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Planet Labs (PL) is rocketing to new all-time highs after reporting its Q4 (Jan) results last night. The Earth observation and geospatial intelligence company beat EPS expectations, reporting breakeven results when analysts had anticipated a loss, while revenue growth accelerated 41% yr/yr to a record $86.8 mln, also comfortably above expectations. Its initial FY27 outlook was also strong, expecting revenue of $415-440 mln, well above expectations and implying roughly 39% yr/yr growth at the midpoint, an acceleration from 26% growth in FY26.

• The outperformance was driven largely by strong usage from its defense and intelligence and civil government customers, along with new wins during the quarter.
• PL has been shifting toward larger government and defense contracts, where demand remains robust amid heightened geopolitical and security needs. That is helping drive its satellite services business, as sovereign customers move more urgently to secure dedicated space-based capabilities.
• This is reflected in its surging backlog and RPO. Backlog finished FY26 at $900 mln, up 79% yr/yr and from $734.47 mln in Q3, while RPO rose 106% yr/yr to $852 mln, up from $672.47 in Q3.
• Gross margin fell to 57% from 65%, largely reflecting investments to support its satellite services contracts and newer AI-enabled solutions. It expects FY27 gross margin of 50-52%, down from 56% in FY26.
• PL delivered adj. EBITDA profit of $2.3 mln, marking its fifth consecutive quarter of adj. EBITDA profitability. It expects to remain EBITDA profitable in FY27, targeting breakeven to $10 mln.
• PL also leaned into AI, arguing that its deep archive of Earth imagery positions it well to turn satellite data into more scalable AI-enabled analytics and solutions.

Briefing.com Analyst Insight

PL delivered a very strong close to FY26, with shares now gapping sharply higher for a third consecutive quarter following earnings. Its broader shift toward defense and sovereign satellite services, alongside AI-enabled analytics, is clearly helping drive results, highlighted by accelerating growth, record revenue, and surging backlog. That is feeding into its FY27 outlook, with the most notable piece being the sharp acceleration in revenue growth, which came in well above expectations. Margins are taking a hit as PL ramps investment, which helps reinforce the longer-term opportunity in sovereign satellite services and AI-enabled geospatial analytics. Importantly, PL still expects to maintain adjusted EBITDA profitability in FY27. Overall, the results reinforce PL's growing role as a more scaled and strategic Earth intelligence platform, though profitability will remain an important piece to watch as those investments continue.