Palmer Johnson's history began in 1918 when craftsmen Hans Johnson and Herman Gmack started building wooden sailboats on the shores of Sturgeon Bay, USA. These boats quickly gained popularity among locals. The company adopted the name "Palmer Johnson Yachts" in 1932 when Palmer Johnson, the son of Hans Johnson, took over the business.

Thirty years later, under the ownership of Pat Haggerty, founder of Texas Instruments, the company shifted to building aluminum yachts, attracting significant attention from high-profile clients. In 1979, the Spanish King commissioned a 30-meter motor yacht, M/Y FORTUNA, which held the title of the world's fastest motor superyacht for a decade.

In 2003, British entrepreneur Timur Mohamed acquired the company, leading to the development of several new series and projects. These included the innovative SportYacht series in 2004, the avant-garde composite SuperSport series in 2012, the J63 Sport and Bugatti Niniette 66 projects in 2017, and the 229-meter megayacht concept VALKYRIE in 2019, developed in collaboration with Korean design studio Chulhun Park.

During its operation, Palmer Johnson has launched over 260 yachts, with the 46-meter M/Y TURMOIL, launched in 1996, being one of its most renowned. This yacht completed three circumnavigations of the globe.

Until 2016, Palmer Johnson's production assets were located in Wisconsin. However, the company announced the relocation of its manufacturing operations to the Netherlands. Since then, no yachts from this manufacturer have been launched.

Currently, Palmer Johnson has an office in Monaco.

Palmer Johnson offers motor yachts ranging from 19 to 82 meters across three series:

• Sport – open cruising yachts, including the PJ63 (19 meters)
• Supersport – semi-displacement superyachts and megayachts (42–72 meters)
• Sportyacht – flybridge superyachts made of aluminum (37–64 meters)

The flagship of the Palmer Johnson fleet is the 52-meter superyacht M/Y DB9, designed in a sporty style.