NEW YORK, March 11, 2026, 11:37 EDT
Palantir Technologies (PLTR.O) traded almost flat by late morning, slipping just 0.06% to $151.05 at 11:22 a.m. EDT. Investors digested a new Reuters report suggesting legal experts believe Anthropic may have solid grounds to challenge its Pentagon blacklisting.
This case holds weight for Palantir. Reuters said last week its Maven Smart Systems—software built for intelligence analysis and weapons targeting—uses Anthropic’s Claude AI model. If the government’s blacklist sticks, Palantir could be forced to swap out that model in software linked to over $1 billion in Defense Department and other U.S. national security contracts.
That’s hardly trivial for a company carrying a roughly $433 billion valuation. Palantir has emerged as a prominent Wall Street play on AI tied to defense, which means even a hiccup in a key military contract can jolt the stock.
Anthropic filed suit against the U.S. government on Monday, following the Pentagon’s decision to tag it as a supply-chain risk. The company claims the designation happened only after it declined to relax restrictions on using Claude for autonomous weapons or surveillance inside the country. Several legal experts told Reuters on Wednesday that Anthropic could have the upper hand in court.
Palantir faces a tough spot here. If Anthropic wins in court, it might avoid having to dump Claude—though contractors could be left hanging without answers. Should the government win, Palantir could still wind up retooling key pieces of Maven with a different AI model, a move Reuters notes might bring steep costs and added complexity.
This week, Wedbush’s Dan Ives pointed out that “Anthropic software fears” are on investors’ minds, and Middle East unrest isn’t helping sentiment. Even so, he kept Palantir on his list of tech names with “robust business models” holding up in volatile conditions. Business Insider
Palantir’s latest numbers show some solid traction. The company announced in February that its U.S. government revenue for the fourth quarter jumped 66% to $570 million, which pushed total sales for the quarter up to $1.41 billion. Looking further ahead, Palantir projected 2026 revenue between $7.18 billion and $7.20 billion—beating LSEG’s forecast.
This supplier spat goes beyond Palantir. Lockheed Martin and several other defense firms are also moving to strip Anthropic tools out of their supply chains, Reuters said—a measure that points to just how integral a few leading AI models have become to military software.
Still, that valuation doesn’t give Palantir much margin for mistakes. Shares change hands at roughly 395 times trailing earnings—a figure that shows just how much investors are shelling out for every dollar of historical profit. Back in February, Reuters flagged that worries over Palantir’s price tag were already weighing on the stock.
Back in February, Chief Executive Alex Karp described Palantir’s work with the U.S. government as “critical.” That federal tie is keeping investors interested for now. But the bigger question ahead could be the legal battle over Anthropic—not another contract win. Reuters
