Can BigBear.ai's AI Platform Ride the $1.4T Global AI Wave?

BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc. BBAI is positioning itself at the intersection of national security priorities and a generational surge in artificial intelligence investment. The company’s second-quarter 2025 results reflected near-term turbulence, wherein revenues declined 18% year over year to $32.5 million due to disruptions in U.S. Army programs, and adjusted EBITDA widened to a loss of $8.5 million. However, management emphasized that these setbacks are temporary and tied to contract transitions, not demand erosion.

What stands out is BigBear.ai’s strengthened financial footing. With $391 million in cash and a net positive cash position for the first time in its history, the company now has the liquidity to pursue both organic initiatives and targeted acquisitions. That balance sheet strength provides flexibility to scale aggressively as global AI adoption accelerates.

The recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill (OB3) allocates $170 billion for DHS and $150 billion for DoD, including $16 billion earmarked for AI autonomy—directly aligning with BigBear.ai’s ConductorOS drone swarming software and Shipyard AI logistics platform. Meanwhile, biometric solutions like veriScan are gaining traction at airports and seaports, reinforcing their position in border security.

Global partnerships further enhance growth prospects. Deals in the UAE and Panama highlight BigBear.ai’s ability to export its AI portfolio beyond U.S. federal markets, tapping into the projected $1.4 trillion global AI investment wave.

In the near term, execution risk remains, but with deepening pipelines, cash to deploy, and sector tailwinds, BigBear.ai is well placed to capture outsized opportunities in mission-critical AI.

BigBear.ai’s Competitors in the AI Defense and Security Arena

When evaluating BigBear.ai, it is essential to compare its positioning with Palantir Technologies PLTR and C3.ai AI, two of the most prominent players in mission-critical AI. Palantir has established itself as a dominant force in government analytics and battlefield decision platforms, consistently leveraging long-standing federal ties. Palantir continues to expand across defense and intelligence, making it a direct rival to BigBear.ai’s federal AI initiatives.

C3.ai, meanwhile, is carving a niche in enterprise-scale AI deployments across defense, energy, and manufacturing. C3.ai has gained traction with its broad suite of pre-built AI applications, positioning itself as a flexible alternative to BigBear.ai’s specialized platforms. Both Palantir and C3.ai possess deeper scale and visibility, but BigBear.ai’s focus on biometric security, drone autonomy, and logistics AI creates differentiation.

BBAI’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates

Shares of the company have gained 17.8% in the past three months, outperforming the Zacks Computers - IT Services industry, the Zacks Computer and Technology sector and the S&P 500 index. A key driver of the rally is BigBear.ai’s expanding footprint in U.S. defense and homeland security.

BBAI Price Performance

In terms of its forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio, BBAI stock is trading at 11.76, down from the industry’s 17.26.

BBAI’s P/S Ratio (Forward 12-Month) vs. Industry

Over the past 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BBAI’s 2025 loss per share has widened to $1.10 from 41 cents. The company had reported the same in the year-ago period.
 

BBAI stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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