Stock Market Today, March 2: Palantir Technologies Jumps After Strong Q4 Results Last Month and AI Defense Demand
Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR), a data integration and analytics platform provider, closed Monday at $145.17, up 5.82%. Shares moved higher on strong Q4 “double beat” results last month and recent defense-linked AI demand. Investors are watching contract momentum and AI platform growth next.
Trading volume reached 72.1 million shares, coming in about 58% above its three-month average of 45.6 million shares. Palantir Technologies IPO'd in 2020 and has grown 1,428% since going public.
How the markets moved today
The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) inched up 0.04% to 6,882, while the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) added 0.36% to finish at 22,749. Within data integration and analytics software, industry peer Snowflake (NYSE:SNOW) closed at $170.33, rising 1.14% as investors assessed competitive positioning in enterprise AI workloads.
What this means for investors
Palantir stock has been treading water since it reported fourth-quarter and full-year results one month ago. Underlying business results aren’t an issue. Sales soared 56% year over year, with domestic revenue accelerating. U.S. revenue grew 93% in the fourth quarter, led by commercial sales up 137%.
But it’s the government contracts moving Palantir stock today. Defense-related names moved higher amid the spreading conflict in the Middle East.
Palantir’s defense-linked AI business pushed it up along with other defense stocks. A recently announced five-year, $1 billion contract with the Department of Homeland Security underscores Palantir's robust government pipeline and capitalizes on the increasing budgets for AI in the public sector.
Should you buy stock in Palantir Technologies right now?
Before you buy stock in Palantir Technologies, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Palantir Technologies wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $519,015!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,086,211!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 941% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 194% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of March 2, 2026.
Howard Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Palantir Technologies and Snowflake. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
