Start here if you're new
what it is
Planet sells daily images of Earth and the software that turns those images into useful maps, alerts, and intelligence.
how it gets paid
Last year Planet Labs Pbc made $244M in revenue. planet monitoring was the main engine at $98M, or 40% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 10.7% last year. Gross margin was 56.8%, which means the product has value once it is sold.
what just happened
Revenue hit $221M, but EPS was still negative at -$0.31.
At a glance
B+ balance sheet — decent shape, but not bulletproof
13.2x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
-$0.42 fy2024 eps est
$244M fy2024 rev est
47.5% operating margin
xvary composite: 51/100 — below average
What they do
Planet sells daily images of Earth and the software that turns those images into useful maps, alerts, and intelligence.
Planet has built a data archive with more than 2,700 images on average for every point on Earth’s landmass. That archive matters because history is the product. If you want to track crop stress, border activity, or wildfire damage over time, you need years of consistent images, not one pretty photo.
How they make money
$244M
annual revenue · their business grew +10.7% last year
planet monitoring
$98M
+12.0%
planet tasking
$49M
+9.0%
platform & analytics
$37M
+18.0%
government & defense solutions
$44M
+14.0%
professional services
$16M
+3.0%
The products that matter
recurring imagery and data subscriptions
Data subscriptions
$81M · 33% of revenue
this is the part of the business growing at 33%. at $81M, it's still only one-third of revenue, which means you need it to keep compounding and keep taking share of the mix.
fastest growth
multi-year high-resolution imaging program
Pelican satellite program
$230M agreement
the January 2025 commercial agreement is almost 94% of current annual revenue. that's the kind of contract that can change the backlog story fast — if it converts cleanly into reported revenue.
backlog driver
gpu-native imagery processing
AI engine
announced 11 hours ago
the new NVIDIA-linked engine is promising, but right now it's a product narrative without attached revenue in this snapshot. you should treat it as optional upside, not booked demand.
proof pending
Key numbers
47.5%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → so what: Planet is still losing about 48 cents for every dollar of sales.
$453M
long-term debt
Debt is about 1.9 times annual revenue of $244 million, which matters because growth stories get less fun when lenders join the cast.
$244M
annual revenue
Revenue grew 10.7% vs. prior year to $244 million. Growth is real. It just is not covering the cost structure yet.
1,018
customers served
More than 1,018 customers means demand is not the issue. The issue is turning that footprint into durable profits.
Financial health
B+
strength
- balance sheet grade B+ — solid but not elite
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 5 / 100
- long-term debt $453M (5% of capital)
B+ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for PL right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
missed estimates
Revenue hit $221M, but EPS was still negative at -$0.31.
Gross margin was 56.8%, which means the product has value once it is sold. The problem is everything else around it still costs too much.
$221M
revenue
$0.31
eps
56.8%
gross margin
the number that mattered
Gross margin at 56.8% says the core service can work. The gap between that and a -47.5% operating margin shows overhead is still eating the business.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is the valuation staying ahead of the business.
high
valuation versus reality
33x sales and a -45.9% net margin is an unforgiving setup. You are paying future-platform prices for a business that still loses about 46 cents on every revenue dollar.
multiple compression can happen long before profitability arrives
high
pelican execution
The $230M Pelican agreement is almost 94% of current annual revenue. That's great when it ramps on time. It is brutal if deployment, delivery, or customer acceptance slips.
one contract has enough weight to move the whole story
med
margin deterioration
Q3 gross margin fell to 57% from 61% a year ago. If revenue grows but margins fade, the business can look bigger without getting much better.
lower gross margin delays the path from backlog to cash earnings
med
ai narrative outrunning ai revenue
The new GPU-native AI engine sounds good because it is good product theater. This snapshot does not show customer adoption or attached revenue yet.
story stocks get punished fast when the monetization line stays blank
At 33x sales, 57% gross margin, and -45.9% net margin, PL does not need a disaster to rerate lower. It just needs growth to stop outrunning profitability.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
calendar
Q4 FY2026 earnings
March 19, 2026 is the next real test. You want to see whether the record $81M quarter was a step up or just a good quarter.
metric
gross margin direction
57% versus 61% a year ago is the cleanest warning sign on the page. If that line keeps slipping, the premium multiple gets harder to defend.
trend
subscription mix
Data subscriptions grew 33% and sit at $81M. If they keep taking a bigger share of the $244M revenue base, the business quality improves with the mix.
risk
Pelican revenue conversion
The $230M agreement matters only when backlog becomes reported revenue. Watch bookings, recognition timing, and any language around customer acceptance.
Analyst rankings
coverage quality
thin
this snapshot does not include a usable scored ranking set for PL. in human-speak, you should lean more on the operating numbers than on the street's shorthand labels.
signal quality
mixed
the data we do have points in two directions at once: 97% recurring contract value and 361% RPO growth on one side, -45.9% net margin and weaker gross margin on the other.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for PL is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$23
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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