Palantir vs. Oracle: Which AI Stock Is Worth Buying in 2026?

Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR) and Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) have emerged as major beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. But they represent two very different ways to invest in AI.

Palantir is the faster-growing company.

In the first quarter of 2026, its revenue surged 85% year over year to $1.63 billion. U.S. commercial revenue jumped 133% to $595 million, while total contract value reached $2.41 billion. Management has also raised full-year revenue guidance to approximately $7.65 billion, representing an increase of roughly 71% from 2025.

The company's AI Platform (AIP) continues to gain traction among both government and commercial customers. Palantir also reported an adjusted operating margin of 60%, which suggests that its growth is not coming at the expense of profitability.

Worth noting: Even after some volatility, Palantir still trades at a significant premium. We're talking roughly 87 times sales. Not only does that make the stock one of the most expensive in the S&P 500, but it also assumes years of exceptional growth for the business. If the company's growth slows, the stock could face significant downside pressure.

Oracle offers a different investment case

While its overall revenue growth has been slower, Oracle has become one of the largest suppliers of cloud infrastructure supporting AI workloads.

In its recently reported fiscal 2026 third quarter, the company's cloud infrastructure revenue grew by 84% year over year, and it has about $553 billion in contracted revenue sitting in its backlog.

Management also indicated that its fiscal 2026 revenue could reach $67 billion as cloud growth accelerates. Make no mistake: Oracle's cloud business is definitely benefiting from demand for AI training, inference, and enterprise data management.

Growth or safety?

If you're looking for maximum growth potential, Palantir is probably the better choice. The company is growing dramatically faster and continues gaining share in enterprise AI software.

But if you're looking for a more balanced risk-reward profile, Oracle stock may be the better buy in 2026.

Image source: Getty Images.

Oracle has a much larger revenue base, a rapidly expanding cloud infrastructure business, and a valuation that's considerably more reasonable. AI demand is helping both companies, but Oracle gives investors exposure to that trend without requiring the business to deliver perfection to justify its stock price.

Jeff Siegel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Oracle and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.