NEW YORK, March 18, 2026, 19:31 EDT
Palantir Technologies slipped roughly 1.5% to $152.77 late Wednesday, following news that supplier Keel came aboard the company’s U.S. Navy ShipOS project just a day earlier. Shares changed hands between $151.83 and $156.64. Even so, Palantir is still trading at around 395 times trailing twelve-month earnings.
The muted move stands out, given Palantir’s status as a go-to play for investors seeking exposure to military AI and U.S. industrial outlays. Software names with high multiples, though, took a beating on Wednesday. S&P 500 shed 1.36%, Nasdaq dropped 1.46%. The Fed kept rates unchanged, while oil was pushing toward $110 a barrel. For context: Palantir previously rallied almost 7% after its February earnings.
The Navy is rolling out ShipOS, leveraging Palantir’s Foundry and its Artificial Intelligence Platform, or AIP, to link up shipyard and supplier data and trim down production holdups. Secretary of the Navy John Phelan said the project gives builders a shot at “improve schedules, increase capacity, and reduce costs.” The Navy pointed to early results: at Electric Boat, submarine schedule planning plummeted from 160 manual hours to under 10 minutes. U.S. Navy
Competition among AI players is getting fiercer. Reuters said Tuesday that OpenAI reached an agreement to provide its models to U.S. defense and government agencies via Amazon’s cloud unit, covering both classified and unclassified projects. The move follows the Pentagon’s decision to drop Anthropic—its Claude models previously worked with Palantir and AWS on military and intelligence systems.
That’s a big deal for Palantir. Earlier this month, Reuters reported Maven Smart Systems—the Pentagon’s main AI tool for intelligence and targeting—runs on Anthropic’s Claude code. Replacing Claude won’t happen overnight; Reuters cited sources saying it might take months. Palantir’s contracts tied to Maven and other national security work with the Defense Department could be worth over $1 billion.
Palantir’s defense narrative is still backed by hefty figures. Back in February, the company reported a 70% jump in fourth-quarter revenue, reaching $1.41 billion. U.S. government revenue surged 66% to $570 million. Looking ahead, Palantir expects full-year 2026 revenue between $7.182 billion and $7.198 billion. Chief Executive Alex Karp summed it up: “these numbers prove it.” sec.gov
The risks haven’t gone away. “Valuation question marks won’t disappear,” eToro analyst Zavier Wong cautioned in February. For a stock priced this high, delays converting new contracts into actual sales—or slower product rollouts—could trigger a sharp drop. Reuters
Investors right now are eyeing new Pentagon-related buzz, but high valuations aren’t getting a pass. Mark Hackett at Nationwide pointed out Wednesday that “Iran, inflation, AI and corporate profits” are shaping this year’s market—factors likely to keep Palantir in the spotlight, with plenty of volatility to go with it. Reuters
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