Record Revenue and Strong Top-Line Growth
Generated record Q1 revenue of $94.0M, representing ~42% year-over-year growth; raised full-year FY27 revenue guidance to $425M–$441M (~41% growth at midpoint).
Planet Labs PBC
· PL
June 4th, 2026
Summary
- Earnings Call Date:
- 2026-06-04
- Change Since:
- -39.58%
- Next Earnings Date:
- 2026-09-14
Earnings Call Sentiment
PositiveThe call presented a strong growth narrative: record revenue (+42% YoY), sizable backlog and RPO expansions, robust Defense & Intelligence momentum, expanded product capabilities (satellite launches, SuperRes, AI beta) and an improved cash position. Near-term pressures include modest margin compression from satellite services and investments, a small adjusted EBITDA loss this quarter, negative free cash flow in Q1 and operational considerations around imagery restrictions and launch/supply execution. Management raised FY revenue guidance and reiterated plans for GAAP‑adj profitability and positive annual free cash flow, indicating confidence in scaling despite elevated near-term investments.
Company Guidance
Planet provided Q2 and full‑year FY27 guidance anchored by a strong Q1 and sizable backlog: Q2 revenue is guided to $102–107M (≈42% YoY growth at the midpoint) with non‑GAAP gross margin of 52–55%, adjusted EBITDA of breakeven to $5M, and CapEx of $21–27M; full‑year revenue is raised to $425–441M (≈41% growth at the midpoint) with non‑GAAP gross margin of 52–54%, FY27 adjusted EBITDA of breakeven to $10M, planned CapEx of $80–95M, an expectation to be free‑cash‑flow positive on an annual basis, and a goal to deliver Rule of 40 for the year. Management cited Q1 results (revenue $94M, 42% YoY; non‑GAAP gross margin 56%; adjusted EBITDA loss $1M), cash of ~$731M, RPO ~$816M (up ~80% YoY) and backlog ~$906M (up ~72% YoY) as supporting this outlook.
Improved Backlog and Contract Visibility
End-of-period backlog approximately $906M, up ~72% year-over-year; remaining performance obligations (RPO) ~$816M, up >80% YoY, providing multi-quarter revenue visibility (≈40% of backlog applies to next 12 months).
Defense & Intelligence Strength
Defense & Intelligence revenue grew >65% YoY in Q1, supported by major awards including a $21.9M NGA extension, a $7.5M U.S. Navy renewal and an 8‑figure dedicated-capacity international contract.
Rule of 40 and Profitability Trajectory
Achieved Rule of 40 (revenue growth rate + adjusted EBITDA margin) for the third consecutive quarter; Q1 adjusted EBITDA loss improved to $1M and company maintains FY27 adjusted EBITDA guidance of breakeven to $10M.
Strong Cash Position
Ended the quarter with ~$731M in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments (increase of >$500M YoY), providing capital to fund satellite production, R&D and growth initiatives.
Recurring Revenue and Customer Retention
Recurring ACV represented 99% of end-of-period ACV; ~92% of end-of-period ACV is annual or multiyear; net dollar retention rate of 113% (114% with win-backs).
Commercial and Regional Momentum
Commercial revenue grew >20% YoY; regional growth: EMEA +86% YoY, Asia Pacific & North America ~+25% YoY, Latin America +7% YoY, indicating geographically broad demand.
Rapid Satellite Execution and Product Innovation
Launched 3 Pelican satellites this quarter (including Sweden's first sovereign reconnaissance satellite launched ~4 months after contract signing); shipped Gen‑2 Pelican (Pelican 11) to launch site; introduced SuperRes (improving PlanetScope toward 2m-class) and announced a 30cm-class Gen‑2 demo roadmap.
AI Product Progress and Strategic Partnerships
Started private beta for a natural-language AI app to query Planet's archive; partnerships announced with Carbon Mapper and JPL for a SWIR Tanager design; collaboration with Google on early orbital compute tech demos.
Operator
Thank you for joining us, and welcome to the Planet Labs PBC First Quarter of Fiscal 2027 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions] I will now hand the conference over to Cleo Palmer-Poroner, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Cleo Palmer-Poroner
Thanks, operator, and hello, everyone. Welcome to Planet's First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2027 Earnings Call. I'm joined by Will Marshall and Ashley Johnson, who will provide a recap of our results and discuss our current outlook. We encourage everyone to please reference the earnings press release and earnings update presentation for today's call, which are available on our Investor Relations website. Before we begin, we'd like to remind everyone that we will make forward-looking statements related to future events or our financial outlook. Any forward-looking statements are based on management's current outlook plans, estimates, expectations and projections. The inclusion of such forward-looking information should not be regarded as a representation by plan that future plans, estimates or expectations will be achieved. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties and assumptions as detailed in our SEC filings, which can be found at www.sec.gov.
Our actual results or performance may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, and we undertake no responsibility to update such forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. During the call, we will also discuss histo...
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