America's hottest stock in 2025 is barely on anyone's radar
While the likes of Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon have delivered solid gains, they've all been outshone by AI-powered software and data firm Palantir.
Palantir's stock has surged 565 percent over the past year — more than doubling in 2025 alone — making it the top performer on the S&P 500.
On Monday, the company reported quarterly revenue of $1 billion for the first time, beating Wall Street expectations and sending the stock up another four percent.
Best known for building software used by the military, intelligence agencies, and law enforcement, Palantir has seen a sharp uptick in business under President Trump's second term.
Since Trump began his second term Palantir has picked up at least $300 million of new business.
Many of its new contracts come from the federal government including works for the Federal Aviation Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Fannie Mae, according to federal records.
With Trump's administration championing artificial intelligence, cost-cutting, and private-sector partnerships, Palantir's federal business boom shows no signs of slowing.
Just last week Palantir gained its biggest contract yet, an agreement to consolidate all of the military's software use over the next decade at a cost of up to $10 billion.
Further to this the government has agreed to pump $795 million more into the military's core artificial intelligence software program that was built by Palantir.
The Pentagon wants to expand the Maven Smart System to be used by all US forces across the globe.
'They were positioned in the right way at the right time, and they had already built the technology that had the capability to do what the administration is trying to do,' Matt Pearl, director of the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) told the Washington Post.
The firm's government work picked up under Elon Musk's reign at DOGE where he trumpeted a technology-forward crusade against government waste and inefficiency.
Palantir was founded by Peter Thiel, a mentor to JD Vance, and current CEO Alex Karp in the aftermath of 9/11 to help arm the state with the latest technology.
Since 2008 the company has been awarded nearly $3 billion in federal funds from over 300 contracts from both Republican and Democratic administrations.
Among its most high-profile uses was when its software helped orchestrate the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
Palantir was founded in the aftermath of 9/11 to help arm the state with the latest technology
'Palantir is an exceptional American company,' a senior State Department official told the Post.
The official said the department was 'proud to partner with them to modernize how we carry out America's diplomacy.'
'We are proud to support the U.S. government, especially our warfighters, and our growth reflects growing government AI adoption,' a spokesperson for Palantir told the publication.
Other technology stocks including Meta and Microsoft are also having a strong year, helping to push the S&P 500 up to recent record highs.
In their second quarter earnings released last week Meta beat Wall Street expectations with $47.52 billion in revenue, while Microsoft brought in $76.44 billion, up 18 percent from a year ago.
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