Palantir Technologies PLTR recently reached a significant milestone: its inclusion in the prestigious S&P 500.
The inclusion in the S&P 500 will put the stock inside several of the leading ETFs including the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY. And the company’s journey — from a small, often misunderstood startup to a technology giant — is not lost on co-founder and CEO Alex Karp.
Bold Journey: Karp marked the S&P 500 inclusion occasion, calling it "an enormous, momentous occasion for every Palantir."
This achievement is particularly striking given the unconventional path the company has taken to profitability and recognition.
Karp emphasized how Palantir's unique approach, centered on building exceptional products, has been key to its success.
"We built the best products in the world. We started off in one area of the West Clandestine Services. We migrated into the military, into Spec Ops in the US commercial and into us into commercial globally," Karp explained. See below.
From the development of early tools like PD PPG to more advanced platforms like Apollo and Foundry, Palantir has continuously expanded its offerings. "All of these products were conceived and productized and now are being platform designs," Karp added.
Profitability was crucial for Palantir's inclusion in the S&P 500, and Karp did not shy away from this reality.
"In order to be on the S&P 500, you have to be profitable, which is a financial way of saying you have to make real tendies," he remarked.
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From Frankenstein to Profits: This profitability marked a turning point for Palantir, which had previously been viewed skeptically.
"They do not comprehend how we could have turned a switch and gone to Gap profitability and gone from what adults, professional managers and some analysts thought was a Frankenstein monster powered by a freak show leader—me—to a dynamic, clearly profitable company worthy of and admitted to the S&P 500," Karp stated.
Central to Palantir's philosophy has been its rejection of traditional corporate management. Karp underscored this when he said, "We rejected professional management people everywhere discussing how to build companies in a way that keeps the somewhat, if not toxic, often carcinogenic influence of people who have written PowerPoints out of your company."
He emphasized that Palantir's culture and revenue model reflect this independent approach: "Our products reflect that. Our culture reflects it. Our revenue reflects it."
Palantir's partnerships with key institutions have also played a significant role in its growth.
"Look at the list of people that use our product. The most important clandestine services. The most informed and special operators. The most important AI targeting work in the world. The most important allies, none of whom were ashamed to support in private or in public," Karp noted.
These relationships, spanning both public and private sectors, have been integral to Palantir's influence globally.
Summing up the significance of Palantir's inclusion in the S&P 500, Karp declared, "And the rebels won on Friday. I don't know any other occasion like this where the rebels actually got inside the gate and helped the institutions transform themselves."
For Karp, this moment not only marks financial success but also signifies a broader shift in how institutions operate. As he optimistically stated, "We did this together and the future belongs to us."
PLTR Price Action: Palantir shares trade at $34.80 Tuesday, hitting new 52-week highs. Palantir stock is up 109% year-to-date in 2024.
This article was partially written using artificial intelligence and was reviewed by Benzinga editors.
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