The Australian supermarket chain Coles did not mince words when it cut ties with Palantir on Friday. Interim CEO Paul Ferris argued no company should require a national campaign—one that gathered 85,000 signatures and 700 digital billboards—to learn whether military-grade surveillance software was quietly powering its bread aisle operations. The termination brings an abrupt end to a three-year arrangement that had granted Palantir access to ten billion data rows spanning 120,000 employees.
The timing could hardly be more awkward for a company that spent the week touting its commercial credentials. Just a day earlier, Palantir had unveiled an expanded strategic alliance with PwC in the United States, sending shares up 7.7 percent to $182.53. The partnership centers on an AI-native deal platform designed to accelerate transactions by up to 50 percent while cutting one-time transaction costs by as much as 45 percent. By pairing Palantir’s Foundry and AIP software with PwC’s engineering bench, the two firms intend to target enterprise AI, M&A transformation, and ERP modernization—though neither side disclosed expected contract values or revenue contributions.
That rally evaporated almost immediately. By Friday, the stock had slid 4.4 percent to close at €149.98, leaving the week down 6.7 percent. The pullback coincided with a stronger-than-expected US jobs report that weighed on the entire market and pushed the probability of a September Federal Reserve rate hike above 58 percent. The Nasdaq finished the session lower as well, suggesting Palantir’s decline was as much a macro story as a company-specific one.
The Coles exit adds a reputational wrinkle that neither the bulls nor the bears have fully priced in. Palantir has long straddled two worlds—defense contractor on one side, enterprise software vendor on the other—and this week showcased both extremes. While the Australian grocer walked away under public pressure, the Pentagon doubled down. Palantir secured a $127 million US Army production order for eight TITAN battlefield intelligence systems, split evenly between Advanced and Basic variants. The Army expects delivery within 18 months, and the broader TITAN program has now funneled $192 million to Palantir and Anduril Industries as it moves into production. Anduril, notably, is simultaneously building a $900 million campus in Ohio.
The week also brought a significant personnel addition. Peter Zaffino, the former CEO and Executive Chairman of AIG, will join Palantir in January 2027 as Global Head of Financial Services, tasked with driving growth across insurance, banking, wealth management, and private equity. Zaffino brings more than three decades of leadership experience in global finance and insurance, having previously served as CEO of three organizations.
Wednesday proved the most turbulent session. Shares fell 6 percent as investors took profits following a rally that had stretched Palantir’s price-to-earnings ratio to roughly 144 times. A spike in ten-year US Treasury yields to their highest level in about three years added further pressure on richly valued growth names. Earlier in the month, the stock had touched a high of $186.55 before sliding to a monthly low of $168.63, with losses since the start of September reaching 9.5 percent.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Palantir?
The volatility is not for the faint of heart. With an annualized 30-day volatility of 101 percent, Palantir ranks among the most turbulent large-cap technology stocks anywhere. The shares currently sit about 17 percent below their 52-week high of €179.98, yet remain 15 percent above their 50-day moving average—a sign that the medium-term trend has not broken despite the recent profit-taking. Over the past 30 days, the stock is still up 9.3 percent.
Fundamentally, the growth engine shows no signs of stalling. In the second quarter ended June 30, revenue surged 93 percent to $1.94 billion, handily beating the analyst consensus of $1.801 billion. Net income came in at roughly $1.1 billion, or 41 cents per share, against an expected 35 cents. Management subsequently raised its full-year 2026 guidance to $8.150–$8.158 billion in revenue, with the US commercial segment projected to grow at least 134 percent. Third-quarter guidance calls for revenue between $2.160 and $2.164 billion.
The next earnings report lands on November 2, with the market looking for earnings per share of $0.43 on revenue of $2.22 billion. Until then, the debate over valuation will continue to rage. Analysts with price targets ranging from $200 to $245 view Palantir as a primary beneficiary of a structural overhaul in global data infrastructure—a cycle PwC estimates could drive up to $31.6 trillion in global data center investment by 2050. Jefferies, by contrast, maintains a price target of $80, arguing the valuation defies justification even after strong quarterly growth. Michael Burry has publicly defended his short position, branding the roughly $440 billion market capitalization as overvalued.
Observers have noted that the PwC alliance undercuts part of Burry’s bearish thesis, which rests primarily on valuation rather than execution. But the Coles episode introduces a different kind of risk—one that no price target captures. Palantir’s dual identity as both trusted government partner and consumer-facing commercial vendor creates an inherent tension. The company can count on institutional clients valuing its capabilities, even as consumer movements organize against its government work. Coles has made its choice. The market’s verdict remains pending.
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