Industrials
12/100
12/100Is PL-Planet Labs PBC a buy?
Friday 4 September 2026
Why now: The company just posted a major step-up quarter with record revenue growth and positive adjusted EBITDA. The stock is up sharply in the premarket.
Upside: Street targets imply large upside from here, but the near-term upside case depends less on a target number and more on whether Planet can sustain its higher revenue run-rate and keep adjusted free cash flow positive through its satellite investment cycle.
Risks: The biggest risks are renewed dilution (it is already using an at-the-market program) and a growth slowdown that would make the valuation hard to defend. A second risk is that government and defense wins can be lumpy, which can whipsaw quarterly results and the stock.
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Scorecard
Read:Strong metricsSolid metricsSelectiveCautionUnfavourableN/A
| Scorecard | 12/100 | |
|---|---|---|
| Company Detail | PL - Planet Labs PBC | |
| Price as at 3 September 2026 | $18.35 | |
| Market cap | $6.1B | |
| Quality and Fundamental Score (100) | ||
| Breakout / Early-Momentum /20 | 0/20 | |
| Rev/EPS Momentum /20 | 0/20 | |
| Business Quality /15 | 6/15 | |
| Balance Sheet /15 | 3/15 | |
| Valuation /10 | 1/10 | |
| Industry Relative Strength /10 | 0/10 | |
| Macro / Sector Tailwind /10 | 2/10 | |
| Growth | ||
| Cash runway | Cash generative | |
| Revenue YoY | +25.9% | |
| EPS YoY | -90.5% | |
| FCF YoY | +198.3% | |
| Gross margin | 56.1% | |
| Valuation & Trend | ||
| Trailing P/E | neg | |
| Forward P/E | — | |
| RSI (14d) | 29 | |
| vs 50d SMA | -22.7% | |
| Support cushion | −34.8% | |
| Sentiment | ||
| Wall Street verdict | Mixed | |
| News tone | Positive | |
| Dividend | — | |
How are these colored?
| Metric | Strong metrics | Solid metrics | Selective | Caution | Unfavourable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall score | ≥ 80 | 70-79 | 60-69 | 50-59 | < 50 |
| Business quality /15 | ≥ 12 | 10-11 | 8-9 | 6-7 | < 6 |
| Balance sheet /15 | ≥ 12 | 10-11 | 8-9 | 6-7 | < 6 |
| Market cap | ≥ $20B | $5B-$20B | $2B-$5B | $1B-$2B | < $1B |
| Cash runway | ≥ 3 yr or cash generative | 1.5-3 yr | 0.75-1.5 yr | 0.25-0.75 yr | < 0.25 yr |
| Revenue YoY | ≥ 15% | 5-15% | 0-5% | -5-0% | < -5% |
| EPS YoY | ≥ 20% | 5-20% | 0-5% | -5-0% | < -5% |
| FCF YoY | ≥ 10% | 1-10% | 0-1% | -5-0% | < -5% |
| Gross margin | ≥ 60% | 40-60% | 25-40% | 10-25% | < 10% |
| Trailing P/E | < 15 | 15-25 | 25-35 | 35-40 | > 40 or neg |
| Forward P/E | < 15 | 15-25 | 25-35 | 35-40 | > 40 or neg |
| RSI (14d) | 50-70 | 45-50 or 70-75 | 40-45 or 75-78 | 30-40 or 78-80 | < 30 or > 80 |
| vs 50d SMA | +2% to +15% | 0-2% or 15-25% | -2-0% or 25-35% | -3--2% or 35-40% | < -3% or > 40% |
| Support cushion | 2-10% above | 0-2% | 10-15% | 15-20% | price below support |
| Wall Street verdict | Aligned | — | Mixed | — | Disagrees |
| News tone | Positive | — | Neutral / Mixed | — | Negative |
| Dividend | Yield ≥ 2% & growing | Growing | Flat payer ≥ 1% | Low / flat | Cutting |
Detailed Analysis — Friday 4 September 2026
What they do
Planet Labs sells satellite imagery and geospatial data products, plus analytics and “satellite services” offerings that provide dedicated capacity for government and commercial customers. It makes money through subscription-like contracts that deliver recurring access to imagery and tools, with a mix of civil government, defense and intelligence, and commercial end markets.
Leadership
William Spencer MarshallCEO
William Spencer Marshall is Planet’s Co-Founder and has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board since the company’s founding.
Ashley Whitfield Fieglein JohnsonCFO
Ashley Whitfield Fieglein Johnson joined Planet as Chief Financial Officer in February 2020 and currently serves as President and Chief Financial Officer.
Customers & notable contracts
Receiver of capital expenditure: Yes: Planet is a receiver of customer capital expenditure because defense, intelligence, and civil agencies often fund multi-year data and dedicated-capacity programs as part of national security and infrastructure budgets.
Main customers
- National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) (US government customer for monitoring services and geospatial programs.)
- German civil government (Dedicated capacity satellite services tender with options over multiple years.)
- Hyperscaler AI developer (commercial) (Uses high-resolution data for monitoring data centers and semiconductor facility construction.)
- New Mexico State Land Office (State government customer using multi-product monitoring across public trust lands.)
Notable contracts
- NGA Global Monitoring Service (GMS) OTA award — $8 million (Award received in August for deployment of Planet’s Global Monitoring Service.)
- German government dedicated capacity Satellite Services tender — Up to €25 million over 5 years (maximum possible value, includes options) (Announced in August; structure includes options.)
- At-the-market equity program activity (funding) — $120 million (average net sale price $31.95 per share after expenses) (Raised during the quarter through stock sales under the at-the-market program.)
Summary thesis
- Planet is building a differentiated Earth-imaging and geospatial intelligence platform with rising recurring contract value and a growing mix of defense and sovereign “dedicated capacity” work.
- The latest quarter shows meaningful operating leverage and improving cash flow, which is the right direction for a long-term owner.
- The problem is that the stock is currently priced like a premium platform business while the chart and history of dilution keep the risk high if execution slips.
Wall Street alignment
Wall Street: Mixed signals (2 pos / 1 neg)
Analyst consensus
Buy (2.41, 22 analysts) · +124% upside
Institutional ownership
85% institutions, insiders 1.4%
Short interest
9.4% of float short · 4.0 d-to-cover
Smart money tape
-3 net (acc 0 / dist 3, last 26d)
Recent news
News Positive · last 7d
Show 5 headlines from the last 7d
2026-09-03Filing+supportive
Planet Labs filed a current report that included its fiscal 2027 second quarter results and forward outlook. The release highlighted record quarterly revenue growth, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization profitability, and updated revenue and margin expectations, which directly informs the near-term growth and profitability trajectory.
2026-09-03Earnings+supportive
Planet Labs reported second quarter revenue of $116.1 million, up 58% year over year, with improved net loss and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization profit of $13.9 million. It also gave third quarter and full-year fiscal 2027 revenue and profitability ranges, which are material for assessing whether the company can sustain accelerating growth while maintaining operating leverage.
2026-09-03Guidance·
For the fiscal 2027 third quarter, Planet Labs guided revenue to approximately $101 million to $105 million and guided an adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization loss. For the full fiscal year 2027, it guided revenue to approximately $430 million to $441 million and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization profit, which sets expectations for the next quarter and the full-year growth and profitability profile.
2026-09-02Analyst+supportive
Berenberg initiated coverage on Planet Labs with a buy rating and a $25 price target, citing its differentiated daily Earth imaging capability and potential demand from artificial intelligence use cases. New coverage and a positive initiation can influence investor perception and support the quality-momentum narrative if execution continues to match the growth thesis.
2026-08-31Product+supportive
Planet Labs ships Tanager-2 and 18 SuperDove satellites to Vandenberg ahead of SpaceX rideshare launch ↗ · Business Wire
Planet Labs said Tanager-2 and 18 SuperDove satellites arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base for launch on an upcoming SpaceX rideshare mission. This is material because constellation expansion supports capacity, revisit rates, and new hyperspectral offerings that can underpin revenue growth and product differentiation.
Dividends
Pays no regular dividend.
Technicals
Price
$18.35
RSI (14d)
29.3
50d SMA
$23.73
200d SMA
$26.94
vs 50d SMA
-22.7%
vs 200d SMA
-31.9%
Support (swing low)
$11.97 −34.8%
40-day high (R)
$28.40 +54.8%
Next swing high (swing high)
$20.99 +14.4%
Close as of 2026-09-03.
Score breakdown
Scores 12 out of 100. a mixed overall grade. Business quality and balance sheet weighed on the total. Despite a strong quarter and improving profitability, the setup is mechanically poor (no technical base, deeply below the 50-day and 200-day averages, very weak industry relative strength) and the valuation is demanding versus the company’s scale and long history of dilution. Those factors cap the score even though the operational trend improved materially. Mechanical cap: latest annual net income ≤ 0. Balance Sheet ≤ 3/15, Rev/EPS ≤ 0/20, overall ≤ 50/100.
Component scores are on the scorecard above.
Momentum evidence
- Technicals are decisively weak: the stock is in a sustained downtrend, deeply below key moving averages, with very low relative strength versus its sector and no breakout structure in place.
- Today’s premarket print shows an additional sharp gap down, which raises the bar for any “fundamental good news” to actually change the stock’s trajectory without a base and a reclaim of trend levels.
Fundamental evidence
- The company is still unprofitable on a trailing basis, with negative net income and negative return metrics, but it has recently shown improved operating leverage and positive free cash flow.
- In the fiscal second quarter 2027 release, Planet reported record quarterly revenue of $116.1 million, adjusted EBITDA profit of $13.9 million, and year-to-date free cash flow of $21.3 million, alongside backlog and remaining performance obligations that support near-term visibility.
- Balance-sheet liquidity appears stronger than before, helped by stock issuance: the same release reported cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $865.4 million, and it disclosed raising about $120 million during the quarter via the at-the-market program.
- The long-running red flag is dilution: the share count has risen dramatically over the past five years, so even good operating progress can translate into weaker per-share outcomes if issuance continues.
Cash runway: Cash generative (latest annual free cash flow is positive).
Valuation view
On FMP figures, the company screens expensive versus its current scale and earnings power: EV/Sales is high and EV/FCF is extremely high, which means the market is still paying up for a multi-year growth and margin story rather than current cash generation. That can work if Planet sustains high growth and expanding profitability, but it leaves little room for execution misses, especially given the dilution track record.
Macro tailwind
The most relevant tailwind is continued spending on defense, intelligence, and sovereign monitoring capabilities, plus rising demand for “always-on” visibility into supply chains and infrastructure. Planet’s ability to package imagery with AI-enabled analytics can help broaden adoption beyond traditional geospatial experts.
What to watch
Upcoming (1–6 months)
- Next quarterly results and any update on fiscal year 2027 revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and capital expenditure outlook.
Ongoing
- Share issuance pace and whether adjusted free cash flow stays positive while the company scales Pelican, Tanager, and satellite services programs.
Long-term case
If Planet can keep converting government and sovereign wins into multi-year recurring revenue while expanding margins, it could mature into a durable data utility for defense, civil government, and commercial monitoring. The multi-year value creation hinges on per-share outcomes: sustained operating leverage and cash generation must outpace dilution, and capex must translate into monetizable capacity rather than just a larger fleet.
Risks & invalidation
Risks
- Dilution persists as a funding tool, limiting per-share compounding even if the business grows.
- Growth normalizes after a strong quarter, and the market re-rates the stock lower due to high EV/Sales and weak profitability history.
- Execution risk in launching and scaling next-generation satellites and delivering contracted capacity on schedule.
Breaks the thesis
- A sustained inability to reclaim the 50-day moving average, combined with a break below $18.00 on a closing basis, would indicate the downtrend remains dominant and that the market is not accepting the latest fundamental improvements.
Bottom line
Planet Labs is a satellite data and analytics company that just showed a real step-up in revenue growth and operating leverage, with increasing traction in government and sovereign contracts. The long-term story can work if recurring contract value keeps rising and the company turns its improving cash profile into durable per-share value. The swing factor is whether it can sustain this operating progress without leaning on dilution, because the current chart weakness shows investors still do not trust the story yet.