Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL) — the San Francisco-based earth imaging satellite company — has become one of the most remarkable stock stories of the past 12 months. PL stock has surged approximately 540% in the past year, and its Q4 FY2026 earnings report released on March 19, 2026 gave investors fresh reasons to stay bullish. Planet Labs beat Wall Street's revenue expectations in Q4 CY2025 (FY Q4 2026), with sales up 41.1% year on year to $86.82 million. Next quarter's revenue guidance of $89 million at the midpoint was 5.6% above what analysts were expecting.

🛰️ Q4 FY2026 Snapshot (Planet Labs PL):
Q4 Revenue: $86.8M (+41% YoY)  |  Full-Year Revenue: $307.7M (+26% YoY)  |  Adjusted EBITDA FY2026: $15.5M (First full year profitable)  |  Free Cash Flow: $52.9M  |  Backlog: $900M (+79% YoY)

Q4 FY2026 Earnings: Exactly How Big Was the Beat?

Planet Labs reported revenue of $86.82 million versus analyst estimates of $78.49 million — a 10.6% revenue beat. Adjusted EPS came in at $0 versus analyst estimates of -$0.05 — a significant upside surprise. The company also reported a non-GAAP gross margin of 59% for the full year, while full-year adjusted EBITDA reached $15.5 million — representing Planet's first full fiscal year of non-GAAP profitability. Full-year free cash flow came in at $52.9 million — also the company's first year of positive annual free cash flow. These milestones signal a fundamental shift: Planet Labs is no longer a cash-burning growth story — it is a cash-generating one.

🛰️ Profitability Milestones: Planet Labs first profitable year 2026  |  PL stock earnings beat March 2026  |  Planet Labs free cash flow positive

Defense & Intelligence: The Engine Powering PL Stock

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's Defense and Intelligence (D&I) segment revenue grew more than 50% year over year — leading all sectors — underpinned by strong performance in data subscriptions, solutions, and satellite services. The geopolitical environment has been a direct tailwind: as the Iran war and global security crises intensify demand for real-time satellite surveillance and intelligence data, Planet Labs — which operates the world's largest fleet of Earth-imaging satellites — has been a direct beneficiary.

Key defense contracts driving this growth include two awards from the US Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) — including a seven-figure extension supporting Indo-Pacific Command — a NATO Allied Command Transformation agreement for persistent space-based surveillance, and a Missile Defense Agency prime contractor selection under a scalable satellite services programme. Planet also launched 40 satellites during FY2026 and inked a landmark R&D partnership with Google to explore data centers in space.

For complete investor relations materials, quarterly filings, and SEC disclosures related to Planet Labs' Q4 FY2026 earnings, visit the official Planet Labs Investor Relations page — the authoritative source for all financial results, earnings presentations, and forward guidance statements.

🛰️ Growth Drivers: Planet Labs defense intelligence revenue  |  Planet Labs Google NVIDIA AI partnership  |  Planet Labs satellite launches 2026

FY2027 Guidance: The Forecast That Really Moved Markets

Visibility into FY2027 improved dramatically as end-of-period RPOs (Remaining Performance Obligations) rose to $852.4 million — up 106% year over year — and backlog grew to approximately $900 million, representing 79% year-on-year growth, providing excellent visibility to accelerating revenue growth. Management guided fiscal 2027 revenue to $415–440 million — representing approximately 39% growth at the midpoint — while targeting continued annual free cash flow positivity. However, EBITDA guidance for FY2027 came in at $5 million at the midpoint — below analyst estimates of $20.75 million — reflecting management's decision to aggressively reinvest in satellite services and AI infrastructure to capture the enormous market opportunity ahead.

AI + Satellites: Planet Labs' Next Billion-Dollar Bet

Planet is stepping up investments in satellite services and AI — including research-stage collaborations with Google and NVIDIA — to broaden its addressable market. Marshall suggested users could eventually go from concept to a bespoke geospatial application in under an hour — a vision that could democratise access to satellite intelligence for agriculture, insurance, energy, supply chain, and finance sectors that have historically lacked affordable access to real-time Earth observation data. Planet and NVIDIA are collaborating to leverage NVIDIA's Blackwell and NVIDIA IGX Thor platforms to transform raw satellite pixels into analysis-ready insights in a matter of seconds — a quantum leap in geospatial AI capability.

🛰️ Investor Outlook: Planet Labs PL stock price target 2026  |  PL stock buy or sell March 2026  |  Planet Labs FY2027 guidance $415M-$440M

Why Is PL Stock Up 540% in a Year — And Is It Still a Buy?

The 540% rise in PL stock over the past 12 months is driven by a convergence of structural catalysts: the global defence spending surge triggered by the Iran war and Indo-Pacific tensions, Planet's transition to profitability, a rapidly growing $900 million backlog, transformational AI partnerships with Google and NVIDIA, and expanding NATO and US government satellite services contracts. The stock saw an 8.67% increase post-earnings, reflecting investor optimism about the company's financial health and strategic direction, though it experienced a slight 1.49% pre-market dip the following morning, closing around $24.44. Although Planet Labs' full-year earnings are still negative on a GAAP basis, it has improved its EPS by 100% annually over the last four years, and its two-year annual EPS growth of 65.4% signals accelerating profitability momentum. For investors willing to accept near-term EBITDA reinvestment headwinds in exchange for 39% projected revenue growth, a $900M backlog, and a dominant position in the fast-growing geospatial intelligence market — PL stock remains one of the most compelling space-tech investment theses of 2026.