Planet Labs PBC (PL) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Source: SeekingAlpha
Updated: 1 day ago0mins
Revenue $81.3 million, representing approximately 33% growth year-over-year. The growth was driven primarily by defense and intelligence and civil government customers, as well as progress against the JSAT satellite services contract. Upside was also supported by the Luno B win with the NGA and some onetime factors.
Non-GAAP Gross Margin 60% in the quarter, compared to 64% in the third quarter of fiscal year 2025. The decrease reflects investments in satellite services contracts and the mix of contracts, including AI-enabled partner solutions.
Adjusted EBITDA Profit $5.6 million, marking the fourth sequential quarter of adjusted EBITDA profitability. This was better than expected, primarily driven by revenue outperformance and disciplined OpEx spend.
Backlog $734.5 million at the end of the quarter, representing a year-over-year increase of 216%. This growth reflects strong demand and strategic wins in government sectors.
Free Cash Flow Positive for the third quarter in a row, reinforcing the expectation of being free cash flow positive for the full fiscal year.
Defense and Intelligence Sector Revenue Accelerated to over 70% growth year-on-year, up over 15% quarter-over-quarter. Growth was driven by strong performance in data subscription, solutions businesses, and satellite services.
Civil Government Sector Revenue Up approximately 1% year-over-year and up approximately 15% quarter-over-quarter. Growth was supported by a $13.5 million task order from NASA under the commercial satellite data acquisition program.
Commercial Sector Revenue Moderately down both year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter. The decline is attributed to increased focus on large government customers and seasonality in the agricultural sector.
Capital Expenditures Approximately $27.7 million in Q3, above guidance range due to prepayments for favorable pricing in hardware procurements and launch deposits for next-generation satellites.
Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Short-term Investments $677 million at the end of the quarter, an increase of approximately $406 million sequentially, driven by a $460 million convertible note raise.
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Analyst Views on PL
Wall Street analysts forecast PL stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for PL is 15.41 USD with a low forecast of 10.90 USD and a high forecast of 20.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
9 Analyst Rating
7 Buy
2 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 17.470
Low
10.90
Averages
15.41
High
20.00
Current: 17.470
Low
10.90
Averages
15.41
High
20.00
Clear Street
Buy
maintain
$14 -> $16
2025-12-11
New
Reason
Clear Street
Price Target
$14 -> $16
2025-12-11
New
maintain
Buy
Reason
Clear Street raised the firm's price target on Planet Labs to $16 from $14 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company reported strong fiscal Q3 results, significantly beating estimates, and now expects positive annual adjusted EBITDA, which is a "major upgrade" from its prior loss guidance, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm upped Planet Labs' growth outlook to reflect its artificial intelligence growth and path to profitability.
Wedbush
Outperform
upgrade
$17 -> $20
2025-12-11
New
Reason
Wedbush
Price Target
$17 -> $20
2025-12-11
New
upgrade
Outperform
Reason
Wedbush raised the firm's price target on Planet Labs to $20 from $17 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm notes the company reported its Q3 results, which featured strong beats across the board while providing strong Q4 guidance as AI continues to be a major tailwind as the company is seeing significant demand through enhanced capabilities for its advanced satellite data solutions. As use cases for solar data applications significantly rise through increased AI integrations, Wedbush continues to believe the Planet Labs is well-positioned at the intersection of Space and AI to capitalize on this rapidly growing market and continues to see accelerated momentum as the company's pipeline continues to see significant growth with increased interest for its entire product portfolio across its growing addressable market.
Deutsche Bank
Buy
maintain
$16 -> $17
2025-12-11
New
Reason
Deutsche Bank
Price Target
$16 -> $17
2025-12-11
New
maintain
Buy
Reason
Deutsche Bank raised the firm's price target on Planet Labs to $17 from $16 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares following the earnings report.
Needham
Ryan Koontz
maintain
$16 -> $22
2025-12-11
New
Reason
Needham
Ryan Koontz
Price Target
$16 -> $22
2025-12-11
New
maintain
Reason
Needham analyst Ryan Koontz raised the firm's price target on Planet Labs to $22 from $16 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company reported very strong Q3 results, beating consensus revenue and EPS, while guiding Q4 revenue above by over 6%, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Defense & Intelligence segment sales, up 72% y/y, starred in Q3 with strong demand across all regions, affirming broad growth in global demand and overcoming declines across two major USG programs, the firm added.
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About PL
Planet Labs PBC is a provider of global, daily satellite imagery and geospatial solutions. It designs, builds, and operates the earth observation fleet of imaging satellites. It provides mission-critical data, advanced insights, and software solutions comprising agriculture, forestry, intelligence, education and finance companies and government agencies, enabling users to derive value from satellite imagery. Its satellite data and analytics reveal actionable insights regarding phenomena, such as deforestation, agriculture, climate change, biodiversity, and supply chains worldwide. Its daily stream of proprietary data and machine learning analytics, delivered over its cloud-native platform, helps companies, governments and civil society use satellite imagery to discover insights as change happens. Its digital technology platform includes Agile Aerospace, Proprietary Big Data, and Platform and Analytics. Its products include Planet Monitoring, Planet Tasking, and others.
About the author
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Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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