Latest news with #DigitalOcean
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
DigitalOcean (DOCN) Launches GradientAI to Simplify GenAI Development
DigitalOcean Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DOCN) is one of the top AI stocks with huge upside potential. On July 9, the company launched DigitalOcean GradientAI Platform. The managed service allows developers to build artificial intelligence applications by combining data with foundation models. A close-up of a person using a laptop with cloud solutions in the background. Previously known as GenAI Platform, the new service allows users to deploy generative AI capabilities without managing infrastructure. Developers can create AI applications that leverage foundation models from Anthropic, Meta, Mistral, and OpenAI on the new DigitalOcean platform. Additionally, it facilitates seamless integration with third-party APIs and agent routing, enabling connections with other GenAI agents. 'We built DigitalOcean GradientAI because generative AI can be complex – and DigitalOcean has always focused on making the complex simple,' said Bratin Saha, Chief Product and Technology Officer at DigitalOcean. DigitalOcean GradientAI Platform also comes with customization features such as guardrails designed to block sensitive information. Its launch comes as digital-native enterprises explore ways to integrate generative capabilities into their operations. DigitalOcean Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DOCN) provides cloud infrastructure and tools to support AI development, focusing on simplifying the process for businesses. It also offers GPU-powered virtual machines, known as GPU Droplets, and a managed Kubernetes service for AI/ML workloads. While we acknowledge the potential of DOCN as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Best Chemical Stocks to Buy According to Billionaires and 7 Most Undervalued Pot Stocks To Buy According To Analysts. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Better Cloud AI Stock: CoreWeave vs. DigitalOcean
Key Points CoreWeave's transformation from a crypto miner to a cloud GPU leader is paying off. DigitalOcean is expanding its cloud platform at a slower and steadier rate. The hare might beat the tortoise this time. 10 stocks we like better than CoreWeave › CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV) and DigitalOcean (NYSE: DOCN) both help companies process artificial (AI) tasks with their cloud-based graphics processing units (GPUs). CoreWeave, previously a cryptocurrency mining company, mainly serves larger companies. DigitalOcean splits its servers into "droplets" for smaller businesses and developers. Each should be in a good position to profit from the explosive growth of the AI market. However, investors are clearly more bullish on CoreWeave, which went public at $40 in March but now trades at around $125. DigitalOcean trades at $29, which is nearly 40% below its initial public offering price of $47 from March 2021. Let's see which is the better cloud AI stock. The differences between CoreWeave and DigitalOcean CoreWeave was once an Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) miner, but it abandoned that business model in 2018 and started using its GPUs to remotely process AI tasks. In 2022, it spent about $100 million to install Nvidia's (NASDAQ: NVDA) H100 GPUs in its data centers, and it used those GPUs as collateral to secure more funding to build additional data centers. It subsequently attracted investments from Nvidia, Cisco, and other tech giants. Today, CoreWeave operates 33 data centers across the U.S. and Europe -- up from just three centers at the end of 2022. Its top customers include Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and OpenAI. DigitalOcean's cloud infrastructure platform, which provides remote storage and computing power, is similar to Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. But unlike those leading cloud platforms, which mainly serve large enterprise clients, DigitalOcean carves up its cloud servers into thinner and more affordable slices for smaller businesses. In 2023, it added cloud-based GPUs to its platform via its acquisition of Paperspace. DigitalOcean has been expanding much more slowly than CoreWeave: It currently operates 15 data centers across nine geographic regions, up from 14 centers at the end of 2022. Which company is growing faster? From 2022 to 2024, CoreWeave's annual revenue grew at a staggering compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 990%, from $16 million to $1.9 billion. DigitalOcean's revenue rose at a more modest (but still respectable) CAGR of 16%, from $576 million in 2022 to $781 million in 2024. CoreWeave grew much faster than DigitalOcean for three reasons. First, it focused only on providing cloud-based GPUs for demanding AI tasks instead of a broader range of storage and computing services. DigitalOcean's acquisition of Paperspace gave it a foothold in the AI market, but its non-AI cloud services aren't growing as rapidly. Second, CoreWeave locked in huge customers, like Microsoft and OpenAI, that could afford to quickly ramp up their spending on its cloud-based GPU services. DigitalOcean served smaller developers and small-to-medium-size businesses -- which paid less money to deploy their apps and sandboxes. Third, CoreWeave has taken on lots of debt and racked up steep losses to buy more GPUs and open more data centers. DigitalOcean has been prioritizing its profit growth over its near-term expansion, and its net income has stayed in the black over the past two years. Which stock has more upside potential? From 2024 to 2027, analysts expect CoreWeave's revenue to grow at a CAGR of 106% to $16.7 billion as it turns profitable in the final year. They expect DigitalOcean's revenue to increase at a CAGR of 14% to $1.2 billion as its net income rises at a CAGR of 29% to $179 million. CoreWeave's projected growth trajectory looks incredible, but that expansion will likely be driven by a lot of debt and secondary offerings. Yet with a market cap of $63.5 billion, it doesn't seem that pricey relative to its growth potential at 13 times this year's sales. DigitalOcean, with a market cap of $2.7 billion, might seem a lot cheaper at 3 times this year's sales. But it's trading at that discount because it's growing at a much slower rate. Its conservative AI strategy also isn't attracting as much attention as CoreWeave's all-in expansion. So for now, CoreWeave still looks like a better play on the cloud and AI markets than DigitalOcean. Its business strategy is risky and aggressive, but it could generate much bigger long-term returns for its investors than DigitalOcean's less ambitious approach. Should you invest $1,000 in CoreWeave right now? Before you buy stock in CoreWeave, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and CoreWeave wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $665,092!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,050,477!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,055% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025 John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Leo Sun has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Cisco Systems, DigitalOcean, Ethereum, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Better Cloud AI Stock: CoreWeave vs. DigitalOcean was originally published by The Motley Fool
Time Business News
17-07-2025
- Business
- Time Business News
Cloudways Carves Out Strategic Niche In Evolving Cloud Hosting Industry
The cloud hosting industry continues its rapid expansion, with overall expenditure on cloud computing services expected to exceed $723 billion in 2025, up from $156.4 billion in 2020. Within this massive market, managed cloud hosting providers like Cloudways are establishing themselves as essential intermediaries between enterprise-grade infrastructure and small-to-medium businesses seeking simplified solutions. The broader cloud infrastructure market remains dominated by tech giants, with Amazon commanding 30% of the cloud hosting market in 2025, followed by Microsoft Azure at 21% and Google Cloud Platform at approximately 12%. However, these statistics reflect the Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) segment rather than the specialized managed hosting niche where Cloudways operates. Cloudways has positioned itself distinctly within the managed cloud hosting segment, earning recognition as the '#1 SMB Hosting Provider on G2' and serving over 100,000 businesses. The achievement is particularly significant given the fragmented nature of the managed hosting market, where customer satisfaction and ease of use often outweigh raw market share metrics. The company's strategic focus on performance optimization and customer success has yielded measurable results. In 2024, clients utilizing Cloudways Autonomous achieved notable improvements, with one case study showing a 20% reduction in downtime, zero downtime achievement, and a 100%+ revenue increase. The platform's technical infrastructure reflects industry-leading standards, with 99.99% uptime guarantees and ultrafast servers designed for business growth. Such commitments are particularly crucial as businesses increasingly depend on consistent online performance for revenue generation. Cloudways' business model leverages partnerships with established cloud providers, partnering with top cloud providers like DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, AWS, and Google Cloud to deliver exceptional performance, scalability, and reliability. The approach allows the company to offer enterprise-grade infrastructure while maintaining the simplified management interface that appeals to its target market. The acquisition by DigitalOcean has influenced the company's strategic direction, with the range of cloud hosting providers being trimmed down to focus on DigitalOcean, AWS, and Google Cloud. This consolidation appears designed to streamline operations while maintaining access to premium infrastructure options. Cloudways has invested significantly in automation and scalability solutions, including the development of Cloudways Autonomous, which represents a shift toward hands-off auto-scaling capabilities. The company's focus on emerging technologies and performance optimization positions it well within the managed hosting segment, even as it operates in a market dominated by infrastructure giants. While Cloudways has established itself as a notable player in the managed WordPress hosting space, the current data shows they occupy a specific niche rather than dominating the entire industry. According to W3Techs usage statistics, Cloudways is used by 0.6% of all websites as of July 2025, positioning them as a specialized managed hosting provider rather than a market leader. The managed WordPress hosting market operates within the broader web hosting services sector, which was valued at $126.41 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow from $149.30 billion in 2025 to $527.07 billion by 2032. WordPress itself powers 43.4% of all websites globally, creating a substantial market for specialized WordPress hosting services. Cloudways has carved out a distinctive position in the managed hosting landscape by focusing on cloud infrastructure partnerships. The company collaborates with major cloud providers including: DigitalOcean Google Cloud Platform Amazon Web Services (AWS) Vultr Linode This multi-cloud approach differentiates Cloudways from traditional managed WordPress hosts and has contributed to their reported 99.99% uptime performance. Recent 2025 testing data reveals impressive performance metrics: Uptime : 99.99% average uptime : 99.99% average uptime Loading speeds : 400-600 milliseconds average : 400-600 milliseconds average Server response times : As low as 94ms in load testing : As low as 94ms in load testing Customer satisfaction: 94% satisfaction rate according to G2 reviews Independent testing in 2025 showed: Google PageSpeed Insights scores of 100/100 for both mobile and desktop Pingdom ratings of A grade with 96/100 speed scores Successful handling of 116,000+ requests at 195 requests/second with no performance spikes The keyword 'cloudways hosting review 2025' returns results from numerous authoritative hosting review websites, indicating significant industry attention and coverage. Major review sites covering Cloudways include: Established Tech Review Sites: Kripesh Adwani (tech reviewer) CatsWhoCode WPKube Website Planet Bloggers Passion Blogging Wizard Specialized Hosting Review Platforms: (80.8% rating) (customer reviews and ratings) WP Swings Design Bombs TutNest Industry Publications: Multiple WordPress-focused publications Web development blogs Technical review sites The consensus across review sites for 2025 indicates: Positive aspects : Superior performance, scalability, uptime reliability, user-friendly interface : Superior performance, scalability, uptime reliability, user-friendly interface Areas of concern : Pricing for resource scaling, complexity for non-technical users : Pricing for resource scaling, complexity for non-technical users Overall verdict: Consistently rated as 'one of the best' managed hosting options While Cloudways holds a solid position, other significant players in the managed WordPress hosting space include: WP Engine : Used by 2.1% of all websites, making it a larger player than Cloudways : Used by 2.1% of all websites, making it a larger player than Cloudways Kinsta : Another major managed WordPress host : Another major managed WordPress host SiteGround : Popular among WordPress users : Popular among WordPress users Bluehost: recommended host Multi-cloud infrastructure: Unique positioning with multiple cloud provider options Pay-as-you-go pricing: Flexible cost structure Developer-friendly features: Git integration, staging environments Performance optimization: Built-in caching and CDN options A significant development affecting Cloudways' market position was its acquisition by DigitalOcean. This strategic move: Provided additional resources and infrastructure support Raised some customer concerns about service changes Potentially strengthened their cloud hosting capabilities Recent improvements include: Enhanced malware scanning ($4/month for up to 5 apps) Cloudways Safe Updates for automated WordPress maintenance ($3/month per application) DNS Made Easy integration ($0.50/month per domain) The shift toward cloud-based hosting solutions has benefited Cloudways significantly. As more websites require: Scalable resources High availability Performance optimization Developer tools Cloudways' positioning becomes increasingly valuable in the market. With WordPress continuing to power over 43% of websites globally, the managed WordPress hosting market remains robust. This provides a stable foundation for Cloudways' continued growth. WooCommerce has established itself as a dominant force in the e-commerce platform landscape, with significant market share across different metrics. In 2025, WooCommerce established itself as the leading ecommerce software platform, making up 33% of the total market share. Shopify and Wix came second and third, with 18.1% and 12.4%, respectively. However, when examining the top-tier websites, the competitive landscape shows more nuanced dynamics. The current 2025 market share for WooCommerce is 13% of the top 1 million sites using e-commerce technologies: This represents a decrease from its 16% market share in 2024 and also suggests that Shopify take over WooCommerce as the market leader between 2024 and 2025. The reach of WooCommerce extends across millions of websites globally. 3.5% of websites are powered by WooCommerce among 24 million websites across the globe. 5,106,506 live websites currently run on a CMS powered by WooCommerce, demonstrating its massive adoption in the WordPress ecosystem. The cloud hosting sector is experiencing remarkable growth, which directly benefits WooCommerce stores seeking scalable solutions. The fastest-growing type of web hosting is cloud hosting, which has a compound annual growth rate of 18.3% from 2019 to 2025. This growth trajectory creates significant opportunities for WooCommerce businesses to leverage cloud infrastructure. In the cloud hosting market, the Google Cloud platform is becoming increasingly popular. It is used by 38.6 million websites across the globe including Coca-Cola, Snapchat, positioning it as a major player in the cloud hosting ecosystem suitable for WooCommerce deployments. Amazon Web Services provides robust infrastructure options for WooCommerce stores. This plan provides 1GB of RAM, 1 Core processor, 25GB storage, and 1TB of bandwidth, making it a cost-effective choice for hosting your online store. For enterprise-level deployments, Aurora – MySQL-compatible database engine designed for performance. Up to 5X faster than standard MySQL on RDS. DynamoDB – NoSQL database service capable of handling large volumes of data and traffic. WooCommerce stores have specific resource requirements that cloud hosting platforms must address. WooCommerce suggests increasing it to 256MB, but it will depend on your site. WordPress databases have a tendency to get quite bloated over time with old versions of pages, so it's a good idea to regularly clean up your data. Cloud hosting providers are offering multi-cloud approaches to serve WooCommerce stores effectively. Cloudways offers the freedom to choose from five different cloud providers which include DigitalOcean, Linode, Vultr, AWS, and Google Cloud. Each cloud infrastructure provider offers a unique combination of pricing and data center locations. Modern cloud hosting solutions for WooCommerce focus on performance optimization. The WooCommerce VPS utilizes cloud technology and delivers consistent performance due to the guaranteed CPU power, RAM, and storage. Flexible Amazon cloud compute (EC2) with configurable storage/bandwidth across 28 datacenters. AWS supports dynamic vertical scaling with options to both upgrade and downgrade server resources. Select the perfect fit from their Standard and Compute Optimized server lineup. Google Compute Engine (GCE) is an extremely powerful cloud hosting infrastructure with the efficient performance that comes with Google's brand name. With 28 datacenters worldwide, it provides extensive global coverage for WooCommerce stores. Popular cloud emphasizing consistent performance across 25 datacenters. Choose Linode if you wish top quality performance at a pocket—friendly budget. While cloud hosting offers superior scalability, cost considerations remain important. For small businesses or personal blogs, the cost of hosting on AWS may not justify the benefits. Bluehost hosting offers more affordable and straightforward pricing plans that include essential features like email hosting, cloud hosting and customer support. Technical knowledge requirements can be a barrier for smaller WooCommerce store owners who may lack the expertise to manage complex cloud infrastructure configurations. The continued dominance of WordPress in the web development space supports WooCommerce's growth. WordPress market share is 43.4% across all websites as of April 2025. Among the websites with a known CMS (content management system), that percentage is 61.3%. The market is seeing the emergence of specialized hosting solutions. Powerful and reliable WooCommerce Optimized Managed Cloud Hosting with LiteSpeed Cache, Auto Installer, Staging Sites & WP-CLI support. Start with managed cloud hosting solutions that offer WooCommerce optimization Consider multi-cloud providers for flexibility and cost optimization Focus on performance-optimized hosting with built-in caching solutions Leverage AWS or Google Cloud for maximum scalability and performance Implement database optimization strategies using Aurora or similar high-performance databases Consider dedicated cloud resources with auto-scaling capabilities Choose cloud providers offering seamless scaling options Implement staging environments for testing and development Focus on global content delivery networks for international reach The intersection of WooCommerce and cloud hosting represents a significant opportunity in the e-commerce infrastructure market. With WooCommerce maintaining strong market share and cloud hosting experiencing 18.3% annual growth, the combination creates a powerful ecosystem for online businesses. PHP continues to maintain its position as the most dominant server-side programming language on the web. According to current statistics, 79.2% of all websites rely on PHP as their server-side technology, making it the undisputed leader in web development languages. A significant factor in PHP's dominance is the widespread adoption of WordPress, which is built on PHP. WordPress is used by 62.7% of all websites whose content management system we know, representing 43.4% of all websites globally. This means that nearly every other website on the internet runs on WordPress, directly contributing to PHP's massive market share. The interconnected nature of WordPress and PHP creates a symbiotic relationship where 1/3 of all online shops run on WordPress-powered WooCommerce, further solidifying PHP's position in the e-commerce hosting market. While PHP maintains its web dominance, developer adoption patterns show interesting trends. According to the Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2024, which collected insights from over 65,000 developers, only 18.2% of all respondents reported using PHP. Among professional developers, the number is nearly identical at 18.7%. More notably, only 15.2% of new programmers choose PHP as their primary language. This discrepancy between web usage (79.2%) and developer adoption (18.2%) suggests that PHP's dominance is driven more by legacy systems and established platforms like WordPress rather than new development projects. The e-commerce sector continues to drive PHP hosting demand. Data reflects steady growth of 2.9% to 11% annually, with an average of 2,162 new e-commerce sites launching daily between 2024 and 2025. The United States hosts approximately 50% of all e-commerce websites globally, with small businesses making up a significant portion of this market. The hosting industry has evolved significantly, with cloud-based solutions becoming increasingly popular for PHP applications. Leading providers now offer multiple cloud infrastructure options: Cloudways has positioned itself as a leader in managed PHP hosting by offering flexibility to choose from multiple cloud providers, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and DigitalOcean. The platform is PHP 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, and 8.2 ready, allowing developers to test and deploy applications with the latest PHP versions. Modern PHP hosting providers offer managed hosting services that include choice between DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, and Google Cloud, though typically at an additional cost. These managed solutions eliminate the need for users to worry about updates, initial server setup, or maintenance. Several traditional hosting providers continue to dominate the PHP hosting space: SiteGround : Consistently ranked among top PHP hosting providers : Consistently ranked among top PHP hosting providers BlueHost : recommended hosting with strong PHP support : recommended hosting with strong PHP support A2 Hosting : Known for performance optimization : Known for performance optimization HostGator : Provides comprehensive PHP hosting solutions : Provides comprehensive PHP hosting solutions InMotion Hosting: Offers developer-friendly PHP environments Hostinger : Offers inexpensive PHP hosting with impressive performance from superfast LiteSpeed servers : Offers IONOS : Supports all PHP versions and provides generous resources and strong security : FastComet: Recognized as best PHP hosting for global reach The free PHP hosting segment serves as an entry point for developers and small projects. AccuWeb Hosting stands out as the top recommended free PHP hosting provider, offering high-performance hosting with PHP 8.3 support, SSD storage, and an ad-free experience. Other notable free PHP hosting providers include: GoogieHost : A 100% free PHP host with plenty of features, including free subdomains : A Various other providers offering basic PHP hosting with limitations Modern PHP hosting providers are keeping pace with PHP development by supporting the latest versions: PHP 8.3 : Latest stable version with enhanced performance : Latest stable version with enhanced performance PHP 8.2 : Widely supported across major providers : Widely supported across major providers PHP 8.1 : Standard offering from most hosts : Standard offering from most hosts PHP 8.0 : Legacy support maintained : Legacy support maintained PHP 7.4: Still supported for compatibility Leading PHP hosting providers focus on performance through: LiteSpeed servers for enhanced speed for enhanced speed SSD storage for faster data access for faster data access Built-in caching solutions CDN integration for global performance for global performance Optimized server configurations for PHP applications The PHP hosting market operates within the broader web hosting industry context. At the start of 2025, there were around 1.5 billion live websites and over 5.5 billion internet users. The total number of domain name registrations across all TLDs reached over 368 million in early 2025. The hosting market shows diverse preferences: Shared hosting holds the largest slice of the market share, often cited around 35-38% Cloud hosting has steadily risen after the COVID-19 pandemic Dedicated servers remain the most reliable choice for businesses wanting security and control Over 330,000 web hosting companies operate globally as of 2025 While PHP maintains web dominance, the declining interest among new developers presents both challenges and opportunities: Legacy system maintenance creates ongoing demand creates ongoing demand WordPress ecosystem continues to drive PHP hosting needs continues to drive PHP hosting needs E-commerce growth supports sustained PHP hosting demand supports sustained PHP hosting demand New framework adoption may impact future growth The shift toward cloud-based hosting creates opportunities for PHP hosting providers: Multi-cloud strategies becoming standard becoming standard Managed hosting services gaining popularity gaining popularity Performance optimization becoming key differentiator becoming key differentiator Global reach requirements driving infrastructure expansion Despite changing developer preferences, PHP hosting demand is expected to remain strong due to: WordPress's continued dominance (43.4% of all websites) (43.4% of all websites) E-commerce growth with WooCommerce leading the market with WooCommerce leading the market Legacy system maintenance requirements requirements Small business adoption of PHP-based solutions The PHP hosting industry will likely evolve toward: Enhanced cloud integration across all provider tiers across all provider tiers Improved performance optimization through advanced caching and CDN through advanced caching and CDN Better developer tools and staging environments and staging environments Stronger security features to address growing cyber threats PHP hosting remains a cornerstone of the web hosting industry, driven by PHP's 79.2% market share among websites. While developer adoption rates show a decline, the massive installed base of WordPress sites and growing e-commerce sector ensure continued demand for PHP hosting services. While Cloudways cannot be characterized as leading the overall cloud hosting industry—a distinction that belongs to AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud—the company has established a strong position within the managed cloud hosting niche. Its combination of user-friendly interfaces, performance optimization, and strategic partnerships with major cloud providers creates a compelling value proposition for small and medium-sized businesses seeking enterprise-grade hosting without the complexity of direct cloud management. The company's success in serving over 100,000 businesses and maintaining high customer satisfaction ratings suggests that its approach addresses genuine market needs. However, claims of industry leadership should be contextualized within the managed hosting segment rather than the broader cloud infrastructure market, where established tech giants maintain dominant positions through comprehensive service offerings and massive infrastructure investments. As the cloud hosting market continues to evolve, Cloudways' focus on simplification, performance, and customer success positions it as a significant player in its chosen niche, even if it operates within the shadow of industry giants who define the broader market landscape. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
DigitalOcean, Five9, Domo, Qualys, and Varonis Shares Are Falling, What You Need To Know
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after the Trump administration announced intentions to impose a 35% tariff on many goods imported from Canada. This move is far more than a typical trade dispute; it targets the United States' largest and most deeply integrated trading partner. Canada is not merely a neighbor but a critical component of North American supply chains, particularly in sectors like automotive, energy, and critical minerals. This move has sparked concerns about potential retaliatory actions and a wider impact on the North American economy, leading to a risk-off sentiment among investors. The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq all opened lower, pulling back from recent record highs and heading for their first weekly loss in three weeks. The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Among others, the following stocks were impacted: Data Storage company DigitalOcean (NYSE:DOCN) fell 4%. Is now the time to buy DigitalOcean? Access our full analysis report here, it's free. Video Conferencing company Five9 (NASDAQ:FIVN) fell 3.8%. Is now the time to buy Five9? Access our full analysis report here, it's free. Data Analytics company Domo (NASDAQ:DOMO) fell 4%. Is now the time to buy Domo? Access our full analysis report here, it's free. Vulnerability Management company Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) fell 3.5%. Is now the time to buy Qualys? Access our full analysis report here, it's free. Endpoint Security company Varonis (NASDAQ:VRNS) fell 4.1%. Is now the time to buy Varonis? Access our full analysis report here, it's free. Varonis's shares are not very volatile and have only had 9 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today's move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business. Varonis is up 11.1% since the beginning of the year, but at $49.28 per share, it is still trading 17.8% below its 52-week high of $59.98 from October 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Varonis's shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,478. Here at StockStory, we certainly understand the potential of thematic investing. Diverse winners from Microsoft (MSFT) to Alphabet (GOOG), Coca-Cola (KO) to Monster Beverage (MNST) could all have been identified as promising growth stories with a megatrend driving the growth. So, in that spirit, we've identified a relatively under-the-radar profitable growth stock benefiting from the rise of AI, available to you FREE via this link. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Prediction: This Stock Will Be Worth More Than C3.ai 1 Year From Now
stock has been sliding this year, and analysts aren't optimistic about its turnaround prospects in the coming year. Another cloud computing company, DigitalOcean, is capitalizing on the growing adoption of AI and has the potential to deliver impressive gains. The AI-fueled earnings gains that DigitalOcean could deliver in the next year could help it overtake market cap. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › Pure-play enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) software company (NYSE: AI) has had a 2025 to forget so far. It lost almost 22% so far this year at this writing. Though the company has been delivering healthy growth on account of the rising adoption of its AI software solutions by both commercial and government customers, the market doesn't seem to have much confidence in the stock right now. Out of 17 analysts covering it, only four recommend buying it. Their 12-month median price target of $26 points toward a slight decline from current levels. One reason analysts aren't upbeat about prospects is that it has been performing poorly on the bottom line. The company isn't profitable yet and it hasn't shown much improvement on that front. Its non-GAAP net loss in its 2025 -- which ended April 30 -- contracted by just 13% while the top line grew by 25%. Of course, is investing in pursuit of growth so that it can capitalize on the immense opportunity in AI software. However, the one-year price target suggests that its market cap could decline further from the current level of about $3.4 billion. Meanwhile, there's another company in the space that's expected to jump nicely in the near term, and could even be worth more than a year from now. DigitalOcean Holdings (NYSE: DOCN) provides a cloud computing platform that's mainly used by small companies and early-stage developers. This explains why its strategy of offering cloud computing servers powered by graphics processing units (GPUs) from the likes of Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices is turning out to be a smart one. For instance, DigitalOcean announced that it is offering its clients computing power from a broad range of Nvidia's GPUs, ranging from its older RTX series to popular AI accelerators such as the H100 and H200. Additionally, AMD's MI300 GPUs are also available through DigitalOcean's platform to customers who want to build AI applications, and the company makes it easy for clients to scale up their use of its services based on their needs. DigitalOcean claims that its customers can save up to 75% in costs by running their AI workloads on its GPU-powered servers as compared to working with hyperscalers. Importantly, DigitalOcean's cloud-based platform can run a wide variety of workloads, including training large language models (LLMs), running inference applications, content creation, and 3D modeling. The cost-effective nature of DigitalOcean's AI-focused offerings helps explain why its customers are now spending more money on its solutions. Its average revenue per user increased by an impressive 14% year over year in the first quarter of 2025. Importantly, it has tremendous opportunities in the GPU-as-a-service market, which is expected to more than 10 times from about $4.3 billion in 2024 to almost $50 billion by 2032. As a result, DigitalOcean seems well-placed to benefit from new customers and also from winning more business from its existing customers. Specifically, management is expecting it to increase its customer base at an annualized rate of 13% over the next couple of years, and foresees existing customers increasing their spending by 5% to 7% every year. The company has targeted an annual revenue growth rate of 18% to 20% through 2027. Moreover, with its anticipated increase in average revenue per user improving its margins, it should book robust bottom-line growth. It is worth noting that DigitalOcean's adjusted earnings increased by 30% year over year in Q1, outpacing the 14% growth in its revenue. So, the improvement in the revenue growth rate that DigitalOcean is forecasting has the potential to increase its earnings power as well. All this helps explain why analysts have a consensus 12-month price target of $38 on DigitalOcean -- 32% higher than its current level. Its market cap today is about $2.60 billion, and the projected jump over the next year could take it to $3.5 billion. That's where market cap currently stands. So if shares remain under pressure over the next year and DigitalOcean delivers the growth that analysts and management are expecting, the latter's market cap could exceed the former's. DigitalOcean is trading at just 15 times forward earnings. That's about half the tech-laden Nasdaq-100 index's average forward earnings multiple. Considering the potential for an acceleration in its earnings growth, the market may decide to reward the stock with a richer valuation multiple. With all that in mind, DigitalOcean looks like a top AI stock to buy right now, not only to hold for the next year, but for the long run as well. Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you'll want to hear this. On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a 'Double Down' stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you're worried you've already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it's too late. And the numbers speak for themselves: Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you'd have $414,949!* Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you'd have $39,868!* Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you'd have $687,764!* Right now, we're issuing 'Double Down' alerts for three incredible companies, available when you join , and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.*Stock Advisor returns as of July 7, 2025 Harsh Chauhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, DigitalOcean, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Prediction: This Stock Will Be Worth More Than 1 Year From Now was originally published by The Motley Fool
