Planet Labs owns the physical layer and the data layer of commercial Earth observation: the largest daily-imaging satellite fleet on orbit and a nine-year global imagery archive no competitor can recreate. A deteriorating security environment is turning persistent overhead imagery into essential defense infrastructure, and Planet is converting that demand into a 72% backlog jump, 113% net retention, and its first positive free cash flow. The business has earned a place on the watch list. The only real debate is the entry.