A Once-in-a-Decade Opportunity: 1 AI Software Stock to Buy Hand Over Fist Right Now (Hint: It's Not Palantir)

Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) is one of the biggest names in the artificial intelligence (AI) software space. The company's Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) has been quite popular among customers looking to integrate generative AI tools into their business operations.

The success of Palantir's AIP has supercharged the stock over the past three years, leading to phenomenal gains of 1,730%. However, the remarkable rally in Palantir stock has made it very expensive. Though Palantir could justify its valuation by sustaining outstanding earnings growth over the long run, conservative investors may want to look elsewhere to capitalize on the fast-growing AI software market.

Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) is one such AI stock that can help investors capitalize on this lucrative niche, and at a significantly lower valuation than Palantir. Let's see why Snowflake could be one of the best AI software stocks to buy and hold for the next decade.

Snowflake logo. Image source: Snowflake.

Snowflake's AI-focused data platform is driving stronger growth for the company

Snowflake originally gained popularity for its cloud-based data platform that allows customers to store, process, share, and analyze their proprietary data. However, the company has evolved from a data warehouse and marketplace provider to an AI-focused cloud data platform provider.

Its customers can now develop AI applications using their proprietary data on Snowflake's fully managed platform, which combines hardware and software offerings. The company's Cortex AI platform enables customers to rent graphics processing units (GPUs) and use popular large language models (LLMs) to build, customize, deploy, and scale AI applications.

Also, businesses can gain AI-powered insights into their operations to drive productivity improvements. In all, it can be said that Snowflake is providing end-to-end AI services to customers, who don't need to invest in expensive hardware and can quickly get to developing AI apps and integrating the technology into their businesses.

What's more, Snowflake's cloud platform is available across major cloud computing providers. It also supports cross-cloud and cross-region functionality, making it easier for customers to seamlessly use AI applications across different platforms through a single interface.

Snowflake reports that customers who have adopted Snowflake's AI solutions are witnessing higher efficiency, improved decision-making, and significant savings in time and costs. Not surprisingly, Snowflake is now attracting new customers at a faster pace.

The company's customer count increased by 21% year over year in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 (which ended on Jan. 31, 2026), eclipsing the 19% growth it witnessed in the same quarter the previous year. More importantly, Snowflake's AI solutions are helping the company win bigger contracts and generate more business from existing customers.

Management noted on the February earnings call with analysts that it had signed the largest deal in the company's history in the previous quarter, valued at more than $400 million in total contract value. What's more, the company signed seven deals valued at over $100 million during the quarter, up from just two in the year-ago period.

These huge contracts helped Snowflake finish fiscal 2026 with $9.8 billion in remaining performance obligations (RPO), an increase of 42% year over year. RPO is the total value of contracts that a company has yet to fulfill at the end of a period. This metric grew at a much faster pace than the 30% increase in Snowflake's product revenue in the last reported quarter.

Additionally, the company's ability to win more business from existing customers is having a positive impact on its bottom line, with earnings per share increasing by 50% in fiscal 2026 to $1.25 per share.

What's more, analysts are expecting its robust bottom-line growth to continue.

SNOW EPS Estimates for Current Fiscal Year data by YCharts

The stock could be a big winner over the next decade

Snowflake stock has lost a third of its value in 2026, as of this writing. The pullback means investors can now buy it at a relatively attractive 10 times sales. That's significantly lower than Palantir's price-to-sales ratio of 82.

Of course, Palantir is growing at a significantly faster pace than Snowflake, with the former's revenue increasing by 70% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2025 to $1.4 billion. However, Snowflake's growth remains attractive, and the company has the potential to step on the gas thanks to the larger deals it is signing.

Moreover, the AI-enabled analytics platforms market is poised to jump from $28 billion last year to $220 billion in 2035. So, Snowflake has tremendous room for growth in the long run. That's why it could be a good idea to buy this AI stock while it is beaten down, as it could deliver healthy gains to investors in the coming decade.

Harsh Chauhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Palantir Technologies and Snowflake. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.