Stock Market Today, Nov. 3: Palantir Falls After Q3 Results as Valuation Stays in Focus

On November 3, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) saw its stock price drop following a disappointing third-quarter results announcement. The company's shares fell to $175.40, a decline of 1.65%, as investors focused on the valuation of the AI-driven defense and enterprise data analytics platform. Trading volume reached 52.4 million shares, nearly double its three-month average of 31.5 million shares.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) climbed 0.36% to 7,569, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained 0.83% to 25,372. Among peers in enterprise software and AI-driven data analytics for government and commercial customers, C3.ai (AI) and BigBear.ai Holdings (BBAI) also experienced slight declines.

Palantir reported remaining performance obligations (RPO) of $4.9 billion for the third quarter, unchanged from the previous quarter. This suggests potential stagnation in future sales, which contributed to the share price decline. Additionally, Q3 total contract value (TCV) growth was only 11% year over year, down from a 153% increase in Q2.

The flat RPO and decreased TCV, combined with an elevated share price valuation, signaled a future sales slowdown and prompted Wall Street analysts to question Palantir's earnings potential.

Despite hitting revenue above $2 billion for the first time and raising 2026 sales guidance to $8.53 billion, Wall Street remains concerned about Palantir's future. The company's U.S. commercial revenue surged 148% year over year to $984 million, surpassing U.S. government revenue for the first time, indicating growing commercial interest in Palantir's AI solutions. However, the company's current valuation, with a forward earnings multiple of 86, remains a topic of debate among investors.