|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|
Palantir cruised past high expectations this quarter.
AI helped power the results at both Meta and Microsoft.
Roku shares plunged following earnings, but the quarter still showed some promising signs.
With earnings season winding down, a few names are standing out for all the right reasons, while one big player was struggling to find its footing.
Here are three stocks that delivered impressive results and one that came up short.
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »
With a sky-high valuation, Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) needed to deliver an exceptional performance this earnings season, and it did just that. Its second-quarter revenue growth accelerated for the eighth straight quarter to 48%. U.S. commercial sales once again led the way, surging 93% as more companies embrace its artificial intelligence (AI) platform. Commercial remaining deal value, meanwhile, surged 145%, while its net dollar retention jumped to 128%. That shows that customers are not only signing up for its platform but also quickly expanding usage.
Its U.S. government business remains strong, with U.S. government revenue climbing by 53%. The company continues to win new contracts, including a 10-year, $10 billion one with the Army. The one weak spot remains the international commercial sector, but that feels more like a delay than anything.
The stock is expensive, no doubt, but with growth hitting a new gear, it is tough to bet against Palantir right now. Meanwhile, the company has one of the largest AI growth opportunities around.
Meta Platforms' (NASDAQ: META) big bets on AI once again bore fruit in Q2. Its Q2 revenue jumped 22%, while its earnings per share surged 38%. Even its massive user base increased by 6% year over year in the quarter to 3.48 billion daily active users across its apps. That's not bad for a company that many investors were trying to write off as irrelevant just a few years ago.
Meta's strength is being driven by its AI investments, which are improving both user and advertiser experiences. With the help of AI, Meta has pushed more individualized content to users, which is keeping them on its sites longer. At the same time, its AI tools are helping advertisers create more effective campaigns and improve targeting. That led to an 11% increase in ad impressions and a 9% rise in average price per ad.
The impact of AI on its ad business should remain a growth driver for Meta moving forward, while it is just starting to roll out ads on its newer platform, Threads, and popular messaging platform WhatsApp. The company is also investing heavily in both AI infrastructure and talent. That should set the company up well for the future.
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) closed out its fiscal year with one of its strongest quarters in years. Its cloud computing unit, Azure, saw its revenue jump 39%, marking its eighth consecutive quarter of above 30% growth. Demand is still running ahead of capacity, even as the company aggressively invests in the business. Its broader intelligent cloud segment revenue climbed 26% to nearly $30 billion.
Its software business also saw robust growth, driven by increased adoption of its Microsoft 365 AI assistant copilots. Microsoft 365 consumer revenue surged 21%, helped by a price increase, while enterprise revenue jumped 16%. Even its "more personal computing" segment showed some momentum, with revenue up 9%, led by search and Xbox growth.
Right now, Microsoft is firing on all cylinders, which makes it an attractive long-term option for investors.
Image source: Getty Images.
While the above stocks saw their shares climb following strong reports, one stock that sank after its results was Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU). That said, I think its quarterly results were better than the market gave it credit for. For its second quarter, Roku's revenue rose 15% to $1.1 billion, while EPS came in positive instead of the loss analysts expected.
Roku breaks out its results in two segments: platform and devices. While the company is known for its streaming devices, this segment has a lower gross margin, focusing more on entering people's homes. It's the company's platform business, from which it derives ad sales and revenue-sharing as its main business. In the quarter, platform revenue also climbed 18%, while its segment gross profits rose 13%. The company even guided to profitability in Q3, which was earlier than expected, and Roku tends to guide very conservatively.
That said, investors appeared disappointed that device sales slipped, while platform gross margin continues to shrink -- although this is largely due to a shift more toward advertising as opposed to getting a share of signups to other streaming services through its platform. However, Roku is trying to build momentum in advertising with new tools and partnerships, while also pushing its own channel and integrating its recent acquisition of Frndly TV.
Roku's shares have been nearly cut in half over the past five years, but the stock appears to have found a bottom. Roku's chart is rallying back from the plunge it saw after reporting earnings. While Roku was a clear laggard this earnings season, the setup moving forward looks promising.
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 $661,268!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,045,818!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,048% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 184% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.
*Stock Advisor returns as of August 25, 2025
Geoffrey Seiler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Palantir Technologies, and Roku. 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.
| 7 min | |
| 13 min | |
| 21 min | |
| 23 min | |
| 23 min | |
| 27 min | |
| 40 min | |
| 1 hour | |
| 1 hour | |
| 1 hour | |
| 1 hour | |
| 2 hours | |
| 2 hours | |
| 2 hours | |
| 2 hours |
Join thousands of traders who make more informed decisions with our premium features. Real-time quotes, advanced visualizations, backtesting, and much more.
Learn more about FINVIZ*Elite