Planet Labs PBC

Key Points
Alphabet has significant investments in AST Spacemobile, Planet Labs, and Metsera.
All three stocks have soared by at least 120% so far in 2025.
Wall Street analysts especially like one of these hot growth stocks.
Some follow famous investors to get ideas about which stocks to buy. However, another strategy is to check out which stocks successful companies are investing in. You might be surprised how well some of their investments perform.
Take Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), for example. Google's parent has $754 million invested in three hot growth stocks that have skyrocketed 120% or more so far this year.
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Alphabet's big winners
Alphabet's biggest equity holding is in AST Spacemobile (NASDAQ: ASTS). As of June 30, 2025, the company's stake in AST Spacemobile was worth roughly $418 million and made up 19.6% of Alphabet's investment portfolio.
AST Spacemobile is developing the first space-based cellular broadband network that can be directly accessed by smartphones. It plans to deploy nationwide intermittent service in the U.S. by year-end and expand into Canada, Japan, and the U.K. in early 2026. Investors are already excited about AST Spacemobile's prospects: The space stock has nearly quadrupled year to date.
Alphabet has a $195 million stake in Planet Labs (NYSE: PL). Founded by three NASA scientists, Planet Labs provides satellite imagery and geospatial solutions used by agriculture, finance, and forestry companies as well as government agencies. Its share price has jumped more than 120% so far in 2025.
Another $141 million of Alphabet's money is invested in clinical-stage biotech company Metsera (NASDAQ: MTSR). The small drugmaker has three pipeline programs targeting obesity in phase 1 and phase 2 clinical testing. Metsera's stock has nearly tripled year to date.
What Wall Street thinks
Wall Street isn't gung-ho about one of Alphabet's hot growth stocks. Only four of the 10 analysts surveyed by S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) in October rated AST Spacemobile as a "buy." Two of the analysts recommended selling the stock. Furthermore, the average 12-month price target is roughly 19% below the current share price.
Analysts are somewhat more bullish about Metsera. Two of the four analysts surveyed by S&P Global this month rated the stock as a "buy." The other two analysts recommended holding Metsera. However, the consensus price target reflects an upside potential over the next 12 months of less than 6%.
That leaves Planet Labs as the hot stock owned by Alphabet that Wall Street likes the most. Five of the nine analysts surveyed by S&P Global rated the stock as a "buy." Another analyst gave Planet Labs a "strong buy" rating. The three outliers recommended holding the stock. In addition, the average 12-month price target for Planet Labs is more than 12% above the current share price.
Granted, a 12% or so gain over the next year pales in comparison with the huge return Planet Lab has delivered so far in 2025. However, the consensus price target for the stock nonetheless shows that Wall Street believes it has more room to run.
Should you buy Planet Labs stock, too?
At first glance, Planet Labs might not seem like a great stock to buy despite Wall Street's approval. The company remains unprofitable, posting a net loss of $22.6 million in the second quarter of 2025. Its valuation looks steep, too, with a price-to-sales ratio of 16.9. Planet's year-over-year revenue growth of 20% in Q2 doesn't appear to justify this premium.
There's more to the story with this growth stock, though. Planet Labs' backlog in Q2 soared 245% year over year to $736.1 million, roughly 2.6 times greater than the midpoint of the company's revenue guidance for 2025.
Planet recently closed major deals with the German government, NATO, and the U.S. Navy. Management says it has more than 20 new opportunities with an average estimated total contract value per customer of $170 million.
Risk-averse investors will probably want to look elsewhere. However, aggressive long-term investors could agree with Alphabet that Planet Labs is a worthy pick.
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Keith Speights has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and S&P Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Google Parent Alphabet Has $754 Million Invested in These 3 Hot Growth Stocks. Here's the 1 Wall Street Likes the Most.

Key Points
It was the subject of a prognosticator's price target increase.
That lift was substantial, at 33%.
Planet Labs (NYSE: PL) stock had a good start to the trading week on Monday. That'll happen when an analyst increases their price target by more than 30%, which is what occurred before the market opened that morning. Planet Labs enjoyed an over 3% lift to its share price as a result, which outpaced the 1.1% rise of the bellwether S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC).
A 33% boost
The pundit responsible for the raise was Needham's Ryan Koontz, who now feels Planet Labs is worth $16 per share; he previously placed a $12 price target on the stock. In making the change, Koontz maintained his buy recommendation on the shares.
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According to reports, the analyst made his change on the basis of presentations made during the company's investor day. He wrote that management emphasized its strategic focus on satellite services arrangements. The company is also encouraged by what it expects to be rising defense budgets from governments around the world.
Given all that, Koontz raised his estimates modestly for Planet Labs' fiscal 2027, which begins early in calendar year 2026.
Growth in the ether
Planet Labs' main activity is the provision of detailed geographic data on Earth from a network of satellites. It's still consistently loss-making, however, despite some impressive revenue growth. It's therefore a risky investment, and should only be considered by investors comfortable with such plays.
Should you invest $1,000 in Planet Labs PBC right now?
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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Why Planet Labs Stock Topped the Market Today

Key Points
Planet Labs has shipped two Pelican satellites and 36 SuperDoves for launch.
Despite still building out its constellation of satellites, the company reported positive cash flows.
While an interesting stock, Planet Labs' share price is up sixfold in the last year, so investors shouldn't go all-in.
Shares of Earth observation leader and public benefit corporation Planet Labs (NYSE: PL) soared 27% higher this week as of noon ET on Friday, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The reason for this fanfare stems from an announcement on Wednesday that Planet Labs had shipped two Pelican satellites and 36 SuperDoves for launch.
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CEO and cofounder Will Marshall explained, "We're continuing to see incredible demand for our high-resolution data ... we're not just putting more satellites in orbit, we're providing our customers with the consistent and timely information they need to deliver results."
Now six Pelican satellites strong -- and with intentions to grow its constellation to 30 -- Planet Labs aims to reduce resolution imagery down to 30 centimeters, while cutting latency down to minutes for its customers.
This week's news shows the company continues marching forward to meet these goals, prompting the share price to pop.
Planet Labs' expansion comes with positive cash flows
What makes this shipment particularly promising -- especially paired with the fact that it launched two Pelican satellites last quarter, also -- is Planet Labs' cash from operations (CFO) turning positive.
This development shows that the scalable, one-to-many nature of Planet Labs' business model may be starting to take hold -- even with its spending on new satellites.
Serving customers in numerous industries, ranging from civil government and defense to agriculture and insurance, the company saw its backlog skyrocket by 245% in its last quarter.
Now equipping its Pelican satellites with Nvidia's Jetson AI platform, Planet Labs can provide these customers with faster insights, unlocking even more value.
So is Planet Labs a buy?
However, while intrigued, I would only consider buying Planet Labs stock in segments over time, after its share price ballooned nearly 600% in just the last year.
Should you invest $1,000 in Planet Labs PBC right now?
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Josh Kohn-Lindquist has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Why Planet Labs Stock Is Skyrocketing This Week

Key Points
Planet Labs reported second-quarter earnings results in September that were significantly better than expected.
Revenue surpassed analysts' forecasts, and the company saw a substantial increase in its backlog.
Planet Labs raised its revenue guidance for both the third quarter and the full fiscal year.
Shares of Plant Labs (NYSE: PL) jumped 83.1% higher in September, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
During the month, the Earth-imaging satellite company announced strong second-quarter earnings results and made significant upward revisions in its guidance. Its results were met with a flurry of upgrades from investment banks as a result. Here's a breakdown.
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Planet Labs reported strong results and raised its forecast
Planet Labs reported its second-quarter earnings results on Sept. 8. During the quarter, the company notched revenue growth of nearly 20% to $73.4 million, well above analysts' consensus estimates of $66.1 million.
CEO Will Marshall said he was "incredibly pleased with the strong results" and that the "business is humming." The company experienced strong momentum in both its satellite and data services segments, with record revenue and a substantial increase in its backlog. The company reported that its backlog increased to $736.1 million at the end of the quarter, representing a 245% year-over-year increase.
Some major contract wins during the quarter included agreements with the German government, NATO, and the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (part of the U.S. Department of Defense). Planet expanded its existing Hybrid Space Architecture (HSA) agreement with the Defense Innovation Unit, and also secured a new seven-figure contract with NATO, complementing July announcements.
It also announced a 240 million-euro multiyear deal with the German government. The agreement includes dedicated capacity on Planet's next-generation Pelican satellites, as well as a renewed multiyear contract for PlanetScope data and maritime monitoring.
On the back of these strong results, Planet Labs raised its guidance. For the third quarter, it projects revenue to be in the range of $71 million to $74 million, surpassing the consensus analyst estimate of $68.86 million. For its full 2026 fiscal year (which ends Jan. 31), it projects revenue to be in the range of $281 million to $289 million, up from the previously guided range of $265 million to $280 million.
A play on the growing space economy
Following its results, Needham and Citizens JMP raised their price targets to $12 and $11, respectively. Clear Street raised its price target to $12 from $9 and maintained a buy rating. The analyst noted that the results were well ahead of expectations, leading it to forecast that Planet would achieve annual free cash flow in 2026, a year sooner than previously forecast.
Planet Labs' stock rallied in September, driven by strong growth and a promising outlook for the satellite operator. For aggressive growth investors, the stock offers an intriguing opportunity to invest in the growing space economy.
Should you invest $1,000 in Planet Labs Pbc right now?
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Courtney Carlsen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Here's Why Planet Labs Stock Rocketed 83% Higher in September

The NASDAQ 100 Pre-Market Indicator is up 141.13 to 23,980.93. The total Pre-Market volume is currently 120,438,787 shares traded.
The following are the most active stocks for the pre-market session:
CAMP4 Therapeutics Corporation (CAMP) is +1.89 at $3.88, with 20,785,300 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for CAMP is in the "buy range".
NIO Inc. (NIO) is -0.52 at $5.76, with 20,778,741 shares traded. NIO's current last sale is 100.17% of the target price of $5.75.
PMV Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (PMVP) is +0.41 at $2.01, with 18,081,593 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for PMVP is in the "buy range".
NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) is +4.94 at $175.70, with 5,335,305 shares traded. Over the last four weeks they have had 9 up revisions for the earnings forecast, for the fiscal quarter ending Oct 2025. The consensus EPS forecast is $1.16. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for NVDA is in the "buy range".
Opendoor Technologies Inc (OPEN) is +0.15 at $6.26, with 4,728,369 shares traded. OPEN's current last sale is 658.95% of the target price of $0.95.
Direxion Daily TSLA Bull 2X Shares (TSLL) is +0.13 at $13.33, with 4,073,504 shares traded. This represents a 111.92% increase from its 52 Week Low.
Oracle Corporation (ORCL) is +76.7454 at $318.26, with 3,945,874 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for ORCL is in the "buy range".
Planet Labs PBC (PL) is -0.04 at $8.98, with 3,745,797 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for PL is in the "buy range".
ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ (SQQQ) is -0.14 at $16.92, with 3,186,939 shares traded. This represents a 1.26% increase from its 52 Week Low.
Joby Aviation, Inc. (JOBY) is +0.86 at $14.28, with 3,153,175 shares traded. JOBY's current last sale is 204% of the target price of $7.
Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN) is +0.14 at $9.94, with 3,094,042 shares traded. As reported by Zacks, the current mean recommendation for SAN is in the "buy range".
GameStop Corporation (GME) is +2.05 at $25.64, with 2,318,515 shares traded. GME's current last sale is 189.91% of the target price of $13.501.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Pre-Market Most Active for Sep 10, 2025 : CAMP, NIO, PMVP, NVDA, OPEN, TSLL, ORCL, PL, SQQQ, JOBY, SAN, GME

Among the underlying components of the Russell 3000 index, we saw noteworthy options trading volume today in Howard Hughes Holdings Inc (Symbol: HHH), where a total of 5,018 contracts have traded so far, representing approximately 501,800 underlying shares. That amounts to about 145.8% of HHH's average daily trading volume over the past month of 344,150 shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $70 strike put option expiring January 16, 2026, with 2,612 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 261,200 underlying shares of HHH. Below is a chart showing HHH's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $70 strike highlighted in orange:
Zillow Group Inc (Symbol: ZG) options are showing a volume of 7,230 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 723,000 underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 138.7% of ZG's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 521,170 shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $85 strike call option expiring September 19, 2025, with 3,713 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 371,300 underlying shares of ZG. Below is a chart showing ZG's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $85 strike highlighted in orange:
And Planet Labs PBC (Symbol: PL) options are showing a volume of 86,461 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 8.6 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 136% of PL's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 6.4 million shares. Particularly high volume was seen for the $7 strike call option expiring September 19, 2025, with 10,070 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 1.0 million underlying shares of PL. Below is a chart showing PL's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $7 strike highlighted in orange:
For the various different available expirations for HHH options, ZG options, or PL options, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.
Also see:
Funds Holding GCI
TTP Split History
Institutional Holders of IR
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Noteworthy Monday Option Activity: HHH, ZG, PL

Key Points
Planet Labs reported a GAAP loss of $0.07 per share for its fiscal Q2, but its sales and adjusted earnings beat estimates.
The satellite company is finally generating positive free cash flow.
Planet Labs might throw off $100 million in cash profits this year.
Earth observation satellite company Planet Labs (NYSE: PL) stock shot sharply higher Monday morning, soaring by 35% through 10:55 a.m. ET after it beat analysts' forecasts for sales and adjusted earnings.
Heading into its second-quarter fiscal 2026 report, analysts expected Planet Labs to report $0.04 per share in adjusted losses on $66.2 million in sales. In fact, its adjusted loss was only $0.03 per share, and its sales rose 20% year over year to $73.4 million. Management also offered guidance for even greater growth ahead.
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Planet Labs Q2 earnings
Planet Labs' pivot away from focusing on environmental work to defense, with "pivotal contracts including one in collaboration with the German government, one with NATO, and others with the U.S. Department of Defense," helped the company hit a new record for revenue in the fiscal quarter, which ended July 31.
Importantly, profitability is growing alongside revenue. Gross profit margin in the second quarter surged by 5 percentage points to 58%.
Admittedly, Planet Labs isn't yet profitable, technically. (In fact, on a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis, it actually lost $0.07 per share in the quarter -- not $0.03.) But management noted that it is free-cash-flow positive now, having generated $54.3 million in real cash profits in the first half of this fiscal year.
Is Planet Labs stock a buy?
Also admittedly, Planet Labs originally promised to generate free cash flow (FCF) by 2024, so it's a bit behind schedule on this metric -- but I'm not complaining. At its present pace, Planet Labs could conceivably end fiscal 2026 with more than $100 million in FCF.
If that happens, at its present market cap of $2.7 billion, the stock would be trading for only 27 times FCF -- a reasonable valuation for a company delivering 20% annual growth. I'd call that a buy.
Should you invest $1,000 in Planet Labs Pbc right now?
Before you buy stock in Planet Labs Pbc, consider this:
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Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Why Planet Labs Stock Went to the Moon Today

In trading on Monday, aerospace & defense shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 2.2%. Leading the group were shares of Planet Labs, up about 35.5% and shares of TAT Technologies up about 4.8% on the day.
Also showing relative strength are precious metals shares, up on the day by about 1.5% as a group, led by TRX Gold, trading higher by about 8.6% and New Found Gold, trading higher by about 6.1% on Monday.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Monday Sector Leaders: Aerospace & Defense, Precious Metals

Shares of Planet Labs (NYSE: PL) tumbled 15% through 11:35 a.m. ET Friday after the company reported last night that it had missed earnings forecasts.
Heading into the report, Wall Street analysts forecast the Earth observation space stock would lose $0.02 per share in the fiscal 2025 fourth quarter on $61.9 million in sales. Instead, the company reported a loss of $0.08 per share, and sales of only $61.6 million.
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Planet Labs' Q4 earnings
The news gets worse. Sales growth for the quarter was only 5% year over year. Also, the $0.08 loss was only an adjusted number. When calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), the company actually lost $0.12 per share, with $0.06 of the loss coming from what it called "impact from the change in fair value of warrant liabilities."
For the full-year fiscal 2025, sales grew 11% to $244.4 million, and losses amounted to $0.42 per share.
On the good news side, sales did grow some, and the gross profit margin on those sales continues to inch higher, reaching 57% for the full year, and topping 62% in the fourth quarter in particular.
The company tried to soften the blow from the poor earnings report this morning, announcing it has won a subcontract on a $95 million California Air Resources Board deal awarded to Carbon Mapper. Planet Labs did not say, however, how much of the $95 million will filter down from Carbon Mapper. Also, the contract is described as multiyear, so the annual revenue will certainly be less than $95 million.
Is Planet Labs stock a sell?
It was pretty much bad news all around. Management also said that its fiscal 2026 first-quarter revenue will be only $62 million, below Wall Street forecasts. And its full-year fiscal 2026 revenue will range from $260 million to $280 million -- which, at the midpoint, is slightly below Wall Street's expected $272 million.
The company did not give earnings guidance, but it seems safe to assume those earnings numbers will miss as well. Planet Labs is probably a sell at this point.
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Why Planet Labs Stock Crashed on Friday

Planet Labs PBC (PL) came out with a quarterly loss of $0.08 per share versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $0.02. This compares to loss of $0.11 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.
This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of -300%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this company would post a loss of $0.05 per share when it actually produced a loss of $0.02, delivering a surprise of 60%.
Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times.
Planet Labs PBC, which belongs to the Zacks Satellite and Communication industry, posted revenues of $61.55 million for the quarter ended January 2025, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.75%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $58.85 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates just once over the last four quarters.
The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.
Planet Labs PBC shares have added about 6.9% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's decline of -3.5%.
What's Next for Planet Labs PBC?
While Planet Labs PBC has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?
There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.
Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.
Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Planet Labs PBC: mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is -$0.02 on $65.27 million in revenues for the coming quarter and -$0.07 on $274.75 million in revenues for the current fiscal year.
Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Satellite and Communication is currently in the top 35% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
Iridium Communications (IRDM), another stock in the same industry, has yet to report results for the quarter ended March 2025.
This satellite phone company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.24 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +50%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 21.9% higher over the last 30 days to the current level.
Iridium Communications' revenues are expected to be $212.87 million, up 4.4% from the year-ago quarter.
Should You Invest in Planet Labs PBC (PL)?
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Planet Labs PBC

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