Planet Labs (PL)
The desk's stance
On our research list, not on the slate.
What the company does
Operates hundreds of imaging satellites photographing the entire Earth daily — selling the pictures to governments, agriculture, and AI.
In short: Daily Earth imaging satellite constellations. Category: Earth Observation & Analytics. Sector: Industrials, Aerospace & Defense.
G-Street Value and Score
G-Street Value: $19.21, computed Oct 18, 2026 (confidence: low).
How we got there: 50% analyst leg $27.85 (street consensus, after 8% optimism discount) + 50% GainStreet factor value $10.57 (10.17× sales vs growth band) — analyst and factor views diverge >50%, confidence reduced. 5 analyst targets have no linked source and are shown but not counted; this value will not open a position until they are sourced.
G-Street Score: 58 out of 100 (Weak).
- Top-line growth & guidance: 23 of 32
- Margin power: 8 of 15
- Revenue visibility & quality: 11 of 11
- Profitability & balance sheet: 10 of 24
- Capital allocation & governance: 1 of 6
- Valuation, sentiment & momentum: 5 of 12
Our current thesis
Updated Oct 12, 2026
The thesis
- Revenue surged 58% YoY in Q2 with $753M RPO driven by sovereign defense contracts.
- Balance sheet holds $865M in liquidity with positive quarterly free cash flow generation.
- High-margin recurring annual contract value at 98% with net retention expanding to 109%.
Risks
- Q3 guidance signals sequential revenue decline from lumpy point-in-time satellite hardware handovers.
- High customer concentration with top three government accounts generating 38% of quarterly revenue.
- Substantial dilution risk from $1.5B ATM facility and $460M convertible note conversion.
What we're watching
- Q3 FY2027 financial results in December to monitor sequential top-line stabilization and margins.
- Operational progress and customer onboarding following recent SpaceX Transporter-18 satellite launches.
- Dilution tracking from the October 31 convertible note conversion window and ATM execution.
Latest
Planet Labs trades around $17.18, down 33% over three months following sector-wide valuation compression and concerns over its $1.5B ATM equity program. Fundamental execution surged in Q2 FY2027 as revenue grew 58% YoY to a record $116.1M, generating positive adjusted EBITDA and $23.6M in quarterly free cash flow behind defense demand. However, Q3 guidance projects a sequential decline to $101M-$105M due to lumpy point-in-time hardware deliveries, while convertible note conversion dynamics overhang the stock.
Key numbers
As of Oct 16, 2026: market cap $4.9B · revenue growth +58.1% year over year · gross margin 55.5% · net margin -95.1%.
On the Gainz Lab maps
Who it does business with
- Rocket Lab supplies Planet Labs — Electron launches. Planet has flown imaging satellites on Rocket Lab’s Electron.