PLTR vs IBM vs NIQ Stock Comparison

Palantir Technologies, International Business Machines and NIQ Global Intelligence Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Palantir Technologies leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Palantir Technologies 5, International Business Machines 2, NIQ Global Intelligence 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPLTRIBMNIQLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $477.79B $238.75B $5.88B PLTR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 158.2x 21.4x -22.3x IBM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 119.8x 19.4x 17.9x NIQ
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +78.9% +6.8% +7.5% PLTR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 49.0% — -6.1% PLTR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 2.8% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — 4.0x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 2.66% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +7.7% -17.6% +46.9% NIQ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +51.4%/yr +16.2%/yr — PLTR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 59.6% 50.8% 67.4% IBM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 69/100 55/100 54/100 PLTR

Percentile Scorecard

PLTRIBMNIQ

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisPLTRIBMNIQ
Valuation 22 #80 of 102 62 #15 of 38 73 #28 of 102
Growth 100 #1 of 98 29 #26 of 36 72 #28 of 98
Profitability 96 #5 of 95 88 #5 of 34 48 #50 of 95
Financial Health 98 #3 of 109 41 #23 of 38 24 #83 of 109
Shareholder Returns 27 #47 of 64 – –
Overall 69 55 54
  • PLTR ranked among 115 companies in Business Applications
  • IBM ranked among 39 companies in Cloud Computing
  • NIQ ranked among 115 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodPLTRIBMNIQSPY
1 month +4.8%+12.4%+11.7% -0.8%
3 months +51.2%+17.3%+80.1% +3.5%
6 months +39.0%+11.1%+76.3% +7.0%
Year to date +11.9%-14.4%+20.8% +12.2%
1 year +7.7%-17.6%+46.9% +13.0%
3 years +1,219.4%+77.8%— +86.3%
3 years, per year +136.4%+21.2%— +23.1%
5 years +693.5%+111.8%— +68.6%
5 years, per year +51.4%+16.2%— +11.0%
10 years —+74.6%— +258.0%
10 years, per year —+5.7%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasurePLTRIBMNIQSPY
Volatility, 1Y 59.6%50.8%67.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 56.1%59.7%63.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.970.830.45 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.13-0.350.70 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -77.6%-37.4%-59.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.9%-23.0%-0.6% -1.8%
52-week high $209.05$329.23$20.04 $779.14
52-week low $107.27$205.96$7.97 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultiplePLTRIBMNIQ
P/E now vs peer median 158.2xmedian 28.8x 21.4xmedian 29.6x -22.3xmedian 28.8x
P/S now vs peer median 77.6xmedian 2.8x 3.4xmedian 4.2x 1.3xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 175.9xmedian 17.7x —median 24.2x 11.4xmedian 17.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 142.3xmedian 15.8x 15.0xmedian 15.1x —median 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 48.3xmedian 3.2x 6.6xmedian 3.9x 5.1xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.55median 0.85 1.33median 0.38 —median 0.85

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsPLTRIBMNIQ
Revenue $6.16B $69.87B $4.36B
Gross profit $5.22B $40.50B $2.43B
Operating income $2.63B – $135.00M
Net income $3.03B $11.17B -$264.00M
Free cash flow $3.36B – –
R&D $641.24M – –
EPS (diluted) $1.17 $11.72 $-0.89
Cash & equivalents $2.03B $9.23B $416.60M
Total debt – – $3.55B
Shares (diluted) 2.57B 953.30M 295.06M
Enterprise value $446.85B $239.42B $4.47B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricPLTRIBMNIQ
P/E 158.2x 21.4x -22.3x
P/FCF 142.3x 15.0x –
P/Operating cash flow 140.5x 15.1x –
P/S 77.6x 3.4x 1.3x
P/B 48.3x 6.6x 5.1x
P/Tangible book 48.3x 10.6x -6.8x
EV/EBITDA 175.9x – 11.4x
EV/EBIT 177.8x – 66.7x
EV/Revenue 76.1x 3.4x 2.1x
EV/FCF 139.5x – –
EV/Operating cash flow 137.7x 15.1x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.55 1.33 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPLTRIBMNIQ
Revenue growth (1Y) 78.9% 6.8% 7.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 44.4% 4.5% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 89.6% 7.1% 6.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 47.7% 6.4% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 362.6% – 577.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 247.7% – –
Net income growth (1Y) 292.3% 41.3% 55.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 308.7% 17.3% –
EPS growth (1Y) 294.3% 40.6% 62.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 286.3% 16.1% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 96.6% 17.4% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 103.5% 5.6% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 96.5% – –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 107.6% – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPLTRIBMNIQ
Gross margin 84.8% – 55.7%
EBITDA margin 43.3% – 18.2%
Operating margin 42.8% – 3.1%
Pretax margin 49.9% – -2.4%
Net margin 49.0% – -6.1%
FCF margin 54.6% – –
Operating cash flow margin 55.2% 22.7% –
Return on equity 32.9% 31.6% -21.5%
Return on assets 27.7% 7.3% -3.8%
Return on invested capital – – 2.8%
Return on capital employed 28.0% – 2.6%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.5x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 1.4x –
Stock comp / revenue 13.6% 2.8% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPLTRIBMNIQ
Debt / assets – – 52.5%
Debt / equity – – 3.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – – 4.0x
Debt / FCF – – –
Liabilities / assets 15.4% 76.6% 83.0%
Equity / assets 84.6% 23.4% 17.0%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 7.2x 0.9x 1.1x
Quick ratio 7.1x – 1.0x
Cash ratio 6.1x – 0.3x
Altman Z-score 161.88 – 0.88

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPLTRIBMNIQ
Dividend yield – 2.7% –
Net buyback yield 0.0% – –
Shareholder yield 0.0% 2.7% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusPLTRIBMNIQ
Forward P/E 119.8xFY2026 19.4xFY2026 17.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.66FY2026 $13.05FY2026 $1.11FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +121.3%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026 +382.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +45.8% -1.8% +19.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.41BFY2026 $66.19BFY2026 $4.21BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +87.8%FY2026 -2.0%FY2026 +0.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +37.5% +15.9% +18.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPLTRIBMNIQ
Held by institutions 60.3% 65.1% 84.4%
Institutions holding 2,836 3,632 162
Change in shares held, QoQ +10.9% +3.5% +4.0%
Institutions buying 1,480 1,973 101
Institutions selling 1,093 1,226 51
Buyers to sellers 1.35 1.61 1.98

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

PLTRIBMNIQ
PLTR 1.00 0.26 0.10
IBM 0.26 1.00 0.20
NIQ 0.10 0.20 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PLTR, IBM and NIQ?

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Palantir Technologies (PLTR) $477.79B, International Business Machines (IBM) $238.75B, NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) $5.88B.

Which stock is cheaper, PLTR, IBM and NIQ?

International Business Machines (IBM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 158.2x, International Business Machines (IBM) 21.4x, NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) -22.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) is cheapest (Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 119.8x, International Business Machines (IBM) 19.4x, NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) 17.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Palantir Technologies (PLTR) +78.9%, International Business Machines (IBM) +6.8%, NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) +7.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) has the highest net margin (Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 49.0%, NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) -6.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) returned the most: Palantir Technologies (PLTR) +7.7%, International Business Machines (IBM) -17.6%, NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) +46.9%. Over five years, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) compounded fastest (Palantir Technologies (PLTR) +51.4%/yr, International Business Machines (IBM) +16.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: International Business Machines (IBM) 2.66%, NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) 0.00%. Palantir Technologies (PLTR) and NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, International Business Machines (IBM) has been the steadiest (Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 59.6%, International Business Machines (IBM) 50.8%, NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) 67.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, PLTR, IBM and NIQ?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.