Jeffrey Buckley
Chief Accounting Officer at PLTR
Executive
About Jeffrey Buckley
Jeffrey Buckley, age 41, is Palantir’s Chief Accounting Officer (principal accounting officer), effective March 24, 2025. He previously served as Palantir’s CAO from September 2020 to February 2023, and is a Certified Public Accountant; prior roles include CAO at Zynga (2017–Sep 2020) and Human Interest (most recent role before returning to Palantir) . Company performance context during his current tenure includes revenue growth of 63% year-over-year in Q3 2025 and GAAP net income of $476 million for the quarter, underscoring strong execution backdrop for the finance organization .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palantir Technologies | Chief Accounting Officer (principal accounting officer) | Sep 2020 – Feb 2023 | Led accounting function through public-company early years; transitioned responsibilities to successor in 2023 . |
| Zynga | Chief Accounting Officer | 2017 – Sep 2020 | Oversaw public-company accounting; built controls and reporting cadence . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human Interest (private) | Chief Accounting Officer | Pre–Mar 2025 (most recent role prior to rejoining Palantir) | Led accounting at a financial services company; relevant to high-growth, tech-enabled finance ops . |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount/Term | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary | $400,000 | Annual base salary per 8‑K appointment . |
| Target Bonus % | Not disclosed | No target bonus % disclosed in 8‑K or proxy for CAO . |
| Actual Bonus Paid | Not disclosed | No CAO bonus disclosed . |
Performance Compensation
| Metric/Instrument | Weighting | Target | Actual/Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSUs (time-based, Class A) | N/A | Grant-size determined by $3,500,000 value | $3,500,000 value RSUs upon start as CAO | Vests 1/7 per quarter for four quarters beginning Q2 2025, then 1/28 per quarter thereafter; continued service required . |
- No performance (revenue/EBITDA/TSR) metrics are tied to Buckley’s RSU grant; the award is purely time-based .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Beneficial ownership (shares owned, options/RSUs outstanding) for Jeffrey Buckley was not disclosed in the 2025 proxy and not included in the Security Ownership table; his RSU grant and vesting terms are disclosed in the 8‑K .
- Insider Trading Policy applies to officers, directors, employees; prohibits hedging by NEOs and prohibits pledging/margin holdings for NEOs (limited exceptions for directors and CEO). Palantir encourages executives to trade via 10b5‑1 plans .
- Clawback Policy adopted October 2023 mandates recovery of excess incentive-based compensation from current/former executive officers in event of an accounting restatement .
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Appointment | Reappointed CAO effective March 24, 2025; designated principal accounting officer . |
| Salary | $400,000 base . |
| Equity | RSUs valued at $3,500,000; quarterly vest schedule (time-based) . |
| Severance/Change-of-Control | No CAO-specific severance/change-in-control economics disclosed. Under Palantir’s 2020 Equity Incentive Plan, if a successor does not continue outstanding awards in a change in control, awards fully vest, restrictions lapse, and performance goals deemed achieved at 100% of target; treatment at administrator’s discretion . |
| Indemnification | Company expects to enter into its form of indemnification agreement with Buckley . |
| Related Party Transactions | None requiring disclosure; no family relationships with directors/executives . |
| Prior Departure | Stepped down as CAO in 2023; assisted with transition and expected to continue as advisor then . |
Company Performance Context
| Metric | Q4 2024 | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues (USD) | $827,519,000 | $883,855,000 | $1,003,697,000 | $1,181,092,000 |
| EBITDA (USD) | $18,049,000* | $182,670,000* | $275,847,000* | $399,231,000* |
*Values retrieved from S&P Global.
Additional highlights: Q3 2025 revenue +63% y/y; GAAP net income $476 million; adjusted EBITDA $606 million; adjusted operating margin 51% .
Compensation Structure Analysis
- Increase in guaranteed compensation vs at-risk pay: Buckley’s compensation is primarily base salary plus time-based RSUs (no disclosed performance targets), indicating retention-oriented structure .
- No evidence of option grants, repricing or award modifications for Buckley in 2025 disclosures .
- Governance protections: Clawback Policy in place; Insider Trading Policy restricts hedging/pledging for NEOs and promotes 10b5‑1 plans .
Risk Indicators & Red Flags
- Legal/investor scrutiny: Multiple law firms announced investigations in Oct 2025 related to reported U.S. Army memo on NGC2 platform vulnerabilities; these are investigations, not adjudicated outcomes .
- Insider selling pressure: RSUs settle and vest quarterly beginning Q2 2025; potential mechanical selling to cover taxes, but no transfer restrictions were disclosed for Buckley’s grant .
- Related-party transactions/pledging/tax gross-ups: None disclosed for Buckley; Palantir’s policy prohibits NEO pledging; no Buckley gross-up provisions noted .
Say-on-Pay & Shareholder Feedback (Company Level)
- 2023 advisory say-on-pay approved; votes for: 1,470,070,205; against: 65,382,345; abstained: 21,084,300; broker non-votes: 477,894,790; next say-on-pay in 2026 .
Compensation Peer Group (Company Level)
- Peer group used for executive compensation assessment includes 18 software names (e.g., Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, Datadog, Snowflake, Workday, Zscaler) .
Investment Implications
- Alignment and retention: Buckley’s package is a straightforward retention grant with time-based vesting, aligning service continuity with the finance organization’s scaling amid rapid growth; lack of performance metrics suggests lower direct pay-for-performance linkage but reduces risk of unintended incentives .
- Trading signals: Expect quarterly RSU vesting beginning Q2 2025 to create episodic supply from tax-withholding sales; monitor 10b5‑1 activity and any Form 4 filings around quarter ends .
- Control and oversight: Presence of clawback and insider trading restrictions (particularly anti-hedging/anti-pledging) strengthens governance; no CAO-specific severance or change-in-control cash multiples disclosed, limiting parachute risk. Company fundamentals are strong (63% y/y revenue growth, sustained GAAP profitability), reducing execution risk in financial reporting during Buckley’s tenure .