Hey, did you catch Alex Karp on the Daily Show?
The controversial Palantir (PLTR) CEO got roasted by host Jon Stewart, who was discussing reports about the big-data-analytics company's expanding partnership with the Trump administration.
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Palantir is reportedly going to build a master list of personal information, raising concern that President Donald Trump could have immense surveillance powers.
“It's not like they're handing all of our data over to some crackpot CEO,” Stewart says, while the screen lights up with a photo of an arguably unflattering photo of Karp. “Let's not judge a book by its cover.”
The segment included clips of interviews with Karp, who shares his views in his characteristic blunt force style.
“The most effective way for social changes is to humiliate your enemy and make them poorer,” Karp says in one interview.
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“I don't think in win-lose; I think in domination,” he states in another.
And then there's this gem:
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“I love the idea of getting a drone and having light fentanyl-laced urine spraying on analysts who tried to screw us,” Karp states.
“Well, let's not judge a book by its insides,” a rather nervous looking Stewart says. “I've always said if there's anyone in the country who should have access to all of my personal data, it's the guy who wants drug-laced urine-spraying drones.”
Karp may have gotten reamed by Comedy Central, but investors seem happy.
The company’s stock has urged nearly 76% in 2025, closing at an all-time high on June 2, and ha soared a WTF-inducing 522% from a year ago.
Last month, Palantir, which brings AI tools to the booming defense technology market, beat estimates for first-quarter revenue and boosted its full-year guidance as companies adopted its AI software.
Palantir’s Foundry software is being used by the Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services, and reportedly is in discussions with both the IRS and Social Security Administration, according to The Economic Times.
In April, Palantir won a $30 million contract from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to develop an operating system that identifies undocumented immigrants and tracks self-deportations. That was its largest single award from the agency among 46 federal contract actions since 2011.
“They probably benefit a little bit more with Trump because of the impetus on security, border and immigration,” Francisco Bido, senior portfolio manager at Palantir investor F/m Investments, told Reuters. “They're going to get a lot of work out of that.”
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Peter Thiel, one of the company's co-founders, was an early Trump backer and has close ties with key Washington lawmakers, including Vice President JD Vance, whom he supported in a 2022 U.S. Senate race.
“The relationships that Palantir's founders … have with senior members of the Trump administration are helpful for business,” D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria said.
Related: Palantir gets great news from the Pentagon
TheStreet Pro's Ed Ponsi has been keeping a sharp eye on Palantir's stock.
“Have you ever bought a stock as it reached an all-time high?” he asked in his recent column. “It’s a scary thought. We've always been taught to buy low and sell high. Buying at the highs is a violation of that rule.”
Ponsi, managing director of Barchetta Capital Management, said that nobody likes to buy at the highs because of the fear that the stock will immediately decline.
“Traders and investors fear buying the top, just as they fear selling the bottom,” he added.
Fundamental investors who buy at the highs perceive value that is greater than the stock’s current price, Ponsi explained. Technical traders love to buy stocks that are “breaking out” to all-time highs, since that market move represents a show of strength.
“Sometimes, these fundamental and technical qualities appear simultaneously,” he said. “That's been the case with Palantir.”
Ponsi recommended buying Palantir in October even as the stock traded at an all-time high. Since then the shares have tripled.
He also tipped his hat to a colleague at TheStreet Pro, Stephen “Sarge” Guilfoyle, who bought Palantir when it was trading in single digits.
“I finally understood the Palantir story months later,” he said. “Even at a higher price, the stock was still a buy.”
“Now the stock has reached yet another all-time high,” Ponsi added. “If the charts are correct, Palantir is still a good stock to own at its current price.”
Related: Veteran fund manager unveils eye-popping S&P 500 forecast
