Planet Labs (PL) has many positive attributes, including its major deals with the U.S. government and a number of European countries, its partnership with Alphabet (GOOG), its ability to benefit from the expansion of AI over the longer term, its competitive advantages and its strong financial results.
Still, given PL’s very high valuation and the fact that one of its competitors, BlackSky (BKSY), is much cheaper and (like PL) has strong technology and momentum, investors should consider acquiring BKSY instead of PL at this point.
Significant Deals With Washington and European Nations
In the fourth quarter of 2025, PL received a “short-term… contract extension” worth at least $1 million from the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) “to deliver vital indications and warnings” to the Indo-Pacific Command, and DIU “exercised an option (with PL)…for just under $1,000,000,” CEO Will Marshall reported on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call. Under the latter deal, the company will “demonstrate the cutting-edge capabilities for (its) high-resolution Pelican satellites.”
Finally, Planet Labs was chosen by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to become “a prime contractor for the SHIELD IDIQ contract vehicle.” As a result of the latter decision, Planet Labs has become eligible to receive contracts to support Golden Dome, the Trump administration’s $185 billion missile-defense initiative. Marshall did not indicate, however, that the company had received any revenue-bearing orders from MDA yet.
Although these deals will not themselves generate needle-moving revenue for the firm, they are likely to result in additional contracts that will meaningfully improve its financial results over the longer term.
Turning to Europe, the company received “a (contract) renewal and expansion” worth at least $1 million from Germany, where over 400 government agencies are using its satellite images. More impressively, the firm also signed a 240 million euro satellite-services deal with the European country. Meanwhile, Sweden’s military agreed to spend at least $100 million on PL’s offerings over multiple years.
The Alphabet Partnership and PL’s Ability to Benefit From AI Advances
In November, the firm disclosed that it would participate in Alphabet’s Project Suncatcher, which involves placing the tech giant’s AI chips in space. Reading between the lines, it appears that Google is looking, like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, to build data centers in space.
Under the deal, Planet Labs will seek, by early next year, to launch “two prototype satellites,” in order to test the ability of Google’s AI chips to function in space and to determine whether the satellites can work together effectively. Of course, if the tests are successful, and GOOG decides to deploy many data centers in space, PL will be very well-positioned to obtain a great deal of revenue from the tech giant.
On the AI front, Marshall explained that PL’s satellites can provide AI systems with a great deal of data “about the physical world,” while the technology will enable more industries to effectively utilize Planet Lab’s offerings. Among the latter sectors are “agriculture, insurance, energy, supply chain, and finance,” he indicated.
Competitive Advantages and Impressive Financial Results
According to Marshall, Planet Labs has launched “by far the most” Earth imaging satellites of any company, giving it “a proven track record.” Secondly, the firm is “able to launch the first satellites within a few months of contract signing,… far faster than traditional aerospace” companies. These are important competitive advantages.
In fiscal Q4 that ended on January 31, the company’s revenue surged 41% versus the same period a year earlier to $86.8 million, while its backlog soared 79% year-over-year to an impressive $900 million. Moreover, in all of 2025, its EBITDA, excluding certain items, came in at $15.5 million, versus adjusted EBITA of -$10.6 million in the previous year.
Advantage BlackSky
BlackSky, which is also in the satellite imaging business and has obtained significant contracts from Washington, has its own competitive advantages. First, it enables objects of “about 35 cm in length” to be viewed, distinguishing it from competitors. (PL’s equivalent figure is 50 centimeters). Secondly, BKSY’s satellites can deliver pictures of a given area about every hour, and its satellites are “specifically designed to revisit areas more frequently than many of its competitors.” Indeed, PL’s current satellites revisit only “multiple (times) per day.”
BKSY is also growing quickly, as its backlog advanced 32% as of the end of last year versus the same period a year earlier to $345 million.
And whereas PL expects to reported adjusted EBITDA of $0 to $10 million during the current year, BKSY weighs in with a more impressive adjusted EBITDA outlook of $6 million to $18 million.
PL has a price-sales ratio of 35.9 times, while BKSY’s is a much lower 9.7 times. Finally, both names have momentum. As of the market close on April 2, BKSY and PL had risen 64% and 82%, respectively, in 2026.
*This article is intended to be informational only; it is not financial advice.
