Prediction: Planet Labs Will Soar Over the Next 5 Years. Here's 1 Reason Why.
Key Points
Planet Labs' stock is up roughly 466% in the last two years.
Despite this incredible run, the stock remains worth monitoring as it looks like a potential AI beneficiary.
By adding on-orbit processing capabilities to its satellites, Planet Labs could save itself -- and its customers -- a lot of money.
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Leading global satellite imagery upstart Planet Labs (NYSE: PL) has seen its stock rise nearly sixfold in just the last two years.
Despite this rise, there's one key reason I predict Planet Labs will keep soaring over the next five years -- and why I'll likely buy shares before year's end.
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Image source: Getty Images.
Planet Labs' secret weapon: Artificial intelligence (AI)
Now, before you think, "Awesome, Josh, but artificial intelligence is almost every stock's secret weapon these days," I believe it could be especially powerful for Planet Labs. Launching its first Pelican satellite last year, Pelicans 2, 3, and 4 earlier this year, and recently shipping its fifth and sixth out for launch, Planet Labs is laser-focused on building out its industry-leading constellations.
However, what makes these Pelican satellites game changers is that each contains Nvidia's Jetson AI platform. The on-orbit processing provided by this AI platform is noteworthy for two reasons.
First, it saves Planet Labs' customers money. Traditionally, massive batches of data and imagery had to be transmitted to the company's customers back on Earth. Humans then painstakingly sorted through this satellite data, the vast majority of which was unchanged or not immediately helpful.
Now, the company can utilize AI to scan for the most pertinent insights and send those within minutes, rather than hours. This time-saving helps allow for same-day interventions, such as fighting a wildfire or monitoring a war zone, boosting customer reaction times.
Second, with Jetson filtering through these troves of imagery for useful updates, it should cut down on Planet Labs' total bandwidth and computing costs by having less data to send back.
These cost savings could already be showing in Planet Labs' profitability as its free cash flow (FCF) margin rocketed from negative 40% two years ago to 11% today.
Aiming to one day have 32 Pelican satellites in its constellation to allow for rapid revisits and full-Earth mapping daily, Planet Labs could become a major AI beneficiary.
However, trading at 18 times sales, investors may want to buy the stock in smaller portions over time, rather than going all-in today.
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Josh Kohn-Lindquist has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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