AI’s investor potential goes far beyond the chip giant.
Perhaps no stock benefited more from the boom in artificial intelligence (AI) than Nvidia. Its dominance in the AI chip market redefined the direction of the company and much of the industry at large.
Unfortunately, many AI investors missed out on Nvidia’s boom. The good news is that most analysts expect AI-driven gains in the technology market for years to come.
To this end, three Motley Fool contributors have ideas on where investors should look next for these gains: Palantir Technologies (PLTR 4.49%), Meta Platforms (META -0.40%), and Tesla (TSLA 8.19%).
Pushing the AI revolution forward
Jake Lerch (Palantir Technologies): I’ve been bullish on Palantir for a while, and the company’s most recent earnings report gives me no reason to change my mind. In short, it is executing at a level that should make every investor sit up and take notice.
The company, which operates an AI-driven platform for government and commercial clients, sits at the forefront of the AI revolution. It helps organizations implement large language models for highly specific purposes.
For example, the company has helped with jobs as diverse as speeding up the underwriting process for insurance companies and managing battlefield assets for the military.
The proof of Palantir’s success can be seen in its results. In the most recent quarter (the three months ending on Sept. 30), the company achieved the following:
- U.S. revenue increased 44% to $499 million.
- Total revenue grew 30% to $726 million.
- Adjusted operating margin was 38%.
- Customer count grew 39%.
Analysts expect that growth to continue. We’re just getting started in the AI revolution, and many organizations have yet to fully explore how they can drive efficiencies with it.
Consensus estimates suggest that Palantir’s revenue will increase 23% in 2025 to roughly $3.4 billion. Those estimates have been rising since the company’s excellent earnings report, and I believe it’s likely that they continue to increase as we head into 2025.
PLTR revenue estimates for next fiscal year; data by YCharts.
In short, Palantir is my top choice for an AI company to own in 2025.
Buy it for its ad business and hold for the AI potential.
Justin Pope (Meta Platforms): There hasn’t been anything wrong with Meta Platforms’ stock, which cruised more than 380% higher since the start of last year. Yet, I think there is still a lot of juice to squeeze here.
First, the stock remains a bargain for the growth you’re getting. Meta trades at a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 25. And analysts estimate the company will grow earnings by an average of 20% annually over the next three to five years.
Assuming Meta hits that number, the stock’s price/earnings-to-growth ratio (PEG) is only 1.3, which is inexpensive for a business as strong as Meta’s.
Now, let’s look deeper. Meta is one of the world’s prominent advertising companies, selling ads to billions of social media users across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The company’s app family had 3.29 billion daily active users as of the third quarter, a 5% year-over-year increase.
Mid-single-digit user growth is impressive, considering that almost half the global population already uses these apps. Growth in users and ad prices are a potent combination for sustained revenue growth.
Meta is leaning heavily into AI, including open-sourcing its Llama AI model and implementing AI tools into its advertising operations. It built an entire business unit focused on AI, Reality Labs, which is still unprofitable due to the massive ongoing investments to accumulate computing resources.
Over time, that unit should turn profitable as revenue builds and these investments tail off. At that point, it could supercharge Meta Platforms’ broader earnings growth. So investors can buy Meta today for its already-compelling valuation proposition and hold for the eventual AI tailwinds that could continue driving earnings growth in the future.
AI could drive the next growth spurt for this electric vehicle (EV) maker
Will Healy (Tesla): Most consumers know Tesla best for Elon Musk and his work to make the automaker the most successful EV company in history.
However, the business that shifts Tesla into a higher gear may be autonomous driving. The company just introduced its fully autonomous Cybercab to the market, and Musk forecasts production of these vehicles will reach 2 million units annually by 2026.
The Cybercab is just one application of its AI and robotics research that could revolutionize driving and other human activities. Its full self-driving (FSD) relies on its inference chip, while its Dojo system will power Tesla’s data centers. It also conducted robotics research that can handle repetitive or dangerous tasks, turning the automaker into a technology powerhouse.
A lot of hope rides on this technology, and investment groups like Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest believe Tesla will eventually derive most of its revenue from selling its robotaxi technology as a service. It speculates this technology could take the stock to $2,600 per share by 2029, a nearly ninefold gain from today’s levels.
For now, automobile-related sales accounted for 88% of Tesla’s $25 billion in the third quarter of 2024, a gain of 8% from year-ago levels. But efforts to reduce its operating expenses boosted the bottom line, so its $2.2 billion net income in the quarter surged 17% higher over the previous year.
It plans an unboxed manufacturing strategy for its robotaxis, increasing efficiency by building subassemblies in separate areas before putting them all together to build the final product.
Despite such efforts, the EV stock is down just under 30% from its 2021 highs. Still, optimism about its future has kept its price-to-earnings ratio at 82, and succeeding with robotaxis could mean it makes ARK Invest’s forecast for a nearly ninefold gain over the next five years a realistic aspiration.
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. Jake Lerch has positions in Nvidia and Tesla. Justin Pope has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Will Healy has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Meta Platforms, Nvidia, Palantir Technologies, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
