President Donald Trump has publicly endorsed Palantir Technologies (PLTR), a software company specializing in big data analytics, just as its stock faced a significant weekly decline. The endorsement, posted on Trump’s social media platform Truth Social, highlighted the company’s “great war fighting capabilities and equipment.”
This statement comes amid reports that the U.S. military is employing Palantir’s AI-driven Maven Smart System platform to identify targets in the Middle East, a capability reportedly utilized in recent strikes against Iran. Government contracts, including those with the Pentagon and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, constitute over half of Palantir’s domestic revenue, underscoring its deep ties to national security and defense initiatives.
Palantir CEO Alex Karp has consistently championed equipping the military with advanced technology. While Karp has previously expressed criticisms of Trump and supported President Joe Biden’s campaign, he has shown alignment with the current administration’s defense policies. Karp has also been a vocal defender of Palantir against criticisms regarding its involvement in surveillance technologies used for immigration enforcement and domestic monitoring. His strong pro-Israel stance following the October 7th Hamas attacks reportedly led to some employee departures, as previously communicated.
The company’s political trajectory has also been a point of discussion. Last October, Palantir’s chief communications officer, Lisa Gordon, expressed concern over the company’s “political shift” toward the Trump administration during an interview. The recording of this interview was subsequently removed from the hosting platform’s channels, adding a layer of intrigue to the company’s political engagements.
Beyond its defense sector work, Palantir’s technological ecosystem involves partnerships with prominent AI labs, including Anthropic. Notably, Anthropic was placed on a Department of Defense blacklist due to concerns about the potential misuse of its AI tools for autonomous weapons and government surveillance. Palantir integrates models from Anthropic and other AI developers into its platform. Karp recently indicated that Palantir would be phasing out Anthropic’s models, though this transition is not yet complete.
The broader software industry has experienced a sell-off this week, partly triggered by Anthropic’s cautious release of its new Mythos model, citing potential risks of misuse by malicious actors. Concerns about the disruptive potential of new AI tools on established software models have been a recurring theme in the market recently.
Prominent short-seller Michael Burry has also been vocal in his skepticism towards Palantir and other AI-focused companies. In a now-deleted post, Burry suggested that Anthropic was posing a significant competitive threat to Palantir. Following Trump’s endorsement, Burry reiterated his bearish stance, holding put options on the company and asserting that its fundamental value is considerably lower than its current trading price. Palantir’s stock, despite its recent slump, is currently trading around $128 per share.
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