his satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows what appears to be a sunken Chinese submarine at a shipyard near Wuhan, China, June 15, 2024.
Planet Labs PBC via AP
Shares of satellite imagery company Planet Labs soared more than 50% during Thursday’s trading session on the back of its strong first-quarter earnings report.
The company on Wednesday posted its first-ever quarter of positive free cash flow, coming in at $8.0 million. Planet Labs also exceeded quarterly estimates on top and bottom lines, reporting record revenue for the period.
Planet Labs’ performance over the past day
Planet Labs posted breakeven adjusted earnings and $66.3 million in revenue for the first quarter, while analysts polled by FactSet projected a loss of 4 cents per share on sales of $62.3 million. For the second quarter, Planet Labs expects sales to range between $65 million and $67 million. Analysts were expecting $65.2 million, per FactSet.
“We had an excellent first quarter, exceeding our expectations, demonstrating solid validation of our strategic direction and great execution,” Planet Labs CEO Will Marshall said in a press release. “Looking ahead, we’re responding to strong demand signals by prioritizing the delivery of global insights at scale via AI-enabled solutions and rapidly expanding our satellite services offering.”
Shares of Planet Labs are up more than 50% year to date, given Thursday’s jump, and have soared about 82% this quarter alone. The stock was last up by roughly 54% during midday trading.
The company, which operates more than 200 satellites currently in orbit, earlier this year announced a $230 million contract with an anchor customer to further the rollout of its next-generation Pelican satellites. Marshall told CNBC in January that the contract was its “biggest deal ever and it’s a significant step for us into this satellite services business.”
