Latest news with #dataanalytics
Globe and Mail
18 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Palantir Stock (PLTR) Is the Nasdaq-100's Top Performer. Here's Why
Palantir Technologies (PLTR) has had a stunning 2025 so far. The data analytics firm has surged 62% year-to-date, making it the top performer on the Nasdaq-100 (NDX). After hitting an all-time high of $130 in May, Palantir has firmly established itself as one of the biggest winners from the AI boom, building on its momentum from the past two years. Growing demand for artificial intelligence, a strong Q1 earnings report, and a steady stream of government contracts have fueled this rally. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter Initially known for providing data tools to U.S. government agencies for counterterrorism and military missions, Palantir is now expanding its reach. The company is moving into fields like healthcare and financial services, using generative AI to fuel further growth. Its main platform —the Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) — helps users make faster and smarter choices by using machine learning and large amounts of data. Highlighting its growing credibility, research firm Forrester recently named Palantir a leader in AI technology. The firm also projects that Palantir will grow its revenue by 40% annually to hit $153 billion by 2028, signaling that this pace may still continue. Key Catalysts Driving PLTR Growth One of Palantir's biggest strengths is its deep role in defense and national security. That momentum recently got a major lift when the U.S. Army awarded a new $795 million deal for the Maven Smart System — an AI tool used for data analysis and target tracking. This deal pushes the total value of Palantir's work on Maven to about $1.3 billion, marking its first billion-dollar contract. The company also signed a new deal to support NATO's use of AI, further cementing its role in global defense systems. Secondly, Palantir has kept up its strong financial momentum, beating earnings estimates for seven straight quarters. In Q1 2025, revenue surged 39% year-over-year to $883.85 million, topping forecasts by nearly $22 million. Growth was led by U.S. commercial sales, which jumped 71% to $255 million, while U.S. government revenue climbed 45% to $373 million. Adjusted EPS came in at $0.13, in line with expectations. Looking ahead, Palantir raised its full-year revenue outlook to as high as $3.9 billion — well above both its previous forecast and Wall Street estimates. These strong results have fueled investor confidence and added to the stock's sharp rise this year. What Analysts Are Saying Several analysts remain upbeat about Palantir's long-term prospects. Earlier this year, Morningstar's Mike Giarelli called it 'the next software juggernaut.' More recently, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives highlighted Palantir's expanding role in federal AI initiatives, saying the company is well positioned to benefit from what he called a 'tidal wave' of government AI spending across North America and Europe. That said, even the bulls are cautious when it comes to Palantir's valuation. Despite strong momentum in both commercial and government segments, Palantir's stock continues to trade at extremely high multiples, which many investors view as unsustainable. If growth slows or expectations aren't met, the stock could be vulnerable to a significant pullback. Is PLTR a Good Stock to Buy? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on Palantir Technologies stock based on three Buys, eleven Holds, and four Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. The average PLTR stock price target is $100.13, implying downside potential of 18.14%. See more PLTR analyst ratings
Globe and Mail
21 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Is Palantir a Top AI Stock to Buy in June?
Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR) has rapidly become one of the most popular artificial intelligence (AI) stocks in the market. It's up by more than 600% since the start of 2024 and has gained more than 60% so far in 2025 alone. Few stocks will ever match that sort of jaw-dropping performance, but now, many investors are wondering if it's too late to buy Palantir. I think there's one guiding metric that will inform investors whether it is or not, and the answer may surprise you. Palantir's AI growth is impressive Palantir provides its clients with an AI-powered data analytics software suite. While the ins and outs of what Palantir does are quite complicated, its platform can simply be described as data in, insights out. This basic concept isn't easy in practice, but it has earned Palantir a broad and growing customer base. Palantir's got its start assisting various governments around the world -- and such clients are still its most important customers. It has since then expanded into commercial markets and has seen success in that arena, particularly in the U.S. In Q1, Palantir's fastest growing segment was U.S. commercial, which saw revenue rise by 71% to $255 million. Its U.S. government accounts also saw significant growth, with revenue increasing by 45% to $373 million. One area where Palantir is lagging is global sales. This may not necessarily be Palantir's fault, as AI hasn't been as widely adopted as quickly by businesses worldwide (if you exclude China). Its total commercial sales were up 33% to $397 million in Q1, while total government sales increased by 45% to $487 million. Overall, it's still a rapidly growing business, and if its domestic revenues continue growing at the same pace they have been, Palantir will be just fine. Palantir's profitability has also improved recently, with its profit margin reaching a record high of 24% in Q1. PLTR Profit Margin (Quarterly) data by YCharts. To top it off, in conjunction with its Q1 report, Palantir's management team gave guidance for a strong Q2 -- it expects revenue to rise by 38% year over year. However, Palantir's management has a history of guiding low and then overdelivering, so investors shouldn't be too concerned that Q2's forecast growth rate is slower than Q1's 39%. All of these metrics point to Palantir as still being a successful investment, but there's one problem: the price tag. Palantir's stock is far too expensive As mentioned above, Palantir's stock is up by more than 600% since 2024 began, yet its revenue has only risen by 40% and net income is up 172%. In short, the market is willing to pay more for Palantir's stock than it did in 2024. This occurred by a mechanism known as multiple expansion. Palantir's stock now trades at jaw-dropping valuations. PLTR PS Ratio data by YCharts. Few stocks reach and sustain levels of 212 times forward earnings and nearly 100 times sales. Palantir's execution from here will have to be flawless and outperform expectations, or else the stock will get whacked. To illustrate how expensive Palantir's stock is, let's take a five-year outlook and assume that Palantir's profit margin improves to 30%, its growth rate stays at 40%, and its share count stays flat. Those are incredibly bullish projections, but we're giving Palantir the benefit of the doubt. Should those three things occur, in five years, Palantir will produce $16.8 billion in revenue and $5 billion in profits. That would be incredible growth, but if the stock simply stayed flat from now until then, it would be trading for 58 times earnings at that point, which is still quite expensive. There are so many better options out there for investors than Palantir. The company is growing like few others, but the price you'd have to pay for the stock today already has at least five years of incredible growth baked in. As a result, I think many other stocks will outperform Palantir over the next five years. Should you invest $1,000 in Palantir Technologies right now? Before you buy stock in Palantir Technologies, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Palantir Technologies 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 $638,985!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $853,108!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is978% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to171%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 May 19, 2025
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Is Palantir a Top AI Stock to Buy in June?
Palantir's U.S. growth rate is impressive. Its international sales haven't been gaining quite as rapidly. The stock trades at a premium valuation. 10 stocks we like better than Palantir Technologies › Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR) has rapidly become one of the most popular artificial intelligence (AI) stocks in the market. It's up by more than 600% since the start of 2024 and has gained more than 60% so far in 2025 alone. Few stocks will ever match that sort of jaw-dropping performance, but now, many investors are wondering if it's too late to buy Palantir. I think there's one guiding metric that will inform investors whether it is or not, and the answer may surprise you. Palantir provides its clients with an AI-powered data analytics software suite. While the ins and outs of what Palantir does are quite complicated, its platform can simply be described as data in, insights out. This basic concept isn't easy in practice, but it has earned Palantir a broad and growing customer base. Palantir's got its start assisting various governments around the world -- and such clients are still its most important customers. It has since then expanded into commercial markets and has seen success in that arena, particularly in the U.S. In Q1, Palantir's fastest growing segment was U.S. commercial, which saw revenue rise by 71% to $255 million. Its U.S. government accounts also saw significant growth, with revenue increasing by 45% to $373 million. One area where Palantir is lagging is global sales. This may not necessarily be Palantir's fault, as AI hasn't been as widely adopted as quickly by businesses worldwide (if you exclude China). Its total commercial sales were up 33% to $397 million in Q1, while total government sales increased by 45% to $487 million. Overall, it's still a rapidly growing business, and if its domestic revenues continue growing at the same pace they have been, Palantir will be just fine. Palantir's profitability has also improved recently, with its profit margin reaching a record high of 24% in Q1. To top it off, in conjunction with its Q1 report, Palantir's management team gave guidance for a strong Q2 -- it expects revenue to rise by 38% year over year. However, Palantir's management has a history of guiding low and then overdelivering, so investors shouldn't be too concerned that Q2's forecast growth rate is slower than Q1's 39%. All of these metrics point to Palantir as still being a successful investment, but there's one problem: the price tag. As mentioned above, Palantir's stock is up by more than 600% since 2024 began, yet its revenue has only risen by 40% and net income is up 172%. In short, the market is willing to pay more for Palantir's stock than it did in 2024. This occurred by a mechanism known as multiple expansion. Palantir's stock now trades at jaw-dropping valuations. Few stocks reach and sustain levels of 212 times forward earnings and nearly 100 times sales. Palantir's execution from here will have to be flawless and outperform expectations, or else the stock will get whacked. To illustrate how expensive Palantir's stock is, let's take a five-year outlook and assume that Palantir's profit margin improves to 30%, its growth rate stays at 40%, and its share count stays flat. Those are incredibly bullish projections, but we're giving Palantir the benefit of the doubt. Should those three things occur, in five years, Palantir will produce $16.8 billion in revenue and $5 billion in profits. That would be incredible growth, but if the stock simply stayed flat from now until then, it would be trading for 58 times earnings at that point, which is still quite expensive. There are so many better options out there for investors than Palantir. The company is growing like few others, but the price you'd have to pay for the stock today already has at least five years of incredible growth baked in. As a result, I think many other stocks will outperform Palantir over the next five years. Before you buy stock in Palantir Technologies, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Palantir Technologies 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 $638,985!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $853,108!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 978% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 Keithen Drury has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Is Palantir a Top AI Stock to Buy in June? was originally published by The Motley Fool
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
The Surprising Ways AI Is Reshaping Your Favorite Brands
Your favorite snack didn't end up on that shelf by accident. Neither did the perfect shade of lipstick or the limited-edition cold brew flavor you didn't know you needed until you saw it. Behind it all? AI. Consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands aren't just experimenting with AI. The forward leaning ones are rebuilding themselves with it. Shopper behaviors are shifting fast. Supply chains? Fragile. Attention spans? Shorter than ever. To keep up, CPG brands aren't tweaking around the edges. They're using AI to enhance everything from how products are imagined to how they're delivered, priced, and personalized. AI is fueling margin growth, streamlining operations, and reshaping how brands connect with customers. AI is in product development. It's powering how factories run. It's optimizing supply chain operations. It's in the algorithms behind pricing. It's in the tone of that personalized ad you just scrolled past. AI is fundamentally changing the way brands create, compete, and connect and sometimes in surprising and unexpected ways. AI is helping CPG brands build smarter, sell faster, and waste less. AI tools are able to look at large amounts of data quickly and help humans make better predictions and data-driven decisions. By scanning massive datasets including everything from consumer preferences, emerging trends, or suggested ingredient combinations, AI doesn't just identify what's popular now. It predicts what's next. Formulations that once took months to create can now be simulated in minutes. AI fine-tunes everything from flavor profiles to packaging appeal, helping brands launch with precision, not guesswork. But it's not just about what gets made. AI is overhauling demand forecasting by analyzing historical sales data, market shifts, and even weather patterns. The result? Leaner inventories, less waste, and products that show up right where and when customers expect them. Figuring out the right price for goods has long been a moving target, that used to come down to best guesses and luck trying to perfectly match supply with demand. Now, AI is able to track multiple data points in real time from real-time fluctuations in demand, competitor pricing, and consumer behavior. CPG brands can now adjust prices dynamically to boost revenue and stay competitive without missing a beat. Behind the scenes, AI is rebuilding how CPG products get made and moved. AI tools are able to help predict when there might be spikes in demand. AI tools are able to map the fastest, most efficient delivery routes. They can also spot potential bottlenecks in supply chains before they become major issues. With AI analyzing data across suppliers, factories, and retailers, the entire supply chain becomes leaner and faster. Shipping delays? Cut. Fuel costs? Trimmed. Inside the plant, AI-powered computer vision systems are able to catch things that human eyes often miss. Everything from misplaced labels, inconsistencies, contamination risks, or imperfections in products are now able to be caught and corrected in real time. Quality control isn't just better. It's smarter. Then there's sustainability. AI doesn't just help companies say they're green—it shows them how. It uncovers where resources are wasted. It provides recommendations on how to cut excess packaging. It recommends where energy usage can be reduced. These small tweaks across many areas of operations can have big impacts. For CPG manufacturers, AI isn't just a tech upgrade. It's the engine behind cleaner, faster, more resilient operations. AI doesn't just shape what's made or how it's shipped. It's also changing how brands talk to, engage with, and respond to customers. By analysing customer data such as browsing habits, purchase histories, and demographic data, AI turns guesswork into precision. Promotions can now feel timely. Product recommendations feel intuitive. And content feels more personal, because it is. Across channels and various touchpoints, AI helps brands meet customers where they are, with the right message, at the right time, with what they actually want. But engagement isn't just about outreach. It's about awareness. AI tools are able to scan reviews, social media posts, and feedback loops to gauge real-time sentiment. Are customers excited? Confused? Losing trust? Brands no longer need to wait for quarterly reports. AI surfaces patterns fast, flagging risks and revealing opportunities in real time allowing brands to react immediately. CPG brands are also increasingly using chatbots and virtual agents for customer support help. AI-powered bots are able to answer frequently asked questions, resolve order questions, and diffuse complaints before they escalate. They're fast, friendly, consistent, and always on. When AI handles the routine, human teams can focus on the more complex and nuanced inquiries. AI is being shown to provide quicker resolutions to customer questions and problems, help with customer service agent burnout, and improve the overall experience on both sides. Even in physical stores, AI is showing its value. AI can decipher foot traffic patterns, optimize shelf placement of different products, and fine-tune promotions based on real-world behavior allowing for better product placement and visibility, smarter merchandising, and ultimately driving more sales. The future of CPG isn't just efficient. It's responsive. Adaptive. Personalized at scale. AI makes this future possible at scale.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
20 Ways Data Is Transforming Financial Planning & Decision-Making
Data analytics has become a game-changer for companies looking to make smarter, faster and more strategic decisions. By turning raw data into actionable insights, finance teams are improving forecasting, managing real-time risk and aligning resources with evolving priorities. With the right data analytics program, you can streamline your processes, uncover growth opportunities and maintain resilience in uncertain markets. To that end, 20 Forbes Finance Council members discuss how data analytics has shaped financial planning and decision-making in their organizations and how you can apply this to your own operations. Data analysis helps us make informed choices that align with our clients' financial goals and risk tolerance. We apply data analytics to guide our investment decisions, manage risk and personalize client outcomes, prioritizing long-term planning over short-term market trends. It's about thoughtful application, not just chasing big data hype. - Sonya Thadhani Mughal, Bailard, Inc. Data analytics helps us and our clients, especially CFOs and accounting leaders, move from hindsight to foresight. We're using it to spot trends, flag anomalies and run real-time scenario models. That means faster, more confident decisions across budgeting, forecasting and planning—grounded in data, not guesswork. - Helen Mason, Riveron In the early stages of the venture capital space, data analytics is critical in shaping our financial planning and decision-making process by enabling us to leverage financial and operational benchmarks across sectors, such as SaaS multiples, burn multiples and revenue per employee. These insights help us guide founders on realistic fundraising strategies, efficient runway planning and long-term exit potential. - Armine Galstyan, SmartGateVC We rely on data to track and evaluate efforts across the company. We utilize various software to identify trends, simplify current processes and forecast future movements regarding the real estate market. Particularly when it comes to getting the word out about our business through advertising, we use data to understand which efforts have been lucrative and adjust spending accordingly. - Christopher Steward, Legacy Group Capital Our company works with many organizations to close this very gap. By using predictive insights drawn directly from financial statements, our clients can effectively identify risky suppliers and take action to prevent disruption. We've seen time and time again how data analytics drives stronger decision-making and more resilient operations. - John D'Aleo, RapidRatings Forbes Finance Council is an invitation-only organization for executives in successful accounting, financial planning and wealth management firms. Do I qualify? Data analytics has evolved beyond traditional forecasting and budgeting. It has become an active decision validation engine. Not only do we use it to plan for the future, but we now use it to stress-test decisions before they're made. We run predictive models that simulate how a single strategic move will impact cash flow, tax exposure, client churn and operational capacity over time horizons. - Karla Dennis, KDA Inc. At our company, data analytics empowers us to work smarter, not harder. By leveraging real-time data into a financial planning and analysis tool, we're able to forecast more accurately, optimize resource allocation and align financial planning with our long-term growth strategy. Moving forward, the continued integration of AI will only accelerate this process. - Omar Choucair, Trintech It gives us real-time insights into everything from customer trends to operational performance, allowing us to be agile and forward-thinking. It means we're not just reacting to change—we're anticipating it. Having clear, reliable data at our fingertips helps us stay focused on long-term goals while staying responsive to short-term shifts. It's become an essential part of how we run the business. - Andrew Collis, Moneypenny Data is king. At our company, data analytics drives smarter risk assessment, dynamic cash flow forecasting and personalized client solutions, enabling us to make faster, evidence-based financial decisions. It's become integral to everything from loan approvals to strategic planning, helping us optimize performance and fuel sustainable growth. - Joseph Lustberg, Upwise Capital Data drives nearly every strategic decision we make. We track how clients use the tool, what features they return to, where they drop off and how much they generate. By analyzing client behavior, we go beyond forecasting to shape product direction, hiring plans, pricing strategy and customer focus. It ensures our decisions are grounded in real-world usage, not assumptions. - Zehra Soysal, With the help of ever-changing technology, data analytics is improving the time it takes to make decisions. As it helps quickly analyze past data alongside current statistics and various expectations, it illustrates options and stress-tests various scenarios, resulting in quicker decision-making and potentially saving money and time due to improved efficiency. - Letitia Berbaum, Blue Sands Wealth The ability to make the right offer to the right customer at the right time is critical, so predictive analytics is key for high-impact decisions. Teams charged with driving growth and improving financial lives use analytics to determine where our solutions can have the greatest impact. As emerging trends can shift overnight, our data must be as timely and inclusive as possible. - Lindsey Downing, TransUnion To support expansion over the past few years fueled by client growth, we've adopted a data analytics strategy that provides firm leaders and managers with real-time insights into project financials, resource utilization and client profitability. The integration of finance with operations facilitates informed decisions, increased efficiency, better resource allocation and growth. - Paul Peterson, Wiss Leveraging analytics to drive financial and operational efficiency enhances understanding of how departments contribute to overall financial performance and empowers leaders to make smart business decisions. Automation and AI produce data-driven insights, enabling accounting and finance teams to navigate risks and seize new opportunities by aligning short-term execution with long-term strategy. - Razzak Jallow, FloQast Analytics sharpens our strategic focus. By evaluating historical performance and external variables, we identify risks and opportunities faster. This approach helps prioritize investments based on projected ROI rather than guesswork. Analytics also enhances cost efficiency. Anomaly detection flags unexpected expense spikes, while scenario analysis tests how variables might affect cash flow. - Anatoly Iofe, IceBridge Financial Group, LLC Data analytics enables better forecasting, risk assessment and resource allocation. By leveraging predictive modeling and real-time insights, companies can identify trends, personalize client strategies and optimize operations, leading to more informed and proactive financial decisions. - Elie Nour, NOUR PRIVATE WEALTH Data analytics has long been an integral part of our financial planning. It enables us to make data-driven decisions, identify emerging market trends and optimize resource allocation. By analyzing past financial performance and forecasting future trends, we're able to assess potential risks and identify growth opportunities faster and more effectively. - Trixy Castro, TRX Capital It's not just about the numbers anymore. It's about finding patterns, telling stories, relating with clients and actively guiding clients to better outcomes. Data analytics helps us to identify behavior trends, such as when large purchases are typically made or when money is typically requested. Being able to anticipate their needs before they call us. Priceless! - Bob Chitrathorn, Wealth Planning By Bob Chitrathorn of Simplified Wealth Management Data analytics allows financial planning to shift from static to dynamic forecasting and real-time strategy. Financial firms can improve risk model precision, allocate capital efficiently and uncover opportunities faster, enhancing both agility and confidence in decision-making by leveraging behavioral, transactional and operational data. - Tomer Guriel, ezbob Ltd. Data analytics is redefining financial strategy—enabling precision forecasting, dynamic scenario modeling and data-driven capital allocation. It transforms planning into a proactive discipline, where decisions are faster, risks are anticipated and financial agility becomes a competitive advantage. - Swati Deepak Kumar (Nema), Citigroup The information provided here is not investment, tax, or financial advice. You should consult with a licensed professional for advice concerning your specific situation.
