Planet Labs PBC Q2 FY2026 earnings call

• Launched nearly 200 satellites on 6 rockets, including next-generation Pelican and Tanager satellites.
• Shifted data business towards selling AI-enabled solutions, leveraging AI for speed and scale.
• Expanded satellite services business, with a EUR 240 million multiyear satellite services collaboration with Germany and strong progress on the JSAT contract.
• Q2 revenue was $73.4 million, representing ~20% year-over-year growth. Non-GAAP gross margin was 61% in the quarter, up from 58% a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA profit came in at $6.4 million, third sequential quarter of adjusted EBITDA profitability.
• Wins in Defense and Intelligence: Awarded an additional 7-figure option by the Defense Innovation Unit and expansion of the contract with the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. In civil government: Signed a 7-figure ACV renewal with the U.K. Rural Payments Agency and entered a strategic collaboration with the Panamanian Ministry of Environment. In commercial: Announced a new 6-figure win with Farmdar and continued partnership with Swiss Re.
• Space Systems teams had 2 high-resolution Pelican satellites launched, undergoing commissioning, and Tanager 1 celebrated 1-year anniversary with methane detection work in collaboration with Carbon Mapper.

Planet Labs PBC's second quarter financials showed varied segment performances. In the Defense and Intelligence sector, Q2 revenue accelerated to approximately 41% year-over-year growth and ~14% quarter-over-quarter. The civil government sector had second quarter revenue down approximately 4% year-over-year, mainly due to the expiration of the partnership with Norway. The commercial sector saw revenue grow approximately 6% year-over-year and ~13% quarter-over-quarter, driven by strong execution in the agriculture and energy sector. Regionally, revenue grew more than 50% year-over-year in Asia Pacific, more than 30% in EMEA while North America revenue was roughly flat year-on-year and Latin American revenue was down slightly. Revenue contribution percentages varied by segment, with Defense and Intelligence showing strong growth, civil government experiencing a decline, and commercial showing positive growth.

• Q3: Expect revenue to be between $71 million and $74 million. Non-GAAP gross margin expected to be between 55% and 57%. Adjusted EBITDA range is between minus $4 million to breakeven. Planning for capital expenditures of approximately $18 million to $24 million in Q3.
• Full fiscal year 2026: Now expect revenue to be between $281 million and $289 million. Non-GAAP gross margin expected to be between 55% to 57%. Adjusted EBITDA loss range from minus $7 million to breakeven. Planning for capital expenditures of approximately $65 million to $75 million for the year. Expect to be free cash flow positive on an annual basis this year, over a year earlier than prior target.

Q: Colin Canfield asked about growth dynamics, backlog, and DoD trends.

A: William Marshall talked about DoD leaning into broad area monitoring capabilities and Ashley Whitfield Johnson mentioned full amount of contracts in backlog is recognized over multiple years.

Q: Trevor Walsh inquired about the pipeline of services-type contracts.

A: Christopher Genualdi said there's strong demand, pipeline is maturing well, and satellite services are synergistic with core business.

Q: Trevor Walsh followed up on gross margin outlook.

A: Ashley Whitfield Johnson said Q2 gross margin upside was from strong usage dynamics, and margin will vary with revenue mix. William Marshall added Planet is competitively well-positioned in satellite services due to full stack integration ability.

Q: Mike Latimore asked about usage levels and early renewals.

A: Ashley Whitfield Johnson said they don't assume continued uptick in usage, look at historical patterns, but some customers have sought early renewals.

Q: Ryan Koontz asked about satellite services deal capacity.

A: William Marshall said the Japan deal was a tiny fraction of capacity, and the Germany deal leverages existing Pelican build plans.

Q: Daniel Hibshman asked about commercial growth.

A: William Marshall said energy, agriculture, and insurance are driving commercial growth, with solutions translatable across sectors.

Q: Gregory Pendy asked about Anthropic relationship.

A: William Marshall said Planet is collaborating with Anthropic to fine-tune models on satellite data, and has partnerships with Google and NVIDIA too.

Q: Caleb Henry asked about Tanager fleet monetization and backlog distribution.

A: William Marshall talked about Tanager's revenue opportunities with Carbon Mapper and California, and Ashley Whitfield Johnson explained backlog breakdown with percentages for 12 months and 24 months.