Palantir defies tech gloom as Trump momentum powers stellar share gains

Palantir Technologies has succeeded where most tech stocks have struggled this year: staying hot in a cooling market.

Palantir Technologies has succeeded where most tech stocks have struggled this year: staying hot in a cooling market.

The company's military-grade AI tools along with its deep defense ties and high-level government connections at a time when the U.S. is boosting spending on defense software have helped investors raise the bets on the stock.

It has surged more than 70% this year and is the S&P 500's second-best performer: a standout in an otherwise sluggish tech market roiled by investor worries over U.S. tariffs and economic uncertainty.

Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel was an early backer of President Donald Trump and has close ties with key Washington lawmakers, including Vice President JD Vance, whom he supported in a 2022 U.S. Senate race.

"The relationships that Palantir's founders...have with senior members of the Trump administration are helpful for business," D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria said.

Palantir in April won a $30 million contract from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to develop an operating system that identifies undocumented immigrants and tracks self-deportations, its largest single award from the agency among 46 federal contract actions since 2011.

"They probably benefit a little bit more with Trump because of the impetus on security, border and immigration," said Francisco Bido, senior portfolio manager at Palantir investor F/m Investments. "They're going to get a lot of work out of that."