Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.43 EPS

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported ($0.48) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.05) by ($0.43), reports. The business had revenue of $86.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $78.17 million. Planet Labs PBC had a negative net margin of 45.87% and a negative return on equity of 31.01%. The company’s revenue was up 41.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from Planet Labs PBC’s conference call:

• Planet reported a standout fiscal 2026 with record $308M revenue (≈26% YoY), Q4 revenue of $86.8M (+41% YoY), $15.5M Adjusted EBITDA, and its first full-year positive free cash flow (~$52.9M).
• Visibility into future revenue strengthened — end-of-period backlog is ~$900M (≈79% YoY) and RPOs ~$852M (+106% YoY), and management raised FY27 revenue guidance to $415–$440M while targeting Rule of 40.
• Momentum in satellite services and sovereign demand accelerated with large wins (EUR 240M Germany deal and a nine‑figure Sweden contract), multiple Pelican launches planned, and manufacturing expansion in San Francisco and Berlin to scale deliveries quickly.
• Company is investing heavily in AI and next‑generation fleets, leading to near-term margin and cash pressure — Q1 FY27 gross margin guided to 49–51%, Q1 Adjusted EBITDA guided to –$6M to –$3M, and FY27 CapEx planned at $80–$95M; quarter-to-quarter cash flow and execution risk remain.

Planet Labs PBC Stock Performance

NYSE PL traded up $7.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $34.49. The stock had a trading volume of 15,425,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,930,024. Planet Labs PBC has a 52-week low of $2.79 and a 52-week high of $36.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $24.95 and a 200 day moving average of $17.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 4.00 and a current ratio of 4.00. The stock has a market cap of $10.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -82.45 and a beta of 1.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Planet Labs PBC

In other Planet Labs PBC news, CFO Ashley F. Johnson sold 150,731 shares of Planet Labs PBC stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.01, for a total transaction of $4,071,244.31. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,956,101 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,834,288.01. The trade was a 7.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert H. Schingler sold 73,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.35, for a total transaction of $1,427,681.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,164,729 shares in the company, valued at $22,537,506.15. This trade represents a 5.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 292,348 shares of company stock valued at $7,323,958. 17.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Planet Labs PBC

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 320.3% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,678,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,429,000 after buying an additional 5,851,758 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Planet Labs PBC by 265.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,450,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,787,000 after buying an additional 2,506,595 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in Planet Labs PBC by 257.5% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,362,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,662,000 after acquiring an additional 1,701,535 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Planet Labs PBC by 10,305.7% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,509,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Planet Labs PBC by 477.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,349,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,233,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,055 shares in the last quarter. 41.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PL. Craig Hallum restated a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Planet Labs PBC to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Northland Securities set a $28.00 price target on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $12.30 price objective on shares of Planet Labs PBC in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.61.

Key Planet Labs PBC News

Here are the key news stories impacting Planet Labs PBC this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue beat and strong guidance — Planet reported Q4 revenue well above estimates and issued FY2027 guidance that topped Street forecasts, which is the principal catalyst for the rally. TipRanks Q4 Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: High FY27 revenue midpoint — Management guided to a FY2027 revenue midpoint (~$427.5M) implying ~39% growth, well above consensus (~$380M), which shifts the story from one-off beats to multi‑year growth expectations. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability and cash-flow progress — For FY2026 Planet reported positive adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow (first time at scale), and a growing $900M backlog, supporting the investment case even as the company scales. Earnings Summary / Slide Deck
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades / price-target lifts — Several firms (e.g., Wedbush, Needham) raised targets to $40 and reiterated outperform/buy ratings, amplifying institutional support and helping buyer momentum. Benzinga: Analyst Moves TickerReport
• Neutral Sentiment: AI & partner narrative — Management highlighted AI integration (Google partnership; NVIDIA in‑orbit AI interest) as a potential demand multiplier for civil/commercial markets, a longer-term positive but with execution risk. Yahoo Finance: AI / NVIDIA
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational expansion and technical setup — The company launched satellites and plans to double manufacturing capacity; technical analysts are watching for a breakout above key resistance. FXEmpire: Technical Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings-per-share confusion / accounting misses — Some reports showed an EPS miss (company-level or GAAP measures diverging from adjusted results), which can unsettle fundamentals-focused investors. Earnings Details
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and near-term profitability tradeoffs — Market cap now exceeds $10B and forward multiples are rich; management expects FY2027 adjusted EBITDA to be lower (near $0–$10M) as it invests to fulfill a multi-year backlog, creating execution and valuation risk if growth slips. Invezz: Valuation / Strategy

About Planet Labs PBC

Planet Labs PBC is a public benefit corporation that operates one of the largest fleets of Earth-imaging satellites, providing high-frequency, high-resolution imagery and data analytics to a broad range of industries. The company’s multi-spectral satellite constellation captures daily snapshots of the planet, enabling clients to monitor changes in agriculture, forestry, urban development, energy infrastructure and environmental conditions. Planet’s imagery platform is designed to support timely decision-making by transforming raw satellite data into actionable insights for business and government users.

Founded in 2010 by former NASA scientists Will Marshall, Robbie Schingler and Chris Boshuizen, Planet Labs grew from a small startup into a key provider in the satellite imaging sector.