The LSE Directory / Alternative data
Planet Labs PBC designs, builds and operates a fleet of small satellites that image the Earth's surface, then sells the resulting imagery and derived analytic products through subscription and tasking contracts. Its core constellation is the Dove and SuperDove line of shoebox sized CubeSats, flown in large numbers in low Earth orbit to capture near daily images of the planet's entire landmass at roughly 3 to 5 metre resolution. Alongside this the company operates the SkySat constellation for sub metre, on demand tasking, the newer Pelican satellites aimed at faster revisit high resolution imaging, and the Tanager hyperspectral satellites, designed to detect methane and CO2 point source emissions. Planet states it has built more than 450 satellites in total and currently operates over 200 in orbit, collecting imagery across more than 350 million square kilometres of the Earth's surface each day. The company's differentiator against traditional Earth observation operators is revisit frequency over single image resolution: rather than tasking a handful of large, expensive satellites to photograph specific points on request, Planet's large constellation of small, cheap satellites images essentially the whole planet every day, letting customers monitor change over time rather than buy discrete snapshots. The data is sold mainly as a standing subscription to a continuously updated basemap and analytic feeds, layered with SkySat and Pelican tasking for higher resolution or faster revisit needs. Customers span agriculture, defence and intelligence, civil government, energy and infrastructure, forestry, insurance, maritime and mapping; in financial markets its imagery is used as an alternative data set for tracking indicators such as retail parking lot traffic, crop conditions, oil storage levels, shipping and construction activity. Planet traces its history to Cosmogia, Inc, founded on 29 December 2010 by former NASA Ames Research Center scientists Chris Boshuizen, Will Marshall and Robbie Schingler, who had worked together on NASA's PhoneSat programme before starting the company; it was renamed Planet Labs shortly afterward. It grew by acquisition, buying German operator BlackBridge and its five satellite RapidEye constellation in July 2015, and Google's Terra Bella subsidiary, including the SkySat fleet, in April 2017. Planet went public on 8 December 2021 by merging with special purpose acquisition company DMY Technology Group IV, converting into a public benefit corporation and listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker PL, in a deal announced at a roughly $2.8 billion valuation that raised more than $500 million in capital. Revenue for fiscal year 2026 was $307.7 million, up about 26 percent year over year. In its most recent reported quarter, the first quarter of fiscal year 2027 (three months ended 30 April 2026), Planet posted record revenue of $94.2 million, up 42 percent year over year from $66.3 million a year earlier, with remaining performance obligations up 81 percent to $816.0 million and backlog up 72 percent to $906.1 million.
