New York, May 29, 2026, 19:04 (EDT)
Palantir Technologies Inc. shares climbed 9.2% to $156.54 on Friday, as the data-analytics stock rallied with software names and landed back in the AI spotlight. The gain extended a two-day jump, marking its best two-session stretch since April 2025, Dow Jones Market Data told Barron’s.
AI bets helped software names after Snowflake posted results and Dell Technologies raised its AI outlook this week. Investors have been looking for cues on whether AI is boosting enterprise software makers or hurting them, and fresh updates gave bulls new fuel to buy into stocks linked to corporate AI budgets.
Stocks got a lift from a stronger market. The S&P 500 traded up 0.2%, same for the Nasdaq Composite, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.7%. Tech led the way as Dell posted a profit beat and lifted its forecast on higher AI computing demand.
Snowflake said this week it inked a $6 billion infrastructure deal with Amazon Web Services over five years. The data-cloud firm, often pegged as a peer to Palantir in the enterprise AI space, is seeing enterprises shift from AI pilots to “agentic” software tools that take action on data and help with workflows, CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy said. Snowflake
Dell was also moving. The hardware maker’s shares jumped after Reuters said AI server revenue reached $16.1 billion last quarter, more than its PC business at $14.6 billion. Dell lifted its fiscal 2027 AI server revenue outlook to about $60 billion, up from $50 billion.
That’s a key point for Palantir. Dell and Palantir are selling a joint AI operating system for on-premises use — that is, software on the customer’s own hardware, not just the public cloud. Dell said this setup runs Palantir Foundry and Ontology on Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA. The goal is to make scattered government and corporate data workable as a governed layer for AI agents.
Palantir’s latest results helped power the recent rally. The company lifted its 2026 revenue outlook to between $7.65 billion and $7.66 billion earlier this month. First-quarter revenue was up 85% to $1.63 billion, ahead of LSEG’s estimate at $1.54 billion. U.S. commercial sales soared 133% to $595 million. U.S. government revenue gained 84% to $687 million.
Palantir CEO Alex Karp didn’t mince words in a letter to shareholders. “The United States remains the center, the constant core, of our business. And that business is erupting,” Reuters said. That line shows why the market still sees Palantir as both a government tech firm and a commercial AI name.
Valuation is the issue here, and it’s a big one. Palantir traded at roughly 176 times earnings, putting its price-to-earnings ratio well above most. That kind of multiple means any misstep—a lost deal, weaker demand, or if investors sour on pricey AI names—could slam the stock.
There’s a second risk here: the AI trade is getting crowded. If customers figure they can get the automation they need from cloud providers, data platforms like Snowflake, or just build cheaper tools in-house, Palantir may struggle to hold onto its premium.
Friday’s trading made it clear Wall Street is back to paying up for companies turning AI spending into real sales. Palantir is still seen as one of the purest AI bets, though it tends to get hit hard if sentiment sours.
