Key Stats for Planet Labs Stock
- Price Change for Planet Labs stock: 12%
- $PL Share Price as of Jan. 12: $25.44
- 52-Week High: $25.56
- $PL Share Price Target: $19.48
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What Happened?
Planet Labs (PL) stock surged 12% after the company announced a multi-year, low-9-figure deal with the Swedish Armed Forces.
This marks Planet’s third satellite services contract in the past year, following similar agreements with Japan (via JSAT) and Germany. PL stock jumped as investors digested news that Planet is no longer just selling data—it’s now selling entire satellites to governments.
The Swedish deal is notable for a few reasons.
- First, Sweden will actually own a suite of Planet’s satellites, not just lease capacity or purchase data. That’s a shift from Planet’s traditional business model, where the company owned the satellites and sold data subscriptions.
- Second, the deal includes both hardware (the satellites themselves) and software (Planet’s intelligence solutions and high-resolution imagery). That combination positions Planet Labs as a full-stack space services provider, not just a data company.
CEO Will Marshall framed the deal as part of Europe’s push for sovereign space capabilities. “Europe needs its own eyes, and Sweden is leading the way,” he said.
The urgency is clear—with ongoing geopolitical tensions (including the war in Ukraine), countries are racing to secure their own intelligence-gathering infrastructure.
Planet’s agile aerospace methodology allows governments to deploy satellites quickly without building proprietary systems from scratch, which would take years and cost far more.
The deal also signals that Planet’s satellite services model is gaining traction. Over the past 12 months, the company has signed satellite services contracts totaling over half a billion dollars.
That’s a massive shift for a company that generated $282 million in trailing twelve-month revenue. If these contracts ramp up as expected, Planet Labs stock could see significant revenue acceleration in the coming quarters.
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What the Market Is Telling Us About Planet Labs Stock
The 12% rally in Planet Labs stock reflects investor excitement about the satellite services business model.
For years, Planet’s core value proposition was its unique daily scan of Earth—200 million square kilometers of land, coastlines, and open water every single day.
That capability is still unmatched, but it’s a capital-intensive business. Building, launching, and maintaining satellites costs money, and the payoff comes from selling data subscriptions.
Satellite services flip that model on its head. Instead of Planet footing the bill for the entire constellation, governments are now paying upfront for dedicated capacity or outright ownership.
That improves Planet’s cash flow dynamics and accelerates the build-out of its satellite fleet. The more satellites Planet launches, the better the revisit rates for all customers—creating a virtuous cycle where satellite services contracts fund capacity upgrades that benefit the entire platform.
One key metric to watch is Planet’s backlog, which stood at $736 million as of Q2 FY26—triple what it was a year ago. That gives the company strong revenue visibility heading into next year.
CFO Ashley Johnson highlighted that Planet expects to hit positive free cash flow for the full fiscal year, a year ahead of schedule. The satellite services contracts are a big part of why.
Selling satellites changes Planet’s revenue recognition and margin profile. When Planet owns the satellites and sells data, it recognizes revenue over time under a subscription model.
When it sells satellites outright, revenue is recognized up front (or over the build period), but gross margins may compress because hardware has lower margins than software.
Planet’s management has been clear that the long-term target is still 60%+ gross margins and 25%+ adjusted EBITDA margins, but the mix will fluctuate depending on how many satellite services deals close.
For investors watching Planet Labs stock, the key question is whether this shift toward satellite services is sustainable. The answer appears to be yes. Demand for sovereign space capabilities is exploding, especially in Europe and Asia.
Countries don’t want to rely on the U.S. or other nations for critical intelligence data—they want their own systems. Planet’s agile aerospace model makes that possible at a fraction of the cost and time it would take to build a constellation from scratch.
And here’s the kicker: even when Sweden owns the satellites, Planet retains the right to commercialize excess capacity outside Sweden’s area of interest.
That means Planet gets paid upfront for building the satellites, then continues to generate recurring revenue from the same hardware. It’s the best of both worlds.
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Disclaimer:
Please note that the articles on TIKR are not intended to serve as investment or financial advice from TIKR or our content team, nor are they recommendations to buy or sell any stocks. We create our content based on TIKR Terminal’s investment data and analysts’ estimates. Our analysis might not include recent company news or important updates. TIKR has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading, and happy investing!
