Can Palantir Outperform NVIDIA, and Should You Buy the Stock?

The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has made semiconductor behemoth NVIDIA Corporation NVDA and data-mining specialist Palantir Technologies Inc. PLTR Wall Street darlings, with their shares witnessing massive gains. But this year, NVIDIA’s shares have fallen 15.1%, while Palantir’s shares have gained 21.5% amid Trump tariff woes. Does this mean Palantir has more growth potential and investment appeal? Let’s explore – Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchReasons to Be Bullish on NVIDIA Stock NVIDIA’s share of over 80% in the growing graphics processing unit (GPU) market gives the company a competitive edge over its peers. Among the developers, NVIDIA’s CUDA software platform is in more demand than Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.’s AMD ROCm software platform. The change is unlikely due to the complexity of infrastructure transitions. There is insane demand for NVIDIA’s both new and older chips. The new-generation Blackwell chips with faster AI interfaces are popular among prominent tech firms. Meanwhile, the older Hopper chips maintained steady demand due to their superior quality compared to rival Intel Corporation INTC.  AI data center spending is also rising, a boon for NVIDIA. Major cloud computing stocks are poised to invest nearly $250 billion in AI data center infrastructure, purchasing GPUs to meet the growing demand for AI workloads.  For now, Microsoft Corporation MSFT, one of NVIDIA’s primary customers, has scaled back on some of the data center projects. However, competitors Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN and Alphabet Inc. GOOGL have stepped in to fill the gap for NVIDIA. Reasons to be Bullish on Palantir Stock Palantir’s Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) has been a grand success among existing and new customers owing to its capability to automate tasks beyond human capacity. AIP helps its clients decode complex information by applying generative AI in the decision-making workflows. From International Data Corp. to Forrester Research, AIP’s prowess was praised by all. Palantir saw a 43% increase in customer count in the fourth quarter, thanks to AIP’s popularity. Its customer base expanded into the private sector beyond government clients, boosting revenue growth.  The company’s revenues rose 36% in the fourth quarter, with Palantir expecting revenues to increase 31% year over year in the current year. Moreover, the company’s remaining performance obligation in the fourth quarter surpassed current revenue growth, indicating strong upcoming growth. Can Palantir Outpace NVIDIA? Should I Invest in PLTR Stock Now? Dominance in the GPU market, persistent demand for chips, and an uptick in AI infrastructure spending should help the NVIDIA stock scale upward in the long term.  Lest we forget, the company has a price/earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio of 0.85. Any reading below 1 signifies that the stock is undervalued and has the potential to rise when the market realizes its true worth. Maybe that’s why brokers have raised NVIDIA’s average short-term price target by 82.9% to $176.15 from the previous $96.30.    Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchOn the other hand, Palantir’s top customer, the government, is cutting spending due to uncertainty about future software budgets. The Trump administration has asked DOGE to trim its budget by 8% each year for the next five years, hampering Palantir’s growth.To top it off, Palantir is trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 165.49, which is quite expensive for a company whose earnings are projected to grow 37% in 2025. So, Palantir has set a high bar for itself, but the overvalued stock could crash if business objectives aren’t met. Therefore, it’s premature to expect Palantir stock to outperform NVIDIA soon. Brokers are also skeptical about Palantir’s growth story as they have raised the stock’s average short-term price target by only 9.3% to $84.53 from the previous $77.32.  Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchGiven such uncertainty, new entrants should avoid investing in Palantir stock as of now. However, those who have invested may hold onto the stock since an increase in customer base on AIP acceptance is good news for Palantir.Palantir currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), whereas NVIDIA carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here. 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.9% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report Intel Corporation (INTC): Free Stock Analysis Report Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD): Free Stock Analysis Report Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA): Free Stock Analysis Report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks