If You'd Invested $100 in Palantir Stock 1 Year Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Today

Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR) stands as a clear-cut leader in the artificial intelligence (AI) software space. The company's early prioritization of data-gathering and analytics technologies helped establish early advantages that helped facilitate huge wins in AI technologies, and the business has been scaling at an incredible pace.

In last year's third quarter, Palantir's revenue jumped 63% year over year to reach $1.18 billion. Meanwhile, the business posted a 40% net income margin. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, the company guided for annual sales growth of 61%. Stellar sales growth and impressive margins help to explain Palantir's incredible stock performance -- and why investors have been willing to pay a premium to own a piece of the company.

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Palantir's business results have kept the stock's hot streak alive

Palantir has been quickly climbing the ranks of the world's most valuable companies and currently has a market capitalization of approximately $423 billion. Over the last year, the company's share price has risen 160% -- a performance that would have turned a $100 investment into $260.

Palantir stock is now up more than 600% over the last five years, and the AI leader has one of the most growth-dependent valuation profiles of any major tech company on the market. The software specialist is currently valued at approximately 67.5 times this year's expected sales and 175.5 times this year's expected earnings, and those valuation metrics reflect expectations that Palantir will continue to post huge sales and earnings growth on the strength of a paradigm-shifting tech portfolio.

Keith Noonan 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.