Net Dollar Retention of 157%Wide moat

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) — moat facet

A net dollar retention of 157% means Palantir's existing customers alone would grow its revenue by more than half next year.

The strongest single number in Palantir's filings is what existing customers do next. Net dollar retention, which compares what a year-old cohort of customers spends now with what it spent a year earlier, was 157% in the second quarter of 20261, up from 139% in the fourth quarter of 20252. In 2021 it was 131% overall and 150% among US commercial customers3.

Net dollar retention (%)131%FY2021139%Q4 2025157%Q2 2026Palantir FY2021 release; Q4 2025 and Q2 2026 presentations
Existing customers spend more each year, and the rate is rising.

A figure above 100% means the customers who stayed spent more than all the customers of a year earlier, including any who left. At 157%, the existing base alone would grow revenue by more than half without a single new customer.

The expansion shows in the largest accounts. The average revenue from Palantir's top twenty customers over the twelve months to June 2026 was $124 million, up 67%4. Deals of at least $1 million closed in the second quarter numbered 220, of which 73 were at least $10 million5. Customers buy a first use of the platform and then find the next one on the same data.

This is the evidence that switching costs are real rather than asserted. A customer can leave a cheap tool without cost; a customer that raises its spending by half in a year is building more on the platform, which makes leaving harder each quarter.

The same effect shows when revenue is set against the customer count. Revenue grew 93% in the second quarter of 20266 while the number of customers grew 24%7. Most of the growth came from customers Palantir already had, which is what switching costs and expansion look like together.

The rate is also cyclical in a way Palantir does not dwell on. It rose from 139% to 157% in two quarters89, while quarterly revenue growth accelerated, and it will fall when that growth slows. A reading below 120% in a year of good economic news would say customers have stopped finding new uses, and that is the number that would change this page.

Moat trajectory: Widening

Rose from 139% (Q4 2025) to 157% (Q2 2026).

The number that tests this moat
Reported
Net dollar retention, latest quarter
157% (Q2 2026); 139% in Q4 2025

Spending growth among existing customers; below 120% in a good economy would mean the platform stopped finding new uses.

Source: Palantir Q2 2026 business update ↗
⚠ Threats to the moat
⚠ THREAT 01
Retention Measured at the Top of a Boom
Palantir's 157% retention was measured while growth was accelerating, and it will fall when large renewals stop even if no customer leaves.
References
  1. ReportedNet dollar retention, which compares what a year-old cohort of customers spends now with what it spent a year earlier, was 157% in the second quarter of 2026, up from 139% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
    Palantir Q2 2026 business update presentation - net dollar retention, customer counts and the Rule of 40 history. — Q2 2026 · publ. 3 August 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedNet dollar retention, which compares what a year-old cohort of customers spends now with what it spent a year earlier, was 157% in the second quarter of 2026, up from 139% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
    Palantir Q4 2025 investor presentation - net dollar retention and US commercial customer count. — Q4 2025 · publ. 2 February 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedIn 2021 it was 131% overall and 150% among US commercial customers.
    Palantir fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - US commercial growth and net dollar retention in 2021. — FY2021 · publ. February 2022 · source ↗
  4. ReportedThe average revenue from Palantir's top twenty customers over the twelve months to June 2026 was $124 million, up 67%.
    Palantir Technologies Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2026 - segment revenue and contribution, US revenue, remaining performance obligations, top-twenty customers and share count. — Q2 2026 · publ. 4 August 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedDeals of at least $1 million closed in the second quarter numbered 220, of which 73 were at least $10 million.
    Palantir second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - revenue, US commercial and government revenue, deal counts, TCV, US commercial RDV, cash and raised 2026 guidance - second-quarter results: revenue by line, margins, deal counts, contract value, cash and stock pay. — Q2 2026 · publ. 3 August 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedRevenue grew 93% in the second quarter of 2026 while the number of customers grew 24%.
    Palantir second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - revenue, US commercial and government revenue, deal counts, TCV, US commercial RDV, cash and raised 2026 guidance - second-quarter results: revenue by line, margins, deal counts, contract value, cash and stock pay. — Q2 2026 · publ. 3 August 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedRevenue grew 93% in the second quarter of 2026 while the number of customers grew 24%.
    Palantir Q2 2026 business update presentation - net dollar retention, customer counts and the Rule of 40 history. — Q2 2026 · publ. 3 August 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedIt rose from 139% to 157% in two quarters, while quarterly revenue growth accelerated, and it will fall when that growth slows.
    Palantir Q4 2025 investor presentation - net dollar retention and US commercial customer count. — Q4 2025 · publ. 2 February 2026 · source ↗
  9. ReportedIt rose from 139% to 157% in two quarters, while quarterly revenue growth accelerated, and it will fall when that growth slows.
    Palantir Q2 2026 business update presentation - net dollar retention, customer counts and the Rule of 40 history. — Q2 2026 · publ. 3 August 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 25, 2026