Few companies are more polarizing than Palantir. Shares in the retail investor favorite are up nearly 80% in the past 12 months, despite tumbling almost 30% from their November high, reflecting a market-churning mix of rabid enthusiasm and circumspection for a stock with a valuation of the nosebleed variety.

On Monday, the software firm charted a glorious 2026 for the believers. After reporting a 70% year-over-year increase in fourth-quarter revenue to $1.4 billion — which beat analysts’ $1.3 billion estimate — executives said they expect revenue to grow 61% this year to $7.18 billion or more. CEO Alex Karp told analysts on an earnings call that it was ​​“one of the truly iconic performances in the history of corporate performance.”

Going All In

Palantir’s recent tumble is partly attributable to a broader selloff in traditional enterprise software firms, triggered by fears that AI’s coding capabilities could displace them. But it also faces the simple concern that it’s overvalued. Palantir’s price-to-book ratio of more than 50 dwarfs peers like Broadcom (19.3), Oracle (15.8) and Adobe (10.4). “We cannot rationalize why Palantir is the most expensive name in our software coverage,” wrote RBC analysts, who affirmed the bank’s underperform rating and a $50 price target on the stock last week, implying it could fall nearly 65% from its $147.76 Monday close. They worry Palantir’s revenue from government contracts and the resilience of its commercial enterprise customer base could come under pressure and flagged “rising concerns around privacy and ethics” such as its work for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

RBC is a stark outlier. The average analyst price target for Palantir is $201.52, according to Zacks Investment Research. Analysts at William Blair, for example, upgraded the stock to “outperform” before Monday’s earnings. Its “frothy” valuation, the firm’s analysts wrote, has become “more reasonable relative to recent venture rounds for companies tied to the AI ecosystem.” The Trump administration, they added, “continues to go all in with Palantir,” which bodes well for big projects like a $448 million deal with the Navy to develop software to make shipbuilding and fleet maintenance more efficient through improved data use. William Blair noted similar deals with other branches of the armed forces could arise if all goes well. In a valedictory letter to shareholders, Karp touched on much of the buzz:

• He called the fourth quarter earnings a “cosmic reward of sorts” for shareholders who have stuck with the company. Karp added that US revenue, which “sits at the core” of Palantir, rose 93% in the fourth quarter of 2025 to $1.1 billion.
• Of AI, he argued that large language models “are little without a software architecture” and that Palantir is focused on creating value for clients with software that puts models’ output to use.

No Guarantee in Life or Markets: Palantir shares fell nearly 8% the last time it reported a strong quarter, as questions about its lofty valuation seemed to outweigh performance. That wasn’t the reaction on Monday: The stock jumped over 5% in after-hours trading.

The Winter Olympics will begin on Friday, and this year’s opening ceremony may feel more like a runway than usual. That’s only fitting since the event will be held in the fashion capital of Milan.

US athletes will once again be decked out in Ralph Lauren, Team Brazil will be outfitted by Moncler, Canadians will wear Lululemon and Team Italy will sport Armani on its home turf. The outfits are a show of national pride, typically designed by homegrown brands. In the case of Armani, the partnership underpins the brand’s central role in Italy’s fashion scene. It’s also one of the last collections designed by Giorgio Armani himself before his death last fall.

Fashion’s Future Looks Frencher

The first Armani runway menswear collection without any influence from founder Giorgio Armani debuted to acclaim in late January (the last day of Milan Fashion Week), stoking hopes that the brand’s future remains bright. But Armani cannot continue as is, because the late founder’s will set a clock in motion that started ticking the moment he died:

• Within 12 to 18 months of Armani’s September death, 15% of the company must be sold off, preferably to L’Oréal, LVMH or EssilorLuxottica (ironically, the Italian Armani had previously railed against the idea of an acquisition by one of the French “megastructures” like L’Oréal or LVMH). After three to five years, an additional 30% to 54.9% stake is to be sold to the same buyer, according to the will.
• Alternately, the nearly 50-year-old company could launch an IPO. In any case, 30% of the voting rights, and veto power over major decisions, are to remain with the Giorgio Armani Foundation, which was set up in 2016 to “safeguard the governance assets of the Armani Group.” The Foundation is led by Armani’s business and life partner Pantaleo Dell’Orco, who was himself awarded 40% of the voting rights, ensuring he and the Foundation would together control the fashion house.

Flash Sale: Armani’s imminent selloff comes as Italy is gaining dominance in the fashion industry. Italy’s fashion biz always had clout but not the market cap to compete with companies like LVMH, the parent of Louis Vuitton and Dior. Prada Group could be looking to challenge LVMH, though. With a push from Prada’s likely heir, the company bought ailing Versace last year for $1.4 billion and could be tempted by Armani as another Italian brand, though it would have to get in line behind preferred buyers. Armani’s named heirs will be weighing which buyer, including the public markets, will best preserve the Italian icon’s legacy.

Not all protein is created equal.

In its first-quarter earnings report on Monday, meat industry titan Tyson said its beef business has continued to be hampered by a cattle shortage, leading to massive beef-flation and huge losses. Thankfully, consumers have flocked to chicken in lieu of steak, keeping the company afloat and helping it beat Wall Street’s profit estimates for the quarter. Consider it the macroeconomics of getting your macros.

Slaughterhouse Down

Tyson’s beef supply struggles are hardly shocking. Last month, the company began winding down operations at a beef slaughterhouse in Lexington, Nebraska, a decision announced in November, amid the worst US cattle shortage in roughly 75 years. Meanwhile, operations at another beef plant in Amarillo, Texas, would be reduced to a single shift. “Continuing to absorb losses like we have been seeing for the past two years is simply unacceptable,” CEO Donnie King said in yesterday’s earnings call.

And yet, America’s insatiable protein appetite continues unabated, which turned the earnings call into a tale of two meats:

• Tyson’s beef segment, still its largest by sales, suffered a more than 7% year-over-year decrease in volume as it increased average prices by 17%. That manifested a whopping $319 million operating loss for the segment, ballooning from just a $26 million loss a year ago.
• Chicken, on the other hand, soared: Sales volume jumped nearly 4%, while the average price actually declined by 0.1%.

Seriously, Where’s The Beef? “We believe chicken will be a preferred protein in the upcoming year,” CFO Curt Calaway said during the earnings call. On the flip side, the company said it expects its beef shortage woes to continue through at least this year and next. Unfortunately for beef providers, solving the beef shortage requires intensifying near-term pain: Growing the overall herd count requires, obviously, keeping more cattle around for breeding and slaughtering fewer for eating. It’s not every day that corporate earnings deliver a lesson in the birds and the beefs.