Why Is PL Stock Sliding Nearly 4% In Overnight Trading?

• Planet Labs' revenue jumped 42% from a year ago to $94.2 million, while adjusted EPS loss of $0.03 beat estimates.
• Defense and intelligence revenue surged more than 65%, helping drive the backlog to over $906 million.
• The company secured several government and defense contracts, launched three Pelican satellites and expanded its AI offerings.

Shares of Planet Labs PBC (PL) slipped in after-hours trading and extended losses overnight on Thursday despite reporting record revenue and raising its full-year outlook, as investors weighed a softer margin outlook against a space sector dominated by anticipation around SpaceX's blockbuster IPO.

PL stock is on track to post its worst week in over a year after sliding nearly 15% so far this week. Shares were last trading down more than 3.8%.

PL Q1 Earnings Review

Planet Labs’ first-quarter (Q1) revenue rose 42% from the previous year to a record $94.2 million, topping analyst estimates of $90.13 million. Adjusted loss per share was $0.03, better than expectations for a $0.04 loss. The satellite-imaging company guided to second-quarter revenue of $102 million-$107 million, above consensus estimates of $100.86 million, and raised its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook to $425 million-$441 million.

"Planet's excellent start to the year is a testament to the mission-critical nature of our data in an increasingly complex world," CEO Will Marshall said in a statement. 

However, the company’s non-GAAP gross margin fell to 56% from 59% a year ago. "We expect non-GAAP gross margin for the quarter to be between 52% and 55%, a modest step-down from Q1 as a result of our satellite services execution, the mix of deals with AI-enabled partner solutions, and increased depreciation from the recent launches of our Pelicans," CFO Ashley Johnson said on the earnings call.  

Planet Labs also expects fiscal 2027 capex of $80 million-$95 million and maintains its adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) outlook of $0 to $10 million despite raising revenue guidance.

PL Backlog Surges On Defense Wins

Defense and intelligence revenue grew more than 65% from a year ago, helping drive a backlog above $906 million, up 72%, while remaining performance obligations rose 81% to $816 million.

Additionally, Planet signed an eight-figure, one-year contract with an undisclosed international defense and intelligence customer for dedicated satellite capacity and analytics services. It also secured a $21.9 million contract extension from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) for maritime surveillance and won a new NGA contract for its Global Monitoring Service, which supports crisis response and national defense priorities. The company also renewed a $7.5 million U.S. Navy contract for vessel detection and monitoring across key regions of the Pacific.

"Nations are articulating an urgent imperative to secure sovereign access to space, understand threats in their region, modernize their defense capabilities, and maintain their strategic edge," Marshall said.

The company also launched three additional Pelican satellites, including Sweden's first sovereign reconnaissance satellite, and shipped Pelican-11, its first Gen-2 Pelican technology demonstration satellite. On the AI front, Planet launched a private-beta natural-language search tool for its satellite archive and introduced SuperRes, an AI-powered image-enhancement product.

SpaceX IPO Steals The Spotlight

Planet's results come as investor attention and capital shift towards SpaceX's IPO, which plans to raise $75 billion at a $1.77 trillion valuation, with the deal potentially expanding to about $85.7 billion if underwriters fully exercise their overallotment option.

Demand has reportedly been “insatiable” after SpaceX's JPMorgan-hosted roadshow, with analysts supposedly fielding 20 investor calls per day, above the 10-15 calls typically seen for highly sought-after IPOs.

Despite concerns about SpaceX's valuation and recent losses, investors see the offering as a catalyst for the space economy. The company's filing addressed a $28.5 trillion market opportunity across launch services, Starlink connectivity, direct-to-cell communications and AI infrastructure, calling it the "largest actionable total addressable market in human history."

How Do Retail Traders Feel About PL?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for PL has been ‘extremely bullish’ over the past week, amid a 1,321% surge in message volume.

One user noted, “Last week's random pump to $50 was due to space x ipo. It should've been reserved for post-ER action. There has never been a run-up INTO earnings before, so I'm not surprised. Another great earnings report allowing this price to solidify as the new floor at least.”

Another user said, “$PL call over. Very solid quarter, the stock will continue to grind higher for years to come. Long term, it's a $200 stock IMO.”

PL stock has rocketed 991% over the past year. 

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