Last night, we had two companies that couldn't be more different. On one side, Apple and its iPhones. On the other, Palantir, which sells AI software to governments and businesses.
Yet both are pioneers in their respective industries. Both reported earnings on the same evening. And both beat expectations.
Palantir even nearly doubled its revenue in a single year. And yet, its stock fell after hours.
You might be wondering... how does a stock with 96% growth go down? Good question. And the answer tells us a lot about how the market works.
APPLE: THE FIRST QUARTER UNDER TERNUS
Let's start with Apple. These were the first earnings results under its new CEO, John Ternus. And he kicked things off with a record.
Revenue came in at $114.5 billion, up 12%. That's the highest September-quarter revenue in the company's history. Analysts had expected around $113.5 billion, while Apple itself had guided for growth of 9% to 11%. In other words, it beat even its own guidance.
Earnings per share came in at $2.10, compared with the market's expectations of $2.00.
What drove the results? The iPhone, as always. Revenue reached $57.6 billion, up 17%, setting a September-quarter record.
But the biggest surprise was the Mac. Yes, up 24%, to $10.8 billion.
Services revenue reached $31.6 billion, an all-time high, although it was right in line with expectations.
Of course, not everything was rosy. iPad revenue fell 10%, while wearables and accessories declined 8%. Both came in below expectations.
And what about China? Revenue there increased 21%, reaching $17.5 billion. However, the market had expected approximately $18.8 billion.
And here's an important detail worth paying attention to. Tariff refunds added $0.05 to earnings per share and approximately one percentage point to gross margin, which came in at 47.9%.
At the same time, Apple had already warned about pressure from rising memory costs.
So, what comes next?
Ternus sounds confident. He said the company is heading into the end of the year with its "most ambitious product lineup ever."
That includes the iPhone Duo, which he described as the biggest change to the iPhone since the very first model. And, of course, the new AI-powered Siri, expected ahead of the holiday season.
One more thing worth mentioning: Apple closed the year with $479 billion in revenue. An all-time record.
PALANTIR: UP 96%, AND YET IN THE RED
Now let's move on to the second company: Palantir.
Here, the numbers are in a completely different league.
Revenue reached $2.31 billion, compared with the market's expectations of $2.18 billion. And the growth rate? UP 96%.
Yes, you read that correctly. The company nearly doubled its revenue in just one year.
Earnings per share came in at $0.44, compared with expectations of $0.41.
But that's not even the most interesting development.
For the first time in its history, Palantir generated more revenue from US commercial customers than from the US government.
$984 million versus $953 million.
Commercial revenue surged 148%.
What does this mean? Put simply, the company is no longer primarily dependent on government contracts.
CEO Alex Karp spoke about the rise of "Sovereign AI". In other words, governments and businesses increasingly want to own and control their own AI capabilities.
According to Karp, this is creating "the most dramatic divide between the haves and the have-nots."
And what about the outlook?
Once again, the company raised its guidance.
For the full year 2026, Palantir now expects revenue of $8.53 billion, representing growth of 91%. Analysts had been expecting $8.205 billion.
For the fourth quarter, the company expects approximately $2.65 billion in revenue.
However, there's one big catch.
The total value of new contracts increased by just 6%, reaching $2.92 billion.
That's a much slower pace than revenue growth.
And the stock?
It fell approximately 3% after hours, to $178.46.
That wiped out roughly $13 billion in market value in a matter of minutes.
WHAT DO THEY HAVE IN COMMON?
If we put these two companies side by side, it's difficult to find much in common.
Apple sells devices to millions of consumers. Palantir sells software to governments and businesses. One is growing at 12%. The other at 96%.
And yet, they have more in common than you might think.
Both beat expectations for revenue and earnings. Both have placed AI at the center of their next growth chapter.
Apple with its new AI-powered Siri. Palantir with its vision of Sovereign AI.
But both also have something that gives investors reason to pause.
For Apple, it's the boost from tariff refunds and the rising cost of memory.
For Palantir, it's the fact that new contracts aren't growing at anything close to the same pace as revenue.
So, what can we learn from all this?
Something very simple.
The market doesn't grade the quarter that just ended. It grades expectations.
And when expectations are sky-high, even 96% growth might not be enough.
