Data as of:
LIVE
PLTR
Palantir Technologies Inc. · Technology
$176.24
+2.74% this month
VERSUS
COMPARE
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation · Technology
$237.75
+2.18% this month
Comparison scoreboard
PLTR LEADS 3/5AI Scorei
PLTR ✓69.3
IBM 39.3
1Y Returni
PLTR ✓+3.51%
IBM -7.68%
Fwd P/Ei
PLTR 80.50
IBM ✓17.90
Target Up.i
PLTR +2.89%
IBM ✓+3.96%
Op. Margini
PLTR ✓47.12%
IBM 16.55%
Metrics last refreshed: 9/18/2026
Quick take
PLTR vs IBM Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Palantir and IBM are both enterprise software and services companies, but at very different life-cycle stages. Palantir is a high-growth AI analytics company deploying LLMs on enterprise data with a premium growth valuation. IBM is a legacy enterprise IT company in transformation toward hybrid cloud and AI with a value-oriented dividend yield. Palantir bets on AI adoption acceleration; IBM bets on its incumbent enterprise relationships and Red Hat hybrid cloud to drive slow but steady revenue recovery.
PLTR vs IBM is high-growth AI data analytics and operations platform with government intelligence credibility and AIP enterprise AI deployment (Palantir) versus legacy enterprise IT giant in hybrid cloud transformation with Red Hat OpenShift and deep Fortune 500 relationships (IBM) — growth AI platform vs value legacy transformation.
Live analysis · updated 9/18/2026
PLTR holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. PLTR has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+3.51% vs -7.68%), though IBM has the better forward P/E setup (17.90x vs 80.50x for PLTR). PLTR leads on both revenue growth (92.80%) and operating margin (47.12%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies similar upside for both: +2.89% for PLTR and +3.96% for IBM.
Want a full valuation workup? 46-section report — AI Score, Monte Carlo forecast, bull/bear case, DCF, and more.
Normalized 1Y performance
PLTR
IBM
Recent returns
PLTR
IBM
Analyst price targets & sentiment
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
PLTR · 22 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Hold (3.1/5.0)
21 Buy / 9 Hold / 2 Sell
Price target range
analyst low$40.00
analyst mean$191.68
current price$176.24
+2.9% upside to analyst mean
IBM · 20 analysts
STRONG BUYHOLDSTRONG SELL
Buy (2.4/5.0)
13 Buy / 10 Hold / 2 Sell
Price target range
analyst low$170.00
analyst high$300.00
analyst mean$244.91
current price$237.75
+4.0% upside to analyst mean
Who should consider this stock?
PLTR may suit investors who:
- prefer high-growth AI analytics platform exposure with AIP enterprise AI deployment uniquely solving the LLM-on-proprietary-data problem for large organizations
- value Palantir's government intelligence and defense credentials as validation of platform capability for the most demanding data security use cases
- want enterprise AI software upside with the belief that Palantir's AIP Boot Camp conversion flywheel will accelerate commercial customer adoption
- are comfortable with 40–60x revenue valuation requiring sustained exceptional growth and Microsoft/AWS/Databricks competition in enterprise data analytics
IBM may suit investors who:
- prefer value-oriented enterprise IT dividend yield with Red Hat OpenShift as the hidden gem — IBM's Kubernetes platform leadership provides hybrid cloud compounding within a value stock
- value IBM's deep Fortune 500 C-suite relationships enabling AI consulting services sales to the largest organizations regardless of AI platform technology choices
- want legacy enterprise IT exposure with mainframe installed base stickiness and slow but steady hybrid cloud transformation providing earnings stability
- are comfortable with slow revenue growth, legacy IT transformation complexity, and Watson/watsonx AI platform having repeatedly underdelivered vs ambitious claims
Performance & AI score
| Metric | PLTR | IBM |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 69.3 | 39.3 |
| AI ranki | #48 | #1266 |
| Latest closei | $176.24 | $237.75 |
| 1M returni | +2.74% | +2.18% |
| 6M returni | +13.21% | -5.04% |
| 1Y returni | +3.51% | -7.68% |
$10,000 invested — hypothetical growth (dividends reinvested)
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | PLTR | IBM |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $10.47K (+4.7%) started 2025-09-17 | $9.18K (-8.2%) started 2025-09-17 |
| 5Y ago | $66.38K (+563.8%) started 2021-09-20 | $25.79K (+157.9%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $185.52K (+1755.2%) started 2020-09-30 | $37.59K (+275.9%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
Valuation & upside potential
| Metric | PLTR | IBM |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $447.67B | $221.96B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 159.22 | 20.92 |
| Forward P/Ei | 80.50 | 17.90 |
| Price/Salesi | 96.76 | 3.98 |
| EV/Revenuei | 71.25 | 4.04 |
| Analyst targeti | $191.68 | $244.91 |
| Target upsidei | +2.89% | +3.96% |
Growth, profitability & risk
| Metric | PLTR | IBM |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 92.80% | 1.10% |
| Earnings growthi | 215.40% | -1.80% |
| EPS growthi | +215.40% | -1.80% |
| FCF margini | +35.07% | +17.44% |
| Operating margini | 47.12% | 16.55% |
| Profit margini | 49.01% | 15.52% |
| ROIC proxyi | 38.10% | 34.46% |
| Return on equityi | 38.10% | 34.46% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | 2.87% |
| Payout ratioi | 0.00% | 59.77% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | No increase yet |
| Betai | 1.56 | 0.70 |
| Debt/equityi | 2.14 | 188.97 |
| Current ratioi | 7.23 | 0.79 |
| Quick ratioi | 7.09 | 0.61 |
Correlation
Over the past year, PLTR and IBM have moved weakly in the same direction (correlation of 0.27), based on daily returns.
1Y
0.27
-1.0+1.0
5Y
0.22
-1.0+1.0
10Y
0.16
-1.0+1.0
Drawdown & downside risk
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
1Y risk snapshot
PLTR max drawdowni48.22%
IBM max drawdowni37.50%
PLTR max wkly dropi17.88%
IBM max wkly dropi30.08%
5Y risk snapshot
PLTR max drawdowni79.14%
IBM max drawdowni37.50%
PLTR max wkly dropi38.89%
IBM max wkly dropi30.08%
10Y risk snapshot
PLTR max drawdowni84.62%
IBM max drawdowni40.59%
PLTR max wkly dropi38.89%
IBM max wkly dropi30.08%
Performance metrics by period
| Period | Metric | PLTR | IBM |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +4.70% | -8.23% |
| CAGRi | +4.71% | -8.24% | |
| Volatilityi | 60.72% | 48.91% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.29 | -0.01 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.47 | -0.01 | |
| Max drawdowni | 48.22% | 37.50% | |
| Current drawdowni | 14.93% | 27.79% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 22.71% | 15.37% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 25.95% | 19.17% | |
| Max daily dropi | 11.62% | 25.21% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 17.88% | 30.08% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +563.80% | +117.05% |
| CAGRi | +46.11% | +16.79% | |
| Volatilityi | 67.01% | 30.39% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.83 | 0.52 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.32 | 0.71 | |
| Max drawdowni | 79.14% | 37.50% | |
| Current drawdowni | 14.93% | 27.79% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 33.95% | 8.13% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 42.16% | 11.27% | |
| Max daily dropi | 21.31% | 25.21% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 38.89% | 30.08% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +1755.16% | +135.76% |
| CAGRi | +63.18% | +8.96% | |
| Volatilityi | 70.13% | 28.25% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.98 | 0.29 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.62 | 0.40 | |
| Max drawdowni | 84.62% | 40.59% | |
| Current drawdowni | 14.93% | 27.79% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 39.71% | 11.62% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 47.64% | 14.33% | |
| Max daily dropi | 21.31% | 25.21% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 38.89% | 30.08% |
Business comparison
| Category | PLTR | IBM |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Palantir Technologies Inc. | International Business Machines Corporation |
| Sector | Technology | Technology |
| Industry | Software - Infrastructure | Information Technology Services |
| Core business | Palantir builds AI-powered data analytics and operations platforms — Gotham for government intelligence and defense, Foundry for commercial enterprise operations, and AIP (Artificial Intelligence Platform) for deploying AI and LLMs on proprietary enterprise data. Palantir's platform enables organizations to build AI-powered decision systems on top of their own operational data. The company has deep US government relationships from intelligence and defense contracts. AIP Boot Camps — hands-on enterprise AI deployment workshops — have driven rapid commercial customer growth. | IBM is a legacy enterprise IT company transforming toward hybrid cloud and AI services. IBM's Consulting division provides technology services. Red Hat (acquired 2019) provides the OpenShift enterprise Kubernetes platform and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. IBM's Watson AI platform is positioned for enterprise AI. IBM's mainframe hardware business still serves large financial institutions and government agencies. IBM has divested its managed infrastructure services business (now Kyndryl) to focus on higher-margin hybrid cloud and AI. |
| Investor focus | Investors track US commercial customer growth (the key growth metric), AIP platform expansion, US government contract pipeline, and revenue per customer growth as enterprises expand Palantir usage. | Investors track Red Hat/OpenShift annual recurring revenue growth, IBM Consulting revenue, and the overall revenue growth trajectory following the Kyndryl divestiture as IBM positions as a hybrid cloud/AI company. |
PLTR strengths
- AIP platform is a differentiated enterprise AI deployment layer that enables organizations to use LLMs on their own proprietary data securely — solving the real problem enterprises have with AI adoption
- Government contracts provide stable, high-margin recurring revenue that validates the platform's capabilities for the most demanding data security requirements
- AIP Boot Camps create a rapid commercial customer acquisition flywheel — Palantir hosts workshops and converts attendees to paying customers faster than traditional enterprise sales cycles
IBM strengths
- Red Hat OpenShift is the leading enterprise Kubernetes platform — hybrid cloud orchestration is a large and growing market as enterprises run workloads across on-premises and multiple clouds
- IBM's mainframe franchise (Z series) has extraordinary installed base stickiness — financial institutions run core banking on IBM mainframes and migrate away slowly if at all
- IBM Consulting's access to C-suite decision makers at large enterprises is a unique asset for AI services sales — IBM has long-standing relationships with Fortune 500 IT executives
Risks to watch — PLTR
- Palantir's valuation (40–60x forward revenue) is extremely high even for high-growth software — this requires sustained exceptional commercial customer growth
- Microsoft, Databricks, and AWS all provide data analytics and AI platform capabilities that compete with Palantir's commercial Foundry/AIP positioning
- Palantir's government revenue is concentrated in US defense — changes in defense budgets or contract renewals could impact the stable government revenue base
Risks to watch — IBM
- IBM's revenue growth has been very slow — the company is in ongoing transition from legacy IT services to hybrid cloud and AI, and this transition has taken longer than promised
- Watson AI has repeatedly been positioned as a breakthrough but has not achieved the commercial AI leadership position IBM predicted — watsonx is IBM's latest AI platform with unclear differentiation
- IBM's consulting competitors (Accenture, Capgemini, Deloitte) and cloud hyperscalers all compete for the same enterprise IT transformation budgets IBM targets
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