New York, June 5, 2026, 12:02 (EDT)
- Planet Labs dropped roughly 22% to $33.86 during late-morning trading. The company filed for a $1.5 billion at-the-market share sale program.
- Shares fell even as Planet posted record fiscal Q1 revenue of $94.2 million, up 42% from last year, and raised its full-year sales outlook.
- Needham’s Ryan Koontz moved his price target up to $53 from $40 while sticking with his Buy rating. The decision suggests Wall Street’s growth thesis still has support after the selloff.
Planet Labs PBC (PL.N) dropped roughly 22% Friday, with the satellite-imagery company’s shares falling after it registered a $1.5 billion at-the-market stock sale. The move cut into enthusiasm from its solid quarterly numbers. The stock last traded at $33.86 in late morning New York trading, off $9.67 from where it closed on Thursday.
Timing was key here. Planet’s shares took off, making it one of the more popular space stocks recently, but talk of a major stock sale put dilution on the table for current holders. Barron’s reported Friday that shares were up 236% in six months and almost 1,000% over the last year, before dropping after earnings.
Planet has set up an equity distribution deal with banks like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Barclays, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, BofA Securities, Needham and Wedbush to sell as much as $1.5 billion in Class A common stock, according to the filing. With this at-the-market, or ATM, plan, the company can sell stock into the open market instead of doing a big one-time sale.
Planet may also turn to range-forward sale agreements, a setup where banks borrow and sell shares to manage risk on future stock sales. The company said it doesn’t have to sell any shares and can pick when, how many, and at what minimum price it would sell.
The company posted fiscal first-quarter numbers, but the selloff took the spotlight. Revenue was up 42% to $94.2 million. Backlog climbed 72% to more than $906 million. Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments were $730.8 million at quarter end. Adjusted EBITDA came in at a $1.0 million loss.
Planet posted a net loss of $138.9 million, wider than the $12.6 million loss a year ago. The company said the quarter’s results included a $106.5 million revaluation loss on warrants linked to its higher share price. Free cash flow was negative $2.5 million after capital spending.
Planet CEO Will Marshall said the quarter demonstrated the “mission-critical nature” of the company’s data, noting Sweden’s first sovereign reconnaissance satellite. President and CFO Ashley Johnson described the balance sheet as a “fortress” and pointed to backlog for better visibility on growth. Business Wire
Planet is guiding to second-quarter revenue between $102 million and $107 million, with adjusted EBITDA running from break-even up to $5 million. The company now puts fiscal 2027 revenue at $425 million to $441 million, with adjusted EBITDA in a range of break-even to $10 million. Capital spending is set at $80 million to $95 million.
Government contracts remain key for the company. Planet announced a $21.9 million one-year surveillance extension from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and an additional crisis-response monitoring award. The company also pointed to a $7.5 million six-month renewal with the U.S. Navy.
Peers also traded lower, but Planet’s loss was steeper after its filing. Rocket Lab slid 6.7%. AST SpaceMobile shed 10.3%. BlackSky, which competes in earth observation, dropped 11.4%. The main indexes fell, too: the SPDR S&P 500 ETF lost 1.4%, while Invesco QQQ, tracking big tech stocks, was down 2.7%.
Analyst views diverged under the surface. Needham bumped its price target after earnings. MarketBeat data listed six Buys, three Holds and three Sells, with an average target of $31.69. That average target was still under Friday’s late-morning price, even after shares dropped. Some of the positive news was already in the stock.
The risk profile has changed. If Planet relies on the ATM, more dilution could hit investors. If not, the ATM filing is an overhang. The margin outlook is also an issue: the company put its second-quarter non-GAAP gross margin at 52% to 55%, down from 56% in the first quarter, as spending on satellites, AI, and sales remains high.
