves as Chief Executive Officer.
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Key Takeaways Satellogic has an edge over Planet Labs on valuation, price appreciation and growth projections.Planet Labs ended fiscal Q1 2027 with backlog up 72% to more than $906 million.Satellogic's Merlin constellation is fully funded, anchored by a $30 million defense contract. The Earth Observation (EO) space is transitioning from a satellite imagery business to a geospatial intelligence market, fueled by advances in artificial intelligence, growing defense investments and increasing demand for climate monitoring. Governments are expanding their use of commercial EO data to support national security and strategic decision-making, while enterprises are leveraging satellite-based analytics across agriculture, infrastructure, energy, and environmental management. At the same time, the industry is shifting toward subscription-based data and analytics platforms, enabling providers to generate more predictable, recurring revenue streams while delivering higher-value insights to customers.
In this context, Planet Labs (PL - Free Report) and Satellogic Inc. (SATL - Free Report) are worth mentioning. Planet Labs is a leading provider of Earth-imaging data and geospatial analytics, operating the largest fleet of Earth-observation satellites globally. Satellogic is a vertically integrated Earth observation company that designs, manufactures, and operates satellite systems, delivering decision-grade insights at scale to government and commercial customers. Let's discuss in detail.
The Case for Planet LabsPlanet Labs generates most of its revenues from fixed-price subscription agreements and usage-based contracts, providing satellite imagery and geospatial analytics to governments and large enterprises through its cloud-based platform. Its growth has been supported by an expanding subscription base, stronger government demand and a strategic shift toward higher-value satellite services and advanced analytics.
The company exited the first quarter of fiscal 2027 with backlog surging 72% year over year to more than $906 million, strengthening revenue visibility and supporting expectations for accelerating growth. Management forecasts fiscal 2027 revenues of $425-$441 million.
Planet Labs is increasingly targeting large government and defense contracts, which provide greater revenue stability and longer-term visibility. While this segment remains the primary growth engine, management also sees considerable long-term potential in the commercial market. Continued platform enhancements should support wider adoption, while AI-powered analytics, originally developed for government customers, are opening opportunities across supply-chain monitoring, surveillance, operational optimization, insurance, financial analysis, energy and agriculture.
However, Planet Labs remains unprofitable. Investments in satellite infrastructure, heavy research and development spending and elevated operating costs continue to constrain margins. Following five consecutive years of losses, the company is expected to remain in the red through fiscal 2027, while returns on equity and invested capital trail industry levels. Management expects fiscal 2027 non-GAAP gross margin of 52-54% and adjusted EBITDA between breakeven and $10 million, suggesting that consistent profitability remains some distance away.
PL shares have gained 12% year to date.
The Case for SatellogicSatellogic provides affordable, scalable satellite imagery that addresses rising demand across government, defense, agriculture, energy, insurance and infrastructure markets. As governments and enterprises increasingly rely on timely Earth intelligence for decision-making, the company appears well-positioned to capitalize on multiple long-term growth opportunities.
Its proprietary manufacturing capabilities, vertically integrated operating model and low-cost satellite architecture distinguish Satellogic from traditional providers. By designing, manufacturing and operating its own satellites, the company can reduce production and operating costs, accelerate deployment and upgrade its constellation more frequently. As the network expands, improved revisit rates, image quality and global coverage should enhance the value of its data offerings and support commercial adoption.
The next-generation Merlin constellation should further strengthen Satellogic’s position across government and commercial geospatial intelligence markets. Importantly, Merlin is fully funded, with its development anchored by a $30 million contract from a strategic defense and intelligence customer. The agreement demonstrates confidence in the company’s technology while improving revenue visibility.
Strategic partnerships and expanded analytics capabilities could also broaden Satellogic’s addressable market beyond raw imagery into higher-margin geospatial intelligence solutions. The company expects to progress toward sustained profitability this year, supported by a solid backlog, increasing recurring revenues from Aleph Observer and a strengthening pipeline of multimillion-dollar opportunities across defense, sovereign and commercial customers.
SATL shares have rallied 90.9% year to date.
Estimates for PL and SATLThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for PL’s fiscal 2027 revenues implies a year-over-year increase of 41.9%, while the same for earnings per share (EPS) suggests a 75% year-over-year decrease. EPS estimates have witnessed no movement in the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SATL’s 2026 revenues implies a year-over-year rise of 122.3%, and the same for EPS implies no year-over-year change. EPS estimates have witnessed no movement in the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Are PL and SATL Shares Expensive?PL is trading at a forward sales multiple of 15.72, above its median of 4.97 over the last five years. SATL’s forward sales multiple sits at 10.49, lower than its median of 12.71 over the last five years.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
ConclusionPlanet Labs, a data-driven company focused on Earth-observation imagery and analytics, is poised to grow, given the rising global demand for commercial satellites.
Satellogic is well-positioned to benefit from rising defense spending, growing demand for geospatial intelligence and increasing adoption of AI-driven analytics.
Given SATL’s less expensive valuation, price appreciation and growth projections, it has an edge over PL. SATL carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), while PL carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Robert H. Schingler, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, sold 89,593 shares of Planet Labs PBC (PL 1.43%) on July 10, 2026, according to an SEC Form 4 filing.
Transaction summaryMetricValueShares sold (total)89,593Shares sold (directly held)64,593Shares sold (indirectly held)25,000Transaction value$2.3 millionPost-transaction shares (total)~1.1 millionPost-transaction shares (directly held)825,541Post-transaction shares (indirectly held)225,171Post-transaction value$27.37 millionTransaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average sale price ($25.92); post-transaction value based on July 10, 2026, market close ($26.05).
Company snapshotMarket Cap: $8.7 billionTTM Revenue: $335.6 millionTTM Net Income: -$373.1 millionPlanet Labs PBC is dedicated to the creation, deployment, and management of extensive satellite constellations. Its core mission is to provide frequent, worldwide geospatial data, which customers can access through a specialized online platform.
Key questionsWhat is the significance of the Rule 10b5-1 plan used for this transaction?
The sale was pre-arranged under a plan adopted on July 14, 2025, which established a nearly one-year cooling-off period before execution to ensure the trade was independent of any non-public information.How has the stock performed leading up to this disposal?
As of July 10, 2026, the transaction date, the firm’s shares have generated a one-year return of 295%, providing a high valuation environment for structured liquidity events.What is the insider's residual equity exposure following this sale?
Schingler maintains a significant interest in the company, holding ~1.1 million shares across direct and indirect accounts, representing a 0.3200% ownership stake.What additional equity incentives does the insider hold?
Beyond the common stock reported, the insider also holds derivative securities, including restricted stock units (RSUs) that vest in equal quarterly installments on the 15th of March, June, September, and December.Company OverviewMetricValueShare Price (as of market close 2026-07-10)$26.05Market Capitalization$8.7 billionRevenue (TTM)$335.6 millionNet Income (TTM)-$373.1 millionCompany SnapshotPlanet Labs PBC designs, deploys, and operates extensive satellite constellations that deliver frequent, worldwide geospatial imagery and data through a proprietary cloud-native platform accessible to institutional and commercial customers.The company generates revenue through subscription-based access to its geospatial data platform, data licensing agreements, and value-added analytics services that leverage its proprietary imagery processing and temporal analysis capabilities.Planet Labs serves government agencies, defense contractors, agricultural enterprises, financial institutions, and environmental monitoring organizations that require high-frequency satellite imagery for decision-making and operational intelligence.Planet Labs PBC operates as a leading provider of frequent, global geospatial intelligence through its constellation of Earth observation satellites and cloud-native data platform. The company has demonstrated significant market momentum, with a 294.7% one-year stock price appreciation, reflecting growing institutional demand for real-time satellite imagery and geospatial analytics. Despite current net losses as the company scales operations, Planet Labs' recurring revenue model and expanding customer base position it as a critical infrastructure provider in the aerospace and defense sector.
What this transaction means for investorsSince the sale was prearranged and Schingler still has a pretty major ownership stake in Planet Labs, investors shouldn’t pay too close of attention to this transaction. That said, PL stock itself has been a fairly wild ride, offering investors a high-risk, high-reward proposition.
While Planet Labs reached positive free cash flow generation in recent quarters, the company still presents numerous headwinds for prospective investors, such as its:
continuous and growing capital expendituresimmense competition from rocket-launching peersneed for ongoing shareholder dilutionlack of vertical integrationlofty valuation at 24 times salesYes, there is a world where PL stock overcomes these worries and becomes a key cog in the Earth observation and satellite niche, which could become immensely valuable. I even believe the company offers multibagging potential if things break right for it. However, it remains a growth story left for the most risk-tolerant of investors. I understand the company’s appeal -- especially as it starts processing data in space while integrating AI into its operations -- but for now I’d rather only hold a small starter position in the company as opposed to making it any major holding anytime soon. I’d rather let it grow into a full position if things work out.
Josh Kohn-Lindquist has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Planet Labs PBC. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
William Spencer Marshall, co-founder, CEO, and Chairperson of Planet Labs PBC (PL 0.04%), reported a sale of 200,000 shares on July 10, 2026. SEC Form 4 filing
Transaction summaryMetricValueTransaction value~$5.2 millionShares sold200,000Post-transaction shares (directly held)2,703,115Post-transaction value~$70.42 millionTransaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average sale price ($25.92); post-transaction value based on July 10, 2026 market close ($26.05).
Key questionsWhat defines the structure of this transaction?
This disposition was carried out under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan adopted on July 12, 2025. Such plans are established to allow insiders to execute trades at predetermined times or price levels, providing a defense against potential claims of trading on non-public material information.How does the size of this sale compare to the insider's total position?
William Marshall sold 200,000 shares, a move that reduced his direct equity holdings by 7%. Following the sale, he retains a direct position of ~2,703,115 shares with a market value of ~$70.42 million as of the July 10, 2026 market close.Are there additional equity incentives in place for the CEO?
In addition to his direct holdings, Marshall holds derivative securities. These include restricted stock units (RSUs) that are scheduled to vest in equal quarterly installments through December, providing ongoing alignment with the company's equity performance.Company OverviewMetricValueShare Price (as of market close 2026-07-10)$26.05Market Capitalization$8.7 billionRevenue (TTM)$335.6 millionNet Income (TTM)-$373.1 millionCompany SnapshotPlanet Labs PBC designs, deploys, and operates extensive satellite constellations that deliver frequent, worldwide geospatial imagery and data through a proprietary cloud-native platform accessible to institutional and commercial customers.The company generates revenue through subscription-based access to its geospatial data platform, data licensing agreements, and value-added analytics services that leverage its proprietary imagery processing and temporal analysis capabilities.Planet Labs serves government agencies, defense contractors, agricultural enterprises, financial institutions, and environmental monitoring organizations that require high-frequency satellite imagery for decision-making and operational intelligence.Planet Labs PBC operates as a leading provider of frequent, global geospatial intelligence through its constellation of Earth observation satellites and cloud-native data platform. The company has demonstrated significant market momentum, with a one-year stock price appreciation of 294.7%, reflecting growing institutional demand for real-time satellite imagery and geospatial analytics.
Despite current net losses as the company scales operations, Planet Labs' recurring revenue model and expanding customer base position it as a critical infrastructure provider in the aerospace and defense sector.
What this transaction means for investorsCEO Will Marshall’s July 10 sale of 200,000 Planet Labs shares was a non-discretionary transaction, since it was part of a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. This suggests investors should not be concerned by the disposition.
Moreover, Marshall retained over 2.7 million directly-held shares after the transaction, a sizable equity stake. About two million of those are RSUs that are not yet vested, meaning he will have to wait before these are eligible to be exercised.
Marshall’s sale came after shares had fallen substantially from a 52-week high of 51.76 reached on May 28. The stock rose as part of broader sector momentum experienced due to the highly anticipated June 12 IPO of Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, better known as SpaceX.
Planet Labs shares fell after the company announced a $1.5 billion at-the-market equity offering, which posed a dilution threat for existing shareholders. Planet Labs is experiencing strong sales growth, achieving record revenue of $94.2 million in its fiscal first quarter ended April 30, representing a 42% year-over-year increase.
Robert Izquierdo has positions in Planet Labs PBC. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Planet Labs PBC. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Planet Labs stock continued its strong downward trend last week, reaching its lowest level since March 19. PL has dropped by 50% from its highest point this year, with the market capitalization falling from over $18.40 billion in May to the current $9.28 billion, and technicals suggest that it has more downside to go.
The ongoing PL stock retreat has coincided with that of other companies in the space industry. SpaceX stock has plunged to a record low, while Rocket Lab fell by 47% from its highest point this year. The Procure Space ETF (UFO) dropped from the year-to-date high of $68.3 to $46.
PL stock has plunged in the past few weeks, even after the company published strong financial results. Its recent results showed that its revenue and backlog continued rising in the last quarter.
Planet Labs revenue jumped by 42% in the first quarter to $94.2 million, with the percentage of recurring annual contract value (ACV) soaring to 99%.
The company’s gross margin softened a bit to 54%, with its net loss soaring to $138.9 million from the $12.6 million it lost a year earlier. This loss jumped because of a $106 million revaluation loss from a change in fair value of warrant liabilities related to stock appreciation.
Planet Labs expects the company’s growth will continue in the foreseeable future, helped by the rising demand from government agencies and corporations. The average estimate among analysts is that its revenue jumped by 42% in the second quarter to $104 million, followed by 40% in the second quarter.
Planet Labs annual revenue is expected to continue rising by over 40% to $436 million, followed by $570 million next year. This growth will likely be because of the Pelican-11 satellite, which is designed to validate new technologies and capabilities in a bid to boost the quality of images.
Most notably, analysts expect the company will become profitable in the coming years. The average estimate is that the company will breakeven in terms of EPS as soon as next year.
Planet Labs stock has dropped because of the rising fears of dilution after the company entered an equity distribution plan to sell up to $1.5 billion of its Class A common stock from time to time. This likely explains why the company has a short interest of 12.4%.
Planet Labs stock chart | Source: TradingView
The daily chart shows that the Planet Labs stock has been in a freefall in the past few weeks, moving from a high of $51.60 in May to the current $26.
It is attempting to drop below the key support level of $26.25, a move that will invalidate the forming of the double-bottom pattern.
It is attempting to move below the 50-day and 100-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMA), which are about to cross each other, forming a mini death cross.
The stock will likely continue falling, potentially to the key support level at $20, down by 23% from the current level. It will likely bounce back later this year as investors rotate back to space companies.
READ MORE: Wedbush makes a strong case for buying the dip in Planet Labs stock
Satellogic Is Tiny But Its Revenue Growth Is Hard to IgnorePlanet Labs PBC NYSE: PL held its 2026 annual meeting of stockholders virtually on July 9, with shareholders voting on three company proposals, according to the meeting transcript.
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Will Marshall, co-founder, chairperson of the board and chief executive officer of Planet Labs, opened the meeting and said it was being conducted virtually as permitted under Delaware law, the company’s state of incorporation. Marshall noted that company officers were present, including Thomas Murphy, general counsel and corporate secretary, as well as representatives from KPMG LLP, the company’s independent registered public accounting firm.
MarketBeat Week in Review – 06/08 - 06/12Murphy said a quorum was present and declared the meeting duly convened for the transaction of business. He also introduced Francis Byrd, a representative of Broadridge Financial Services, who was appointed by the board to serve as inspector of election.
Shareholders Vote on Three Proposals Planet Labs shareholders considered three proposals at the meeting. The company recommended that stockholders vote in favor of each director nominee, as well as the second and third proposals.
Director elections: Shareholders voted on the re-election of Vijaya Gadde, General John W. Raymond and Scott Reese Jr. as Class II directors. Murphy said the directors elected at the meeting will serve until the 2029 annual meeting of stockholders and until their successors are duly elected and qualified. Auditor ratification: Shareholders voted on the ratification of the Audit Committee’s appointment of KPMG LLP as Planet Labs’ independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2027. Executive compensation: Shareholders voted on a non-binding advisory proposal to approve the compensation of the company’s named executive officers, commonly referred to as a “say on pay” vote. Preliminary Voting Results Announced 3 Stocks With Fresh Catalysts to Watch Before July 4After the polls closed, Murphy reported that the inspector of election had provided preliminary results. According to Murphy, there were sufficient votes in favor of all three director nominees, the ratification of KPMG LLP as the company’s independent registered public accounting firm, and the advisory approval of named executive officer compensation.
Murphy said the final vote tally will be published within four days in a current report on Form 8-K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
No Stockholder Questions Submitted Following the formal business portion of the meeting, Marshall said the management team would answer questions submitted through the meeting’s question-and-answer portal. Murphy reported that there were no questions at that time.
Marshall then thanked attendees and adjourned the 2026 annual meeting. The operator concluded the meeting shortly afterward.
About Planet Labs PBC NYSE: PLPlanet Labs PBC is a public benefit corporation that operates one of the largest fleets of Earth-imaging satellites, providing high-frequency, high-resolution imagery and data analytics to a broad range of industries. The company's multi-spectral satellite constellation captures daily snapshots of the planet, enabling clients to monitor changes in agriculture, forestry, urban development, energy infrastructure and environmental conditions. Planet's imagery platform is designed to support timely decision-making by transforming raw satellite data into actionable insights for business and government users.
Founded in 2010 by former NASA scientists Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler and Chris Boshuizen, Planet Labs grew from a small startup into a key provider in the satellite imaging sector.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
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Key Takeaways Planet Labs uses its satellite fleet and imagery archive to deliver faster, actionable AI-driven insights.Government demand spans border surveillance, military planning, disaster response & infrastructure monitoring.PL has gained 29.9% year to date but trades at 19.5 times sales, above the industry average of 3.04. Planet Labs (PL - Free Report) is a leading provider of Earth-imaging data and geospatial intelligence, operating the world's largest fleet of Earth-observation satellites. The company is well-positioned to benefit from the growing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), as customers increasingly seek actionable insights instead of raw satellite imagery. Its satellite constellation delivers high-frequency global coverage, generating a vast proprietary dataset that provides a strong foundation for AI-driven analytics.
Artificial intelligence is expanding the application of geospatial intelligence across both government and commercial markets. Defense and intelligence agencies are increasingly using AI-powered satellite analytics for border surveillance, military planning, disaster response and critical infrastructure monitoring. Rising geopolitical tensions and higher defense spending are expected to support sustained demand for commercial Earth observation services.
On the other hand, commercial adoption is also gaining momentum across agriculture, energy, forestry, mining, insurance and financial services. Organizations are leveraging AI-enabled geospatial analytics to monitor crop health, assess climate risks, optimize supply chains, track construction activity and advance ESG initiatives. As enterprises increasingly adopt predictive analytics and continuous monitoring, demand for high-quality satellite data is likely to grow.
Planet Labs is further enhancing its competitive advantage by embedding AI capabilities into its software platform, enabling customers to derive faster, more actionable insights while increasing recurring subscription revenues. Strategic partnerships with leading cloud and AI providers improve data accessibility and accelerate enterprise adoption. Supported by its extensive imagery archive, global coverage and expanding AI-powered analytics capabilities, Planet Labs is well-positioned to capitalize on the rising demand for geospatial intelligence and deliver sustainable long-term growth.
What About Its Peers?Rocket Lab (RKLB - Free Report) benefits from diversified government and commercial demand. Rocket Lab has secured contracts across defense, NASA and private space markets. Rocket Lab is also expanding AI capabilities through automation, machine learning and advanced analytics, strengthening operational efficiency and positioning itself for higher-value defense and autonomous space opportunities.
BlackSky (BKSY - Free Report) is expanding its AI capabilities through real-time geospatial analytics, automated intelligence and machine learning-driven monitoring solutions. BlackSky is increasingly benefiting from rising defense and national security demand. BKSY’s AI-powered Earth-observation platform positions it for higher-margin government and intelligence contracts.
PL’s Price PerformancePL has gained 29.9% year to date, outperforming the industry.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
PL’s Expensive ValuationThe stock is overvalued compared with its industry. It is currently trading at a price-to-sales multiple of 19.5, higher than the industry average of 3.04.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Estimate Movement for PLThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for PL’s fiscal second-quarter and third-quarter 2027 EPS witnessed no movement in the last 30 days. The same holds true for fiscal 2027 and 2028.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The consensus estimates for PL’s 2027 and 2028 revenues indicate year-over-year increases. The estimate for fiscal 2027 earnings indicates a year-over-year decline, but the same for fiscal 2028 suggests a year-over-year increase.
PL stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
It's hard to overstate the impact of Space Exploration Technologies and its record-setting IPO on the stock market. SpaceX raised nearly $86 billion in its IPO on June 12, making it the largest IPO in history and giving Elon Musk's company a $2 trillion valuation.
SpaceX has arguably been the biggest narrative in the stock market this summer, as even some major indexes have changed their rules to allow large IPO stocks like SpaceX to join more quickly than usual. But it's far from a perfect stock -- SpaceX already carries an extremely high valuation, and it will be years before it turns a profit. Meanwhile, IPO stocks are notoriously volatile, and many of them need several quarters of performance before they start generating consistent gains.
However, some interesting artificial intelligence (AI) space stocks already have a track record of performance. Planet Labs (PL 4.58%) and BlackSky Technology (BKSY 3.40%) are two that are worth considering right now.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Planet Labs There's a lot of activity around the Earth -- thousands of satellites are already in orbit, with more coming online every year. They include surveillance satellites operated by nation-states such as the U.S., as well as commercial satellites that provide internet access, communications, and Earth imagery.
That's where Planet Labs comes in. The company specializes in Earth imaging for agriculture, forestry, mapping, and government use. It operates about 200 Earth-imaging satellites and records the planet's landmass every day.
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The company's Pelican-class satellites use AI to process images and quickly identify subjects, and have incorporated Claude AI from Anthropic into its platform to help non-expert users use information from the company's satellites.
Revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2027 (ended April 30) was $94 million, up 42% from a year ago. It reported a quarterly loss of $1 million, adjusted for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), and its backlog grew 72% to more than $906 million.
Planet Labs stock is up more than 45% so far this year.
2. BlackSky Technology BlackSky is another Earth imaging company. BlackSky uses its constellation of high-resolution satellites and AI-enabled software, delivered through its Spectra platform, to provide real-time Earth observation and analytics.
Spectra uses artificial intelligence to automatically detect and classify vessels, vehicles, and aircraft, and can translate raw pixels into AI-driven analytics in less than 90 minutes. Its capabilities have allowed BlackSky to win government contracts valued up to $2.7 billion.
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BlackSky won $160 million in contracts in the first quarter of the year, and built on that this week when it announced it won a series of U.S. government contracts to use its AI-enabled object detection algorithms and automated battle damage analytics to help its customers evaluate damage inflicted on targets after military engagements.
Planet Labs PBC advances its Agile Aerospace strategy with the Pelican-11 launch, aiming for rapid iteration and capital-efficient satellite deployment. PL's Pelican program targets high-resolution, high-frequency imaging, positioning the company to capture defense and time-sensitive commercial demand. Valuation remains elevated at 23–30x sales, reflecting aggressive growth and margin expansion expectations, but exposes PL to significant multiple compression risk if execution falters.
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL), a leading provider of daily data and insights about change on Earth, today announced the successful launch of Pelican-11, the tech demonstration satellite (TD2) for the second generation (Gen 2) of its high-resolution Pelican™ fleet. The spacecraft was launched to orbit aboard the Transporter-17 rideshare mission with SpaceX from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Planet has successfully made initial contact with the satellite a.
Wolfgang Schmidt brings deep governance expertise as Planet scales AI-enabled solutions and builds its advanced satellite manufacturing facility in Berlin
BERLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Planet Labs Germany, a leading provider of daily data and insights about change on Earth, today announced the appointment of Wolfgang Schmidt, former German Federal Minister for Special Affairs and Head of the Federal Chancellery, to its European Advisory Board. He joins the board at a pivotal moment as Planet expands its presence in Europe and advances plans for a new satellite manufacturing facility in Berlin, reinforcing Germany’s growing role in Europe’s New Space ecosystem and Planet’s long-term commitment to the region. The Berlin facility will serve as Planet’s European center for advanced satellite manufacturing.
Wolfgang Schmidt’s extensive knowledge of the German, European and international political landscape, as well as his long tenure in leadership positions, will support Planet as it expands across the continent. In addition to his role as head of the Chancellery, Wolfgang also oversaw the intelligence services of the Federal level in Germany.
"We are privileged to welcome Wolfgang Schmidt to our European Advisory Board during a period of significant operational momentum for Planet in Europe," said Will Marshall, Co-Founder and CEO of Planet. “Wolfgang’s direct help facilitating our partnership with Ukraine supported by Germany, his experience leading the Germany Chancellery, and his deep expertise in European policymaking and international affairs will be invaluable particularly as we expand our manufacturing in Germany, underscoring our deep commitment to Germany and Europe."
Martin Polak, Managing Director of Planet Labs Germany, added: “Berlin is becoming the increasingly important hub for Planet’s activities in Europe. Our investment in satellite manufacturing reflects a long-term commitment to Germany’s growing role in the New Space ecosystem and to strengthening Europe’s industrial capabilities in Earth observation.”
"Planet’s capability to deliver daily, objective insights about our changing world has made it an indispensable platform for global security as I saw first hand with their work in Ukraine whilst I was in Government," said Wolfgang Schmidt. "I look forward to working with the leadership team to support Planet's long-term engagement and collaboration with institutions and partners in Germany and across Europe towards greater security and sustainability."
The European Advisory Board is instrumental in guiding Planet’s strategic expansion in Europe, meeting the needs of its growing European customer base, and helping navigate the evolving European policy landscape. Wolfgang Schmidt joins current European Advisory Board members: Carl Bildt, Cochair, European Council on Foreign Relations & Former Prime Minister of Sweden; Dr. Neelie Kroes, Former Vice President of the European Commission; David Miliband, CEO of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) & Former Foreign Minister of the UK; Oleksii Reznikov, Former Minister of Defence, Ukraine; and Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, Director of ETH Zurich and Former Head of Science at NASA.
Learn more about the European Advisory Board’s mission and members.
About Planet
Planet Labs Germany GmbH is part of the Planet group and is based at Planet’s European headquarters in Berlin. Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL) is the parent company of the Planet group with global headquarters in San Francisco, USA. Planet is a leading provider of global, daily satellite imagery and geospatial solutions. Planet is driven by a mission to image the world every day, and make change visible, accessible and actionable. Founded in 2010 by three NASA scientists, Planet designs, builds, and operates the largest Earth observation fleet of imaging satellites. Planet provides mission-critical data, advanced insights, and software solutions to customers comprising the world’s leading agriculture, forestry, intelligence, education and finance companies and government agencies, enabling users to simply and effectively derive unique value from satellite imagery. Planet Labs PBC is a public benefit corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange as PL. To learn more visit www.planet.com and follow us on X, LinkedIn, or tune in to HBO’s ‘Wild Wild Space’.
Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release are “forward-looking statements” about Planet within the meaning of the securities laws, including statements about Planet’s strategic partnerships and Planet’s future growth in new and existing markets. Such statements, which are not of historical fact, involve estimates, assumptions, judgments and uncertainties. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those addressed in the forward-looking statements. Such factors are detailed in Planet’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Planet does not undertake an obligation to update its forward-looking statements to reflect future events, except as required by applicable law.
Planet Labs is rated a buy with a $36 FY 2027 target, reflecting 14% upside and strong demand from global defense and intelligence sectors. PL posted 42% YoY revenue growth in Q1 2027, raised FY guidance to $425–441M, and maintains robust liquidity with $731M in cash and investments. Defense spending by NATO members and large government contracts, including satellite-as-a-service deals, are key catalysts for sustained growth and margin expansion.
It has been an exciting year for space stocks. Coming into June, Planet Labs (PL 0.60%) stock had surged to over $51 per share and was up an eye-opening 162% year to date. However, the stock recently pulled back 37% from its all-time high just over one month ago.
Planet Labs has been riding high on the wave of strong top-line growth and a surge in government spending on space and defense. However, the company's recent earnings forecast and equity raise have taken the air out of the balloon. Here's what investors need to know.
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Planet Labs' stock has gone on a tear over the last year Planet Labs operates a massive constellation of small satellites that capture daily high-resolution imagery of the planet. The company provides geospatial imagery, data archives, and analytics to intelligence, agricultural, and commercial customers for applications such as national security, crop yields, and deforestation monitoring.
The stock has soared over the last year, surging 432% as investors flock to booming space stocks. The company showcased solid top-line growth while teaming up with Nvidia to incorporate its GPUs into its satellites and deliver real-time AI insights to customers like never before. It is also riding a wave of contract wins, including awards with the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the Swedish Armed Forces, and selection as a prime contractor under the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) SHIELD framework.
Image source: Getty Images.
Planet Labs stock surged following its previous three earnings reports, but its first-quarter results (for the period ending April 30) sent the stock tumbling. Part of its decline was driven by margin compression and a high forecast for capital expenditure for the year. During the earnings call, Planet Labs guided its margin down from 56% in the first quarter to between 52% and 54% for the full year, with heavy capital investment totaling between $80 million and $95 million this year.
The biggest driver of the stock's decline was its $1.5 billion at-the-market equity offering, which was also announced during its earnings call. Planet Labs entered into an agreement to sell up to $1.5 billion of its Class A common stock through at-the-market offerings, meaning it could sell shares in smaller portions over time. The proceeds would be used to expand manufacturing capacity and further build out its Earth-imaging infrastructure.
Should you buy the dip in Planet Labs? Planet Labs is growing nicely and expanding its reach with its growing satellite platform. However, the equity offering highlights the risks of investing in high-growth, early-stage companies, and the $1.5 billion raise is a massive amount for a company with a market capitalization of $11.7 billion.
The company is spending big in hopes of a larger payoff long-term, and analysts project its revenue could grow by 34% compounded over the next three years. That said, Planet Labs stock is far from cheap, priced at 31.2 times sales, and analysts covering the company don't foresee profitability until 2028 at the earliest.
Investors must balance growth with spending and recognize that Planet Labs is still an early-stage, rapidly growing company. If you do buy the stock, make sure it's part of a diversified portfolio and size your position accordingly.
Key Takeaways PL shares have lost 11.9% in three months, lagging the industry, sector and the Zacks S&P 500 composite.PL trades at 22.76X price-to-sales, above the industry average of 3.15 and the three-year median of 3.8.Planet Labs' backlog rose 72% to over $906M, but losses are expected to continue through fiscal 2027. Shares of Planet Labs (PL - Free Report) have lost 11.9% in the past three months, underperforming the industry, its sector, as well as the Zacks S&P 500 composite. Planet Labs is a leading provider of Earth-imaging data and geospatial analytics, operating the largest fleet of Earth-observation satellites globally.
PL vs. Industry, Sector, S&P 500 in 3 Months
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Shares of Rocket Lab (RKLB - Free Report) , its peer, have gained 47.7% in the past three months, while those of BlackSky Technology (BKSY - Free Report) , another peer, have lost 6.7% in the same time frame.
PL Shares Are ExpensiveThe stock is overvalued compared with its industry. It is currently trading at a price-to-sales multiple of 22.76, higher than the industry average of 3.15 and the median of 3.8 over three years.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
PL is relatively cheap compared to RKLB but expensive compared to BKSY.
The Case for PL StockPlanet Labs generates most of its revenues through a combination of fixed-price subscription agreements and usage-based contracts, delivering satellite imagery and geospatial data analytics to governments and large enterprises via its cloud-based platform. Revenue growth has been driven by an expanding subscription base, rising government demand and a strategic emphasis on higher-value satellite services and advanced analytics.
The company ended the first quarter of fiscal 2027 with backlog increasing 72% year over year to more than $906 million, providing strong revenue visibility and supporting expectations for faster growth. Management projects fiscal 2027 revenues of $425-$441 million.
Planet Labs has increasingly prioritized large government and defense contracts, which offer greater revenue stability and long-term visibility. Although this business remains its primary growth driver, management continues to view the commercial market as a significant long-term opportunity. Ongoing enhancements to its platform are expected to broaden commercial adoption. In particular, AI-powered analytics, initially developed for government customers, are creating new commercial opportunities across supply chain monitoring, surveillance, operational optimization, insurance risk assessment, financial analysis, energy management and agriculture.
Despite these growth prospects, Planet Labs remains unprofitable, and meaningful profitability is unlikely in the near term. Continued investments in satellite infrastructure, elevated research and development spending, and high operating expenses continue to put pressure on margins. After five consecutive years of losses, the company is expected to remain in the red through fiscal 2027, while returns on equity and invested capital remain well below industry averages. For fiscal 2027, management expects a non-GAAP gross margin of 52-54% and adjusted EBITDA ranging from breakeven to a profit of $10 million, indicating that sustained profitability is still some distance away.
Planet Labs Growth ProjectionsThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2027 revenues indicates a 41.9% year-over-year increase, while that for earnings suggests a 75% year-over-year decline. The consensus estimate for fiscal 2028 revenues indicates a 32.2% year-over-year increase, while that for earnings suggests an increase of 138.1% year over year.
The consensus estimate for fiscal 2027 and 2028 earnings has moved south in the past 30 days.
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The consensus estimate for 2026 earnings of RKLB has moved south in the past 30 days, while that for BKSY has witnessed no movement in the same time frame.
Parting Thoughts on PL SharesPlanet Labs, a data-driven company focused on Earth-observation imagery and analytics, is poised to grow, given the rising global demand for commercial satellites.
However, current factors warrant caution. With the stock trading at a premium, returns on capital comparing unfavorably with the industry, looming near-term earnings pressure, pessimistic analyst sentiment and a VGM Score of F, it is better to avoid this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) stock for now.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
[url="]Planet Labs Germany[/url], a leading provider of daily data and insights about change on Earth, and European space company [url="]Isar Aerospace[/url] t
BERLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Planet Labs Germany, a leading provider of daily data and insights about change on Earth, and European space company Isar Aerospace today announced a strategic launch agreement. Under the agreement, Isar Aerospace will launch one of Planet's next-generation high-resolution Pelican satellites, with additional satellites planned for future launches. The Pelican is scheduled to fly on Isar Aerospace's Spectrum launch vehicle, currently scheduled as early as late 2026 from.
