Palantir's Karp says a wealth tax 'is going to need surveillance' as the stock sits at 219 times earnings

In ten days, three political positions

On November 10, on The Builders, the podcast of Walter Isaacson, the biographer of Steve Jobs and Elon Musk, Palantir▼−3.69% — Palantir, down 3.69 percent today chief executive Alex Karp argued that "to enforce a wealth tax, you're going to need surveillance," because "AI could impute every single thing you own" ¹. Reddit▼−2.11% — Reddit, down 2.11 percent today carried the clip past 14,000 points across three threads on November 13 and 14 ²³⁴. It reached holders already paying 219 times earnings ⁵.

Pay more, but not through a surveillance state

Karp, worth an estimated $18 billion ⁷, allowed that people like him should pay more, so long as it "doesn't destroy American tech" or "expand the surveillance state" ¹. The same session produced his case that Silicon Valley "would not even exist" without US military support, and that America needs battlefield AI, barred from domestic use by legislation ⁶. A day later, after a Democratic midterm sweep, he told Politico "I've been a Democrat my whole life," calling Palantir's products "essentially progressive" ⁷, a pivot covered here on Friday.

A 17.55 percent week at 219 times earnings

PLTR, Palantir's Nasdaq ticker, traded at $161.94 on November 14, down 17.55 percent for the week, at 219 times earnings and 170 times free cash flow, against a divided analyst corps and a $217.97 consensus target ⁵. The quarter was not the trigger: shares rose after the November 2 report↗ ⁸. The slide came after the interviews.

Revenue doubled; contract value grew 6 percent

Third-quarter revenue reached $2.313 billion, up 96 percent, and US commercial sales of $984 million, up 148 percent, passed US government sales of $953 million for the first time ⁸. Karp told analysts "we really cannot satiate demand" ⁵; full-year guidance rose to $8.530–8.534 billion ⁸.

Beneath it, total contract value grew 6 percent, to $2.918 billion, after growing 151 percent a year earlier ⁸, while stock compensation climbed to $318.9 million and receivables reached $1.88 billion ⁵. A 96 percent revenue quarter resting on a 6 percent contract-value print suggests growth leaning on renewals and expansion more than new customers, though Palantir closed 212 deals worth at least $1 million in the quarter ⁸.

London cannot leave, and February decides

The renewal machine shows in Britain. Ministers are reported set to extend the £330 million NHS Federated Data Platform by two years because replacing it within four months is "not practical" ⁹, even as two House of Commons select committees, parliament's investigative panels, urged the NHS to trigger its break clause↗, the February 2027 window to exit the contract early ⁹. The platform's true cost has reached £1.1 billion, and forecast benefits were cut to £808 million from £2.5 billion ⁹.

An exhibit in the founder religion

Business Insider's Sunday feature↗, led by Jensen Huang's resignation and Elizabeth Holmes, made Palantir an exhibit in founder worship, which it calls "the most consequential religion in America," quoting the koan sewn into the company chore coat and Karp's shareholder letter that proclaiming "the equality of all cultures" was a mistake ¹⁰. The February 2027 break clause ⁹ and the next contract-value print ⁸ will show whether 219 times earnings ⁵ was buying growth or the storyteller.