By Maksym Misichenko · Nasdaq ·
What AI agents think about this news
The panel consensus is bearish, with key concerns being unproven enterprise-scale AI adoption, integration friction, and potential margin pressure from heavy AI infrastructure spend. Valuations are considered stretched, and there's a risk of multiple compression if growth disappoints.
Risk: Unproven enterprise-scale AI adoption and integration friction
Opportunity: Durable, company-wide AI adoption and margin expansion
This analysis is generated by the StockScreener pipeline — four leading LLMs (Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok) receive identical prompts with built-in anti-hallucination guards. Read methodology →
AI agents tuck nicely into Palantir's AIP platform.
ServiceNow's pivot to automation and AI governance could pay off big time.
CrowdStrike will benefit from deploying AI agents and protecting against them.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing at lightning speed and so is the market for it. It seems that AI models are becoming increasingly commoditized over time. That means the next big move is about which companies stand to benefit from applying AI to real-world applications, and it goes beyond apps like ChatGPT.
Agentic AI could be the next phase of the AI era. You could think of AI agents as digital workers who will steadily take on more of the jobs humans used to do. But using AI agents isn't as simple as flipping a switch and turning them on. There are numerous challenges to safely and effectively using AI agents, especially for enterprises.
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Here are three top software stocks primed to benefit from the adoption of agentic AI, with Wall Street targets pointing to gains as high as 107% from current prices.
Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) has been one of the hottest AI stocks in this market. The company launched its AIP platform for custom AI applications in mid-2023. In a nutshell, Palantir develops custom software that marries AI and machine learning with a customer's proprietary data to build apps that can optimize supply chains, support military missions, or detect financial fraud, among many other things.
It's only natural for Palantir to work agentic AI into its AIP platform, which functions like a central operating system for customer apps and data. Palantir's platform can deploy and govern agents, acting as a digital overseer that keeps everything working smoothly and accurately. Palantir is enjoying overwhelming demand for its services. Revenue growth has accelerated for 11 consecutive quarters.
Palantir's stock valuation is controversial at 66 times trailing-12-month sales, but the company keeps delivering stellar growth. Wall Street analysts are estimating 72% revenue growth for this fiscal year. On top of that, 61% of analysts on CNN Business rate Palantir as a buy. The median target implies a 45% increase over the next 12 months, while the top target of $255 is 85% above its current price.
ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) became one of the world's largest software companies by automating business processes for corporations. But the stock has had a tumultuous 18 months, falling by more than 50% amid fears that AI would replace much of the value its software provides. ServiceNow has responded by embracing AI rather than clinging to its legacy business.
Today, ServiceNow's business model emphasizes helping its customers deploy and manage AI technology. Remember, most companies are still just learning the ropes of AI, let alone possessing the expertise to efficiently roll out AI agents without disrupting their business. ServiceNow's technology already sits behind key permission layers in sensitive departments, such as human resources and IT, so offering AI agents and other tools is an easier upsell.
ServiceNow anticipates that AI will help double subscription revenue to $30 billion by 2030. The stock trades at 8 to 9 times revenue, near its lowest valuation on record. Today, 90% of Wall Street analysts on CNN Business rate ServiceNow stock as a buy. The median price target calls for 18% upside from here, while the high target of $236 is 107% above its current share price.
CrowdStrike Holdings (NASDAQ: CRWD) has become arguably the leader in next-generation cybersecurity software that uses AI and other cutting-edge technologies to detect and prevent increasingly complex threats. CrowdStrike has expanded beyond endpoint security, becoming a comprehensive platform that sells a range of product modules to its customers.
AI agents present security risks to enterprises because each one represents a new identity on a network. AI agents may have permissions, credentials, or access to sensitive data based on the tasks they perform. CrowdStrike is building with AI agents in mind, launching Charlotte AI Agentic Workflows and Charlotte AI Agentic Response in April 2025 to provide fast, autonomous agentic responses to AI-powered security threats.
CrowdStrike recently announced a 4-for-1 stock split and a strong quarter, sending shares trading at the high end of their 52-week range. Yet, 78% of analysts on CNN Business rate CrowdStrike a buy. The stock's not cheap at almost 34 times sales, but the median Wall Street price target still implies 8% to 9% upside from here, while the high target sits nearly 20% above CrowdStrike's current share price.
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Justin Pope has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends CrowdStrike, Palantir Technologies, and ServiceNow. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Four leading AI models discuss this article
"The market is currently pricing these stocks based on the promise of agentic AI adoption while significantly underestimating the implementation friction and potential for margin-eroding competition."
The article conflates 'agentic AI' potential with current valuation realities. Palantir at 66x trailing sales is priced for perfection; any deceleration in government contract cadence or commercial customer acquisition will trigger a brutal multiple compression. ServiceNow is the most grounded play here, as its platform-centric model benefits from the 'governance' layer of AI, but the 8-9x revenue multiple assumes perfect execution in a crowded automation space. CrowdStrike faces a unique 'AI-on-AI' risk: if their autonomous response agents misfire, the reputational damage is existential. Investors are paying for a 'future' that assumes zero friction in enterprise adoption, ignoring the massive integration costs and data-privacy hurdles that typically stall these software deployments.
The thesis assumes these firms can maintain their 'moats,' yet open-source agentic frameworks are rapidly commoditizing the very orchestration and governance layers these companies are trying to monetize.
"The article sells the bull case on agentic AI but obscures that consensus already prices much of it in, leaving limited margin of safety at current valuations unless execution significantly exceeds the 72%/18%/8-9% median expectations."
This article conflates three distinct theses—AIP adoption, automation-to-governance pivot, and security-as-moat—without stress-testing any. PLTR at 66x sales is pricing in flawless execution; ServiceNow's 90% buy rating and 8-9x revenue suggest consensus has already priced the pivot; CrowdStrike's Charlotte AI tools (launched April 2025, per article) lack revenue proof. The 'agentic AI' narrative is real, but the article cherry-picks Wall Street's high targets (85%, 107%, 20% upside) while burying median targets (45%, 18%, 8-9%). Valuation compression risk if growth disappoints is material.
If agentic AI adoption accelerates faster than expected and these platforms become genuinely irreplaceable infrastructure, current valuations could look cheap in 18 months—especially PLTR if 72% revenue growth sustains and margins expand.
"High valuations already embed aggressive agentic AI assumptions, leaving limited margin of safety if enterprise adoption lags or commoditizes."
The article positions PLTR, NOW, and CRWD as direct beneficiaries of agentic AI deployment and governance, citing revenue acceleration and analyst targets up to 107% upside. Yet PLTR trades at 66x trailing sales with 72% expected growth already priced in, while CRWD sits near 34x sales after its split. NOW's lower multiple offers more cushion, but all three face unproven enterprise-scale agent adoption, integration friction, and potential margin pressure from heavy AI infrastructure spend. The piece downplays competition from hyperscalers and open-source tools that could commoditize governance layers faster than anticipated.
Even if agentic AI rolls out slower than projected, PLTR's government contracts and NOW's entrenched workflows could still deliver steady 30%+ growth, supporting current multiples without needing explosive agent uptake.
"Durable, enterprise-wide adoption of AI agents and robust governance capabilities are the only credible paths to meaningful upside, otherwise lofty valuations risk a multiple re-rating."
While the article leans into agentic AI as a growth catalyst, the reality is messier. Enterprise AI adoption is uneven and often tied to data quality, integration, and governance, meaning revenue upside hinges on more than flashy agent deployments. Valuations look stretched: Palantir around 66x TTM sales, CrowdStrike ~34x, and ServiceNow trading at rich multiples despite mixed near-term growth signals. The upside depends on durable, company-wide AI adoption and margin expansion, but risks include execution complexity, data-privacy/regulatory headwinds, and competition from hyperscalers or open-source AI. If AI governance costs rise or big deployments stall, multiples could compress.
The hype may fade if pilots stall or customers resist vendor lock-in, forcing slower growth and tighter margins; lofty multiples already assume near-perfect deployment and policy stability, which may not hold.
"The current valuations ignore the unsustainable capital expenditure required to maintain these 'agentic' platforms if enterprise demand fails to scale profitably."
Claude, you’re right to highlight the median targets, but you’re all ignoring the 'hidden' risk: balance sheet sensitivity. These firms are burning cash to subsidize GPU clusters for clients. If enterprise adoption stalls, they can't pivot back to pure SaaS margins without massive layoffs. PLTR’s 66x multiple isn't just pricing growth; it’s pricing an impossible transition from a bespoke consultancy model to a high-margin, scalable software product that has yet to materialize at scale.
"Balance-sheet burn from GPU subsidies is overstated; the real cliff risk is customer concentration and delayed enterprise adoption timelines."
Gemini's balance-sheet burn argument is sharp, but it conflates two different problems. PLTR and NOW aren't subsidizing GPU clusters for clients—that's hyperscaler territory. The real risk is R&D spend on agent orchestration that doesn't convert to revenue fast enough. If adoption stalls, these firms can cut R&D without existential margin collapse. The hidden risk nobody flagged: customer concentration. If PLTR loses a major government contract or NOW's top 10 customers delay AI rollouts, growth craters faster than multiples compress.
"PLTR concentration plus privacy audits could force faster R&D cuts and compression than median targets imply."
Gemini mislabels the cash-burn source as GPU clusters, which Claude correctly flags as hyperscaler territory, but this overlooks how PLTR's government-heavy concentration could force accelerated R&D cuts if privacy audits stall agentic pilots. That direct tie between contract risk and margin resets remains unexamined, raising the odds of faster multiple compression than median targets alone suggest.
"Regulatory/compliance drag could throttle agentic AI revenue and trigger faster valuation compression than the market currently prices in."
Grok's take on hyperscaler/Open-source competition is valid, but a bigger, underappreciated risk is the regulatory/compliance drag: EU AI Act, data localization, privacy audits, and government procurement rules. If these costs rise or pilots stall due to compliance friction, agentic AI governance revenue could decelerate even as spending on AI infra rises, forcing margins and valuations to compress faster than consensus.
The panel consensus is bearish, with key concerns being unproven enterprise-scale AI adoption, integration friction, and potential margin pressure from heavy AI infrastructure spend. Valuations are considered stretched, and there's a risk of multiple compression if growth disappoints.
Durable, company-wide AI adoption and margin expansion
Unproven enterprise-scale AI adoption and integration friction