Planet Labs (NYSE:PL) just helped put Alphabet Inc‘s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) Google’s AI ambitions into orbit, yet its stock remains one of the market’s biggest space-stock reversals this year. Shares have fallen roughly 66% from their May peak, even as Planet’s underlying business posts record revenue, a sizable backlog and new opportunities tied to AI, defense and satellite data.
The latest satellite launch gives investors another reason to revisit the gap between the stock chart and the business.
Google Puts AI in Orbit
On Oct. 1, a Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (NASDAQ:SPCX) Falcon 9 launched Google’s first Project Suncatcher prototype into low Earth orbit as part of the Transporter-18 rideshare mission. Planet Labs helped build the satellite, which carries four of Google’s Tensor Processing Units, or TPUs, to test whether AI computing can operate reliably in space.
The experiment is still exactly that — an experiment. Google is testing how its chips handle radiation, heat dissipation and other conditions that don’t exist inside a terrestrial data center.
But the potential market is enormous. Google has proposed eventually connecting large numbers of solar-powered satellites to create orbital computing infrastructure, potentially tapping abundant solar energy while avoiding some of the land, power and permitting constraints facing data centers on Earth.
For Planet, the significance is less about one experimental satellite and more about being attached to a potentially new layer of space infrastructure.
Planet’s Core Business Is Growing
Investors don’t have to wait for orbital AI to become commercially viable to find growth at Planet.
The company reported record fiscal second-quarter revenue of $116.1 million, up 58% year over year. Its backlog reached $814.9 million, with roughly half expected to be recognized over the following 12 months. Remaining performance obligations stood at about $753 million.
That backlog includes demand from governments and commercial customers for Earth imagery, satellite services and data products. Planet has also been expanding its role in defense and intelligence, where persistent satellite imagery can become an important source of real-time information.
The company’s financial profile is changing alongside that growth. Planet ended the quarter with approximately $865 million in cash and short-term investments, while adjusted EBITDA reached $13.9 million.
Cramer Sees a Bottom
That disconnect is now attracting Jim Cramer’s attention.
During the Oct. 2 "Mad Money" Lightning Round, Cramer called Planet a "terrific" company and said investors should buy the stock, adding that he believes it is "done going down." The comments came after Planet shares jumped 8.4% following the successful satellite launch.
Cramer’s call does not change the fundamental risk. Planet’s stock had climbed as high as $51.76 in May before the dramatic reversal, meaning investors clearly had much higher expectations earlier this year.
The next question is whether the company can grow into those expectations again.
For investors, the Google satellite is therefore less a reason to declare victory than a new test of Planet’s long-term opportunity. If orbital AI becomes a real industry, Planet could have an unusual seat at the table.
If it doesn’t, the investment case still rests on whether its fast-growing Earth-imaging and defense businesses can justify a recovery from a 66% drawdown.
Photo: PJ McDonnell / Shutterstock
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