New Delhi, Aug. 4 -- Palantir Technologies (PLTR) shares surged more than 14 percent in after-hours trading Monday before the quarterly conference call had ended, a reaction that captured something deeper than a single period of outperformance. The company had just reported $1.935 billion in second-quarter revenue, up 93 percent from a year earlier, a result its chief executive called, without hesitation, "otherworldly."

adjusted earnings per share of $0.41, free cash flow of $1.22 billion on a 63 percent margin, and cash and short-term treasuries of $9.2 billion.

Two numbers commanded the most attention. United States commercial revenue reached $764 million, up 149 percent from the year-ago period. US government revenue rose 90 percent...