Q3 earnings season: Three companies that crushed expectations

The 2025 Q3 earnings cycle is nearly over, with the period remaining positive on the back of strong growth and a solid number of companies exceeding consensus expectations.

So far, several companies – American Express (AXP), Palantir (PLTR), and Roku (ROKU) – have posted robust results, reflecting positive business momentum. Let’s take a closer look at what drove the strong results. 

Roku

Roku posted a double-beat concerning our headline expectations, with adjusted EPS tripling alongside a 14% sales increase. Notably, the company posted positive operating income for the first time since 2021.

Advertising efforts and subscription growth led to the strong quarter, with the company raising its fiscal year outlook following the print. The current year EPS outlook jumped following the guide higher, with the stock a current Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). 

American Express

American Express posted a double-beat concerning our headline expectations, with adjusted EPS climbing 19% alongside a 10% sales increase. AXP raised its current year sales and EPS outlook thanks to the strong results, with shares seeing a nice pop post-earnings.

Sales of $18.4 billion reflected a quarterly record, with successful launches of updated Platinum Cards providing nice benefits. Increased Card Member spending also provided big tailwinds, with Net Interest Income of $4.5 billion also exceeding our consensus estimate by nearly 4%.

Current year sales expectations jumped following the print.

Palantir

Quarterly sales of $1.2 billion in Palantir’s release set another record, climbing 63% from the year-ago period. Growth was broad-based, with US commercial revenue surging 121% YoY and US government revenue shooting 52% higher.

PLTR inked many lucrative deals throughout the period, closing more than 200 deals worth at least $1 million, 91 worth at least $5 million, and 53 deals worth at least $10 million. It closed a record-setting $2.8 billion of Total Contract Value (TCV) overall, up a staggering 340% from the same period last year. And to top it off, Customer count grew by a massive 45% YoY.

Bottom line

The 2025 Q3 cycle has been positive, and all three companies above – Roku (ROKU), Palantir (PLTR), and American Express (AXP) – have added to the positivity, each posting robust quarterly results.