PLTR vs IBM Stock Comparison

Palantir Technologies and International Business Machines Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Palantir Technologies leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Palantir Technologies 6, International Business Machines 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPLTRIBMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $477.64B $238.12B PLTR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 158.3x 22.2x IBM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 118.5x 19.4x IBM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +78.9% +7.9% PLTR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 49.0% 15.5% PLTR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 11.3% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 3.3x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.03% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +9.0% -11.0% PLTR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +51.8%/yr +15.7%/yr PLTR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 59.5% 51.3% IBM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 67/100 PLTR

Percentile Scorecard

PLTRIBM

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

AxisPLTRIBM
Valuation 22 #79 of 101 76 #10 of 38
Growth 100 #1 of 97 60 #15 of 36
Profitability 96 #5 of 94 91 #4 of 34
Financial Health 98 #3 of 109 38 #24 of 38
Shareholder Returns 25 #48 of 64 71 #7 of 22
Overall 68 67
  • PLTR ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • IBM ranked among 39 companies in Cloud Computing

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodPLTRIBMSPY
1 month +2.6%+8.9% -1.0%
3 months +60.1%+18.4% +2.9%
6 months +37.5%+9.3% +6.4%
Year to date +10.7%-14.4% +11.4%
1 year +9.0%-11.0% +13.1%
3 years +1,082.4%+84.0% +79.4%
3 years, per year +127.9%+22.6% +21.5%
5 years +705.4%+107.4% +67.7%
5 years, per year +51.8%+15.7% +10.9%
10 years —+77.3% +255.2%
10 years, per year —+5.9% +13.5%

Risk

MeasurePLTRIBMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 59.5%51.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 56.1%59.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.980.88 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.15-0.21 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -77.6%-37.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.9%-23.0% -2.5%
52-week high $209.05$329.23 $779.14
52-week low $107.27$205.96 $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.

MultiplePLTRIBM
P/E now vs peer median 156.5xmedian 29.9x 22.3xmedian 29.1x
P/S now vs peer median 76.8xmedian 2.8x 3.5xmedian 4.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 174.0xmedian 17.4x 17.9xmedian 21.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 140.8xmedian 16.9x 17.3xmedian 17.3x
P/B now vs peer median 47.8xmedian 3.1x 6.9xmedian 3.9x
PEG now vs peer median 0.55median 0.86 0.31median 0.33

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 monthsPLTRIBM
Revenue $6.16B $69.10B
Gross profit $5.22B $40.15B
Operating income $2.63B $11.11B
Net income $3.03B $10.73B
Free cash flow $3.36B $13.79B
R&D $641.24M $8.75B
EPS (diluted) $1.17 $11.25
Cash & equivalents $2.03B $7.17B
Total debt – $252.72B
Shares (diluted) 2.57B 953.30M
Enterprise value $446.59B $188.94B

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
MetricPLTRIBM
P/E 156.5x 22.3x
P/FCF 140.8x 17.3x
P/Operating cash flow 139.0x 16.0x
P/S 76.8x 3.5x
P/B 47.8x 6.9x
P/Tangible book 47.8x 11.6x
EV/EBITDA 174.0x 17.9x
EV/EBIT 175.9x 26.3x
EV/Revenue 75.3x 4.2x
EV/FCF 138.0x 21.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 136.3x 19.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.55 0.31

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPLTRIBM
Revenue growth (1Y) 78.9% 7.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 44.4% 4.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 89.6% 8.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 47.7% 6.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 362.6% 19.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 247.7% 13.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 292.3% 83.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 308.7% 74.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 294.3% 82.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 286.3% 72.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 96.6% 12.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 103.5% 6.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 96.5% 12.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 107.6% 8.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPLTRIBM
Gross margin 84.8% 58.1%
EBITDA margin 43.3% 23.6%
Operating margin 42.8% 16.1%
Pretax margin 49.9% 15.1%
Net margin 49.0% 15.5%
FCF margin 54.6% 20.0%
Operating cash flow margin 55.2% 21.5%
Return on equity 32.9% 31.7%
Return on assets 27.7% 7.0%
Return on invested capital – 11.3%
Return on capital employed 28.0% 9.4%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 13.6% 2.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPLTRIBM
Debt / assets – 40.8%
Debt / equity – 1.8x
Net debt / EBITDA – 3.3x
Debt / FCF – 4.5x
Liabilities / assets 15.4% 77.3%
Equity / assets 84.6% 22.7%
Interest coverage – 5.8x
Current ratio 7.2x 0.8x
Quick ratio 7.1x 0.4x
Cash ratio 6.1x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 160.20 3.29

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPLTRIBM
Dividend yield – 2.7%
Net buyback yield 0.0% -0.3%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 2.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 58.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 45.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 1.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 1.7%

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.

ConsensusPLTRIBM
Forward P/E 118.5xFY2026 19.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.66FY2026 $13.05FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +121.3%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +45.8% -1.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.41BFY2026 $66.19BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +87.8%FY2026 -2.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +37.5% +15.9%

Institutional Ownership

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

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.

PLTRIBM
PLTR 1.00 0.26
IBM 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PLTR and IBM?

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Palantir Technologies (PLTR) $477.64B, International Business Machines (IBM) $238.12B.

Which stock is cheaper, PLTR and IBM?

International Business Machines (IBM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 158.3x, International Business Machines (IBM) 22.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, International Business Machines (IBM) is cheapest (Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 118.5x, International Business Machines (IBM) 19.4x). 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) +7.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) has the highest net margin (Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 49.0%, International Business Machines (IBM) 15.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Palantir Technologies (PLTR) returned the most: Palantir Technologies (PLTR) +9.0%, International Business Machines (IBM) -11.0%. Over five years, Palantir Technologies (PLTR) compounded fastest (Palantir Technologies (PLTR) +51.8%/yr, International Business Machines (IBM) +15.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 0.00%, International Business Machines (IBM) 0.03%. Palantir Technologies (PLTR) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, International Business Machines (IBM) has been the steadiest (Palantir Technologies (PLTR) 59.5%, International Business Machines (IBM) 51.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do PLTR and IBM move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.26, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, PLTR and IBM?

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 6. 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.