Should You Forget Palantir Technologies and Buy These 3 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks Right Now?

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to be the hottest investing topic on Wall Street, and arguably no stock has performed like Palantir Technologies has. The software company's growth has accelerated since it launched its proprietary AIP platform for AI applications in mid-2023.

As a result, Palantir Technologies is up over 1,900% in just under two and a half years.

It's often wise to lean into winning stocks, and Palantir's artificial intelligence (AI)-driven opportunities could fuel growth for the foreseeable future. However, trading at an enterprise value-to-sales ratio of nearly 100, Palantir's valuation has become egregiously steep.

Therefore, it may be wise to forget about Palantir Technologies, for now, and consider a few other leading AI companies with promising growth opportunities and far more reasonable price tags.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Nvidia

There is a massive and ongoing investment cycle as companies spend hundreds of billions of dollars to build data centers to train and operate AI models. Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has emerged as the industry standard in AI chips, with some industry estimates pegging its market share at approximately 77% in 2025.

Data center AI chips have become the majority of Nvidia's business today. That can be scary, but data center investments have remained strong. The broader technology sector seems to be in a generational cycle as it lays the foundation for AI and what it could become over the coming years.

Despite its stock price soaring in recent years, Nvidia trades at a reasonable price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 46. Meanwhile, analysts estimate the company will grow earnings by an average of 35% annually over the long term. That's compelling value for that anticipated growth, assuming Nvidia and AI sustain their momentum.

2. Meta Platforms

One of Nvidia's largest customers is social media giant Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META). CEO Mark Zuckerberg has the company leaning aggressively into AI. Meta has developed and open-sourced its AI model, Llama, which has garnered over 1 billion downloads. The company has integrated AI models into its social media apps to drive engagement and ad monetization. It sells electronic hardware, including virtual reality headsets and AI smart glasses.

Meta Platforms is still in the early innings of its AI business ambitions. Reality Labs, the segment housing all of Meta's virtual reality and AI projects, still operates at a loss. Fortunately, the core business continues to thrive and drive growth.

The company's social media apps, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads, continue to grow. Total daily active users rose 6% year over year to 3.43 billion in the first quarter of 2025. Analysts estimate Meta Platforms will grow earnings by an average of over 17% annually over the long term. That growth makes the stock a strong buy at its current P/E ratio (25), assuming the company can meet those expectations.

3. Amazon

Since AI applications typically run on the cloud, it is a tremendous growth catalyst for cloud companies like Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). The e-commerce giant happens to operate the world's leading cloud platform, Amazon Web Services (AWS), which is the company's largest profit center. In Q1 2025, Amazon's AWS revenue grew nearly 17% from a year ago to $29.2 billion.

These tailwinds should continue for years to come. Research by Roots Analysis estimates the public cloud market could grow to $3.36 trillion by 2035, a 17.5% annualized growth rate over the next decade. As the market leader, Amazon should directly benefit from this.

The recent tariff drama has kept the stock price down from its highs, but long-term investors could use this as a buying opportunity. The stock's current P/E ratio of 33 should set the path for strong investment returns if Amazon can grow earnings at a 19% annualized pace over the long term, as analysts predict.

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John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Justin Pope has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Meta Platforms, Nvidia, and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.