The technology sector has gotten off to a rough start this year. According to data from Yahoo! Finance, the tech sector has declined by 13.6% in 2025 (as of April 24). Underneath the broader technology umbrella, the software infrastructure subsector has dropped by roughly 10% on the year.
One software stock that has demonstrated some resiliency compared its peers is data analytics platform Palantir Technologies (PLTR 0.39%). As of this writing, shares of Palantir have gained 33% this year -- making it the best performer among Nasdaq-100 stocks.
One of the catalysts fueling enthusiasm for Palantir is the company's consistent demonstration showing how its artificial intelligence (AI) software applications are used by large enterprises. A few weeks ago, Palantir struck a partnership with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Unsurprisingly, shares experienced a brief jump on this news.
Below, I'm going to break down why this deal with NATO could be a game changer for how AI is deployed in the public sector. More importantly, I'll make the case for why Palantir sits in a unique position to take advantage of the public sector's interest in AI and how the company appears to be supercharged for even more growth.
NASDAQ: PLTR
Key Data Points
Taking a closer look at Palantir's revenue breakdown
Palantir's AI applications are sold across the public and private sectors. On the commercial side of the house, large corporations use Palantir to help them organize data across disparate systems and synthesize these workloads into actionable insights. On the government side, Palantir helps the Department of Defense (DOD) on different military and stealth operations.
Per the company's annual filing, Palantir bifurcates its revenue into two categories: government and commercial. In 2024, roughly 55% of Palantir's total revenue stemmed from the government. Taking this one step further, Palantir's 2024 revenue was split into the following geographic demographics: 66% for the U.S., 11% for the United Kingdom, and 23% for the rest of the world.
Given the data above, it's clear that Palantir relies on the public sector for much of its deal flow. In addition, the company's heavy concentration in the U.S. signals that Palantir's presence overseas is still in early stages.
Image source: Getty Images.
The NATO deal could be a game changer
If you aren't familiar with NATO, the organization represents an alliance comprising 32 members -- 30 European countries, Canada, and the U.S. In essence, NATO is a coalition of different nations that have agreed to defend one another militarily.
According to publicly available information, NATO will be deploying Palantir's Maven Smart System (MSS) to assist with a number of military and battlefield operations. Palantir's MSS brings a unique blend of large language models, generative AI, and machine learning to mission-critical operations ranging from "intelligence fusion and targeting, battlespace awareness and planning, and accelerated decision-making."
While NATO is not a government agency per se, its partnership with Palantir could represent a strategic channel for international lead generation as the company looks to grow beyond the U.S. Furthermore, given Palantir's existing ties to the DOD and now its relationship with NATO, I think it's highly likely that U.S. military allies may choose to evaluate how Palantir's capabilities can assist them for their own defense protocols.
Is Palantir stock a buy right now?
Although I am encouraged by the NATO deal, this progress alone does not warrant buying Palantir stock. It still remains to be seen how this deal impacts the company's growth over time, and if it does indeed help Palantir segue into more international markets and government business outside the U.S. military.
PLTR PS Ratio data by YCharts
Based on the trends in the chart above, Palantir trades at an enormous premium compared to other leading players in the software realm on a price-to-sales basis. In some ways, I think this premium could imply that some future growth prospects are already baked into Palantir's share price -- as optimism appears to be on the rise, despite ongoing turbulence in the capital markets and the economic uncertainty around new tariff policies around the globe.
If you are a growth investor, I think the most prudent strategy for investing in Palantir is to use dollar-cost averaging over a time horizon of many years. This method removes any trepidation you may feel related to timing, and instead allows you to invest in a high-quality AI business at different price points over time.
