Planet Labs Leans on Defense Contracts as Growth Accelerates Into Fiscal 2027

Fifty percent. That's roughly how much Planet Labs' defense and intelligence revenue expanded last fiscal year, a pace that dwarfed the company's already-strong overall growth and explains why Wall Street keeps circling back to its government book of business.

Planet Labs PBC closed fiscal 2026, the year ended January 31, with revenue of $307.7 million, up about 26% year over year. That figure alone would be respectable for a satellite-imagery company still working toward consistent profitability. What stands out is where the growth came from. According to the company's earnings call, defense and intelligence sector revenue climbed more than 50% for the year, with civil government agencies adding further momentum and new contract wins landing throughout the fourth quarter.

The momentum has not slowed. Planet posted record first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $94.2 million, up 42% year over year, then followed with an even stronger second quarter of roughly $116 million, a 58% jump, prompting the company to raise full-year guidance to a range of $425 million to $441 million. Recent contract announcements, including work with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Sweden's Armed Forces and the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit, along with a fresh seven-figure agreement with a European defense customer, point to why management keeps leaning into sovereign and military demand rather than commercial imagery sales.

None of this comes cheap. Maintaining a constellation of roughly 200 satellites requires constant replenishment, and fiscal 2026 capital expenditures reached $81.5 million, with fiscal 2027 guidance running as high as $115 million. The company still posted a net loss of $247 million in fiscal 2026, a gap driven largely by amortization and other non-cash charges rather than operating cash burn. Planet did hit its Rule of 40 threshold for a second straight quarter, a sign that growth and margin trends are finally moving in the same direction.

Investors are pricing in plenty of that optimism already. Shares trade at a trailing price-to-sales ratio near 14.5 times, leaving thin room for error if procurement timelines slip or a single large government customer pulls back. For a company this dependent on national security budgets, that concentration risk cuts both ways.