NEW YORK, July 31, 2026, 14:06 EDT
- U.S. markets traded during the session. Shares of Palantir Technologies NASDAQ:PLTR held steady at $122.38. Nvidia NASDAQ:NVDA rose 2.1%.
- Palantir trades at 41.1 times its projected 2026 revenue, while Nvidia’s valuation is about 13.3 times its annualized next-quarter outlook.
- Palantir is set to report earnings on Monday, with options markets projecting a move of as much as 10% following the release.
Palantir shares held steady on Friday as CEO Alex Karp intensified his criticism of low-cost artificial intelligence. The stock is set for a more decisive move Monday, following a decline of almost one-third so far this year.
Investors are asking a straightforward question: Will Palantir retain its hold on the implementation layer as model providers develop their own field teams? Leading cloud and AI companies have scaled up forward-deployed engineering teams, a structure that Palantir brought into the mainstream.
Engineers who are forward-deployed work alongside customers to tailor software to their operational challenges. Palantir’s commercial strategy has relied heavily on this position. According to Karp, the process of implementation delivers greater value than basic model application.
The tokens meter and price model are in use. Karp criticizes expenditures that fail to boost customer output. His remarks directed at Anthropic’s chief were less personal.
Karp informed staff that Dario Amodei was “not the caricature that many people, most Americans, believe.” However, his critique of commercial strategy persisted. Business Insider
Palantir refers to its offering as “sovereign AI,” giving clients authority over their data, models, and implementation. Nvidia has expanded on this approach, bringing Palantir into its Open Secure AI Alliance. Business Insider
| Company | Price | Day move | Market value | Trailing P/E |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palantir | $122.38 | up 0.1% | $314.6 billion | 137.5x |
| Nvidia | $199.12 | up 2.1% | $4.86 trillion | 30.3x |
Recent trades were last recorded at approximately 13:50 EDT.
Nvidia led gains on Friday, while Palantir traded at a higher earnings multiple. This divergence highlights the challenge for investors. Palantir needs to demonstrate that its edge in deployment will last.
The companies each posted the same top-line growth in their most recent quarters, but their respective scale and ability to convert profits varied significantly.
| Latest reported quarter | Palantir Q1 2026 | Nvidia Q1 FY2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.633 billion | $81.615 billion |
| Revenue growth | 85% | 85% |
| GAAP gross margin | 87.0% | 74.9% |
| GAAP operating margin | 46.0% | 65.6% |
Palantir’s fiscal quarter closed on March 31, while Nvidia’s finished on April 26. Nvidia’s operating margin is based on its disclosed revenue and operating income.
Palantir posted a robust 87% gross margin, reflecting solid software business fundamentals. Nvidia turned nearly two-thirds of its revenue into GAAP operating profit. Scale remains significant.
Nvidia’s alliance currently includes 74 groups, according to the latest count. Some major closed-model labs are not on the list. Nvidia has shared its NOOA agent harness, though details on joint governance and rollout timelines have not been made public.
For Nvidia, promoting open access could boost demand for its hardware. Jensen Huang stated directly: “great models lead to great use, which leads to great growth.” WIRED
Palantir’s valuation is based on the premise that deployment stays limited and protected. The disparity is significant.
| Valuation gauge | Palantir | Nvidia | Palantir premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trailing P/E | 137.5x | 30.3x | 4.5x |
| Market value/sales | 41.1x | 13.3x | 3.1x |
Palantir’s sales measure is calculated with the midpoint of its 2026 guidance, while Nvidia’s figure is derived from multiplying its second-quarter revenue guidance by four. This approach provides a basic run-rate estimate, distinct from a consensus enterprise-value multiple.
Palantir projected its second-quarter revenue at $1.797 billion to $1.801 billion. Visible Alpha analysts forecast $1.81 billion in revenue and adjusted earnings of $0.35. Their revenue projection exceeds the upper end of Palantir’s guidance by $9 million.
Options are pricing in as much as a 10% swing. Revenue figures in the headline may not resolve the uncertainty.
The real measure could be commercial uptake. U.S. commercial sales in the first quarter surged 133% to $595 million. Outstanding deal value increased 112%, reaching $4.92 billion. These figures link Karp’s rollout argument directly to secured commitments.
There are risks on either side. Even a robust quarter might not justify a price-to-earnings ratio of 137. If commercial results are soft, Palantir could lose ground to competitors. The partnership has not revealed any guaranteed revenue agreements.
The discussion has shifted beyond just open or closed models. For Palantir investors, the key concern is ownership of the workflow once a model is chosen. Monday will deliver the next definitive answer.
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