Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) used its fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year 2026 earnings call to highlight accelerating growth, a sharp increase in contracted demand, and stepped-up investments in satellite services and artificial intelligence initiatives that management believes can expand the company’s addressable market.
Fiscal 2026 results: record revenue, first full year of profitability and positive free cash flow
CEO Will Marshall said fiscal 2026 was a “transformational” year for the company, pointing to major satellite services wins, multiple satellite launches, and increased investment in AI. Planet generated record full-year revenue of $308 million (the company also cited $307.7 million in prepared financial remarks), representing about 26% year-over-year growth. Non-GAAP gross margin was 59% for the year, and adjusted EBITDA was $15.5 million, which Marshall described as Planet’s first full fiscal year of non-GAAP profitability. Free cash flow was $53 million, also described as the first year of positive annual free cash flow.
Backlog and RPOs expand, providing visibility into FY2027 growth
Planet ended fiscal 2026 with end-of-period remaining performance obligations (RPOs) of $852.4 million, up about 106% year over year. Management said approximately 34% of RPOs apply to the next 12 months and 65% to the next 24 months.
The company estimated backlog at approximately $900 million, up roughly 79% year over year, with 37% applying to the next 12 months and 67% to the next 24 months. Marshall said the backlog growth gives Planet “excellent visibility” into accelerating revenue growth in the coming year.
During the Q&A, CFO Ashley Johnson said the company’s guidance approach incorporates execution timing on large contracts and assumes new signings are generally “back-half loaded,” which can create upside if deals land earlier than expected.
Demand strength led by defense and intelligence; Europe highlighted as a key driver
Planet’s defense and intelligence (D&I) business was a major growth driver in fiscal 2026. Management said full-year D&I revenue grew more than 50% year over year, supported by performance across data subscriptions, solutions, and satellite services. Johnson said fourth-quarter outperformance was driven primarily by strong usage from defense and intelligence and civil government customers, along with new wins in the quarter.
Marshall cited several recent D&I-related awards and developments mentioned during the call:
- Two awards from the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), including a “seven-figure” extension supporting Indo-Pacific Command and an option under the Hybrid Space Architecture pilot for just under $1 million tied to Planet’s high-resolution Pelican satellites.
- NATO’s Allied Command Transformation extended its agreement with Planet for persistent space-based surveillance and indications and warning capabilities.
- The U.S. Missile Defense Agency selected Planet as a prime contractor for the SHIELD IDIQ contract vehicle, under which Planet will compete for awards. Marshall later clarified SHIELD is tied to the “Golden Dome” effort, though he emphasized it is early days and details will depend on how the architecture evolves.
In response to an analyst question on European strength, Marshall said demand in Europe was “off the charts,” driven by geopolitical dynamics and government interest in speed and sovereignty. Johnson added Planet has a long-standing European presence, including teams in Berlin and additional presence through acquisitions in the Netherlands and Slovenia, and Marshall noted that expanding satellite manufacturing in Berlin supports that engagement.
Civil and commercial: mixed trends, with AI positioned as a catalyst
Planet said civil government revenue was flat year over year in fiscal 2026, while commercial revenue declined, which Marshall said was expected given a focus on large government customers and headwinds in agriculture. Johnson attributed civil revenue being flat in part to the end of the Norway NICFI program contract.
Still, management emphasized the long-term opportunity in civil and commercial markets and tied future reacceleration to more scalable AI-enabled solutions. Marshall said that while the company is seeing traction for AI-based solutions in defense and intelligence, more “generic” AI capabilities could make monitoring broadly accessible to non-technical users and help unlock opportunities in agriculture, insurance, energy, supply chain, and finance. He suggested users could eventually go from concept to a bespoke application in under an hour.
Johnson also addressed go-to-market implications, noting Planet had previously realigned resources toward larger account opportunities and built a self-serve platform for smaller customers. She said the company expects targeted sales and marketing investments where it sees traction, while also emphasizing that improved demo capabilities allow Planet to “show not tell” in customer engagements.
AI and partnerships: Google Suncatcher and NVIDIA described as research-stage
Planet discussed two high-profile collaborations as part of its AI strategy. On Google’s Suncatcher, Marshall described the work as an early technology demonstration focused on putting Google TPUs in space. He said interest in “compute in space” is increasing, but emphasized the project remains “early days” and focused on research goals. Johnson clarified during the Q&A that the Suncatcher partnership is structured as an R&D partnership and is recognized as contra R&D expense (after Marshall initially misspoke and corrected himself).
On NVIDIA, Marshall said the expanded collaboration is also research-focused. He noted Planet has already been putting NVIDIA GPUs into orbit on Pelican spacecraft, while the newer work is more focused on ground compute to accelerate data preprocessing. Marshall said early tests showed potentially significant speedups in parts of the codebase, citing “100x” on certain parts, with the goal of delivering answers to customers faster.
Looking ahead, Planet guided fiscal 2027 revenue to $415 million to $440 million (about 39% growth at the midpoint). For the first quarter, the company expects revenue of $87 million to $91 million and non-GAAP gross margin of 49% to 51%, with adjusted EBITDA expected between -$6 million and -$3 million as it invests in growth. Full-year non-GAAP gross margin is projected at 50% to 52%, with adjusted EBITDA between breakeven and $10 million, and capital expenditures planned at $80 million to $95 million. Management said it expects to be free cash flow positive for fiscal 2027 on an annual basis, while noting quarterly variability based on procurement and milestone payment timing.
About Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL)
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.
