Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to be one of the biggest themes in the market, and for good reason. It is one of the most-promising technological innovations of all time, and it's still in the early innings.
Let's look at three AI leaders that you can consider for your portfolio.
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1. Palantir
Palantir Technologies (PLTR -0.14%) has been one of the market's biggest winners the past two years, as its AI Platform (AIP) has become the go-to tool for organizations that want to deploy AI to help solve real-world problems. Instead of building large language models (LLMs), Palantir has focused on the workflow and applications layer of AI. In doing so, it's developed a platform that gathers and then connects data so organizations can use AI to make better decisions. In many ways, it's more like an AI operating system than just another piece of enterprise software.
The company's growth has been explosive, and continues to accelerate. In Q2, its revenue jumped 48% to $1 billion, while its U.S. commercial sales nearly doubled, up 93% to $306 million. The company is seeing strong growth through both attracting new customers, as well as existing customers expanding quickly.
The U.S. government remains it largest customer, and contracts just continue to roll in. This includes a $10 billion Army deal and a recent deal with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).
The big knock on the stock is its valuation. Palantir trades at eye-popping multiples, and any slip in execution could punish the stock. That said, the opportunity in front of it is just too large to ignore. Customers are still in the early stages of rolling out AIP, international markets remain untapped, and the introduction of new AI agents could help accelerate adoption even further.
Palantir has established itself as an AI leader, and the long-term setup looks intriguing. Just expect to ride some volatility, as many of the largest companies in the world have experienced significant drawdowns before rebounding and soaring to new heights.
2. Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms (META 0.58%) is currently using AI to strengthen its core social media business, but it also has big future plans for the technology.
It developed its own proprietary Llama models, which it has incorporated into its platform to enhance both the user and advertiser experiences. Meta is using AI to make better content recommendations, which is keeping people on its platforms longer. Meanwhile, it's also using AI to help advertisers create ad campaign and better target users.
This dynamic was evident in Q2, as Meta's advertising revenue soared 22% to $46.6 billion. Both ad impressions and ad pricing moved higher, demonstrating how AI is playing an important role at the company. Meanwhile, Meta is just scratching the surface with WhatsApp and Threads. The company is just beginning to roll out ads on both platforms, giving it another growth opportunity.
That said, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has even bigger ambitions when it comes to AI. He has made it clear he wants Meta to be a leader in "personal superintelligence." As such, the company has been pouring money into recruiting top AI talent to pursue his vision.
Meta has the cash flow and balance sheet to make big bets in AI, and Zuckerberg appears willing to do just that. Combined with how AI has already improved its social media business, this is a stock you want to own long term.
3. Microsoft
Microsoft (MSFT 0.40%) wasted no time making AI a central part of its business. Its early investment in OpenAI gave it initial exclusive access to cutting-edge AI models that allowed it to roll out AI copilots. These copilots have been embedded throughout its Microsoft 365 suite of productivity tools, which are now starting to catch on with enterprise customers.
This has been helping drive solid growth in its already-dominant enterprise software business, including a 16% jump in revenue last quarter.
The even bigger story for Microsoft, though, is its cloud computing unit Azure. Revenue last quarter soared 39%, and it could have been higher if the company had not run into capacity constraints. Developers continue to be attracted to its access to OpenAI's models, and it was the first to have access.
Microsoft is ramping up capital expenditures (capex) spending to meet demand, with a focus on adding more graphics processing units (GPUs) and servers that can directly support AI workloads and lead to increased revenue. Meanwhile, Microsoft thinks quantum computing could become another big growth driver for its cloud business down the road.
Overall, Microsoft remains one of the best-positioned companies in AI. And while there has been some tension between it and OpenAI this year, it's worth remembering that Microsoft also has a very large and attractive investment in the AI model leader. Between that and its strong cloud computing and enterprise software business, Microsoft looks like a long-term AI winner.
