Palantir, Revolut, Amex & Lloyds: the Finance Chief Briefing

Palantir Wins more Government AI Deals as its Stock Slides

Despite strong Q1 performance – featuring an 85% revenue increase to US$1.63bn – Palantir’s stock has fallen roughly 40% from its November peak, reducing its market value from US$500bn to US$300bn due to high valuation concerns.

Ahead of its Q2 earnings report, Palantir projects about 80% revenue growth (US$1.8bn) and a full-year revenue of ~US$7.65bn.

Wall Street remains divided: Oppenheimer sets a US$200 price target, Citigroup lowered its target to US$200 and RBC Capital sets a bear target of US$90 over enterprise AI competition from OpenAI and Anthropic.

US government revenue grew 84% in Q1, backed by new deals like the US Army’s NGC2 programme and an NVIDIA sovereign AI partnership.

However, Palantir faces political pushback in Europe, including a cancelled London police contract, as well as skepticism surrounding its moat against open-source rivals like World Monitor.

Truly Global Revolut Secures Full Australian Banking Licence

Global fintech Revolut has secured a banking licence from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).

It marks the first global fintech to receive a full, unrestricted Authorised Deposit-taking Institution (ADI) licence in Australia, marking its first licensed banking entity in the APAC region.

Over the next five years, Revolut plans to invest nearly AU$400m (US$280.6m) into Australia to support headcount expansion, growth and local product innovation.

The licence allows Revolut Bank Australia to offer new financial products, including interest-bearing savings accounts and credit facilities.

Revolut’s existing local user base – comprising over 1 million retail customers and thousands of businesses – will automatically transition into the regulated banking entity.

Eligible deposits will be protected up to AU$250,000 (US$174,828) under Australia’s Financial Claims Scheme. The announcement was made just weeks before the fintech gained regulatory approval in France.

Amex Enhances B2B Payment Automation and Supplier Network

American Express has updated its Buyer Initiated Payments (BIP) solution by adding automated invoice reporting and launching BIP Connect.

Through a partnership with Bottomline, BIP Connect connects corporate customers to Paymode, a major US B2B payment network, enabling direct Premium ACH payments with embedded fraud controls across sectors like healthcare, manufacturing and higher education.

The update also introduces automated invoice matching, pulling data directly from vendor systems to accelerate settlement times and reduce error rates.

Amex Trendex research highlights that over 90% of buyers and suppliers view invoice improvements as essential, while 67% of financial decision-makers say payment inefficiencies hinder organisational growth.

Financial leaders report spending 29 to 32 business days annually processing invoices, with manual processes causing high error rates and lost early-payment discounts.

Reading List 

Title: The Trading Game
Author: Gary Stevenson 
A memoir of city trader Gary Stevenson that captures real insight into life in the heart of a busy financial career. 

Title: Liar's Poker
Author: Michael Lewis
A now-classic tale depicting Wall Street life in the mid-1980s.

Title: The Intelligent Investor Third Edition
Author: Benjamin Graham/ Jason Zweig
Featuring an appendix by Warren Buffet, this is a guide to Benjamin Graham’s philosophy of value investing.

Title: Financial Intelligence, Revised Edition: A Manager's Guide to Knowing What the Numbers Really Mean
Author: Karen Bernman / Joe Wright
A favourite among managers in finance, this comprehensive guide walks through financial concepts with ease.

Charlie Nunn: ‘Accelerating’ Lloyds Bank Strategy for 2030

Lloyds Banking Group has unveiled its “Accelerate 2030” strategy, launching in 2027 to drive growth, innovation and digital transformation through AI.

Alongside strong H1 results– including a 23% rise in profit after tax to £3.1bn (US$4.1bn) – the bank committed over £45bn (US$60.8bn) to SMEs, £100bn (US$135bn) to sustainable financing, £40bn (US$54) for first-time homebuyers.

HSBC's US$19.5bn Half-Year Vindicates Elhedery's Sell-Off

HSBC posted a 23% increase in first-half pre-tax profit to US$19.5bn and restarted share buybacks up to US$1bn, validating CEO Georges Elhedery's strategy of sell-offs and simplification.

Performance was bolstered by wealth management revenue surging 22% to US$2.8bn, alongside strategic divestments across Egypt, Singapore and Australia expected to deliver US$2bn in annual cost savings by December.

How Data Centres Gave Caterpillar its Best Day in 17 Years

Driven by global data-centre construction, Caterpillar shares surged 12% in its best market day in 17 years.

Q2 revenues jumped 24% to a record US$20.54bn, while backlog surged 92% to US$72.1bn.

Demand for heavy machinery, turbines and large generators led CEO Joe Creed to raise long-term annual growth targets to 6–9% through 2030.

Fintech Chime Announces Search for New CFO and Q2 Results

US fintech Chime reported strong Q2 2026 results alongside executive shifts, as CFO Matt Newcomb steps down after nearly a decade.

President Mark Troughton takes over as interim CFO during a search for a permanent successor.

Top-line revenue reached US$670m (up 27% YoY), generating US$28m in net income and growing active members to 10.4 million.

Nuvei and BlackLine Partner Making Invoice-to-Cash Easier

Fintech provider Nuvei has partnered with accounting software firm BlackLine to embed its global payment infrastructure directly into BlackLine’s invoice-to-cash services.

The integration allows enterprise payers to view, query and immediately settle invoices within existing workflows across 150 currencies in over 190 markets, enabling automated payment matching to open receivables and shortening days sales outstanding (DSO).

ING: Sustainable Finance is Bouncing Back After 2024 Decline

ING reports that global sustainable debt issuance is recovering toward full growth after previous dips in 2023 and 2024, with full-year 2026 predictions reaching US$1.6tn (up from US$1.5tn in 2025).

The first half of 2026 maintained issuance in the US$800bn–900bn range, driven by corporate decarbonisation commitments, AI demand and Middle East geopolitical tensions.

Regional performance varies significantly:

• EMEA leads global growth, driven by public sector issuance (surging 50% year-over-year to US$245bn in H1) and financial institutions (up 36%).
• US issuance dropped roughly 40% in H1 compared to 2024 and 2025 due to policy uncertainty, though renewable energy, data centres and infrastructure remain primary catalysts.
• APAC experienced a minor decline in H1 following a decline in financial institution activity in 2025, but total issuance remains steady long-term as entities target decarbonisation goals.