Palantir enters top 10 US tech companies with $281 billion valuation

Palantir has made an incredible leap and entered the top 10 largest US technology companies by market capitalization. Its market value has reached $281 billion. This result allowed it to overtake Salesforce. Which is worth $268 billion and was ranked 10th among tech giants.

Still, over the past year, Palantir’s shares have grown more than 5 times. And since the beginning of 2025, they have risen by 58%. This is particularly noticeable against the backdrop of the overall 7% drop in the Nasdaq index since the beginning of the year.

What’s behind such success? The key factor has been the active development of artificial intelligence, especially in the government sector. In the last quarter, the company’s revenue from government contracts grew by 45% and reached $373 million. Among them stands out a $178 million contract with the US Army for the development of systems with artificial intelligence support.

Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir, emphasized the company’s commitment to creating software for the US armed forces. And noted that many critics from Silicon Valley have changed their minds and begun to recognize the importance of AI-based developments for the defense sector.

At the same time, analysts note an unusually high valuation of the company. Palantir trades at a multiple of 520x to earnings and 90x to revenue. This is significantly higher than others. For comparison. Salesforce, which Palantir surpassed in capitalization, generates 10 times more revenue. But the company’s price is lower.

Currently, the list of largest US technology companies is led by Microsoft with a capitalization of $3.26 trillion, followed by Apple and Nvidia. But unlike these giants with diverse lines of business, Palantir has chosen a narrow specialization – AI-based solutions for the defense industry.

In my opinion, such disproportionate growth in Palantir’s value indicates that investors are evaluating not current income, but the strategic positioning of the company. And in the long term, the company can maintain leadership provided it monopolizes the artificial intelligence niche for the defense sector. Because the strategic choice to work with the military sector creates barriers for competitors. Due to long contract cycles and certification requirements. And connections, of course.