AXON vs PLTR: Axon vs Palantir Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Axon is a public safety hardware+software company with AI expanding its platform into cloud evidence management and report writing, while Palantir is a pure AI/data analytics platform serving government and commercial customers. Axon has more tangible hardware revenue and law enforcement dominance; Palantir has broader AI platform potential across government and enterprise.
Use this AXON vs PLTR comparison to evaluate two different government AI investment approaches. Axon offers a hardware+software platform with high switching costs in law enforcement; Palantir offers a pure-play AI analytics platform with both government and commercial growth.
AXON holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. PLTR has delivered stronger 1-year price return (-20.97% vs -40.79%), though AXON trades at the lower forward P/E (40.04x vs 61.70x). PLTR leads on both revenue growth (84.70%) and operating margin (46.18%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for AXON (+56.36%) than for PLTR (+42.25%).
- →Want government AI exposure anchored by a dominant hardware platform (body cameras, TASERs) with recurring cloud revenue
- →Value Axon's tangible product moat and deep law enforcement relationships that create high switching costs
- →Believe AI-powered public safety tools (Draft One, drone-as-first-responder) represent large TAM expansion
- →Prefer a company with proven product-market fit in a specific vertical rather than a horizontal AI platform
- →Want the broadest AI platform exposure across government defense/intelligence and commercial enterprise
- →Believe AIP's ability to deploy AI on enterprise data represents a massive commercial TAM
- →Prefer a pure software/AI company without hardware manufacturing complexity
- →Are comfortable with a premium valuation for a high-growth AI platform with government contract durability
| Metric | AXON | PLTR |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 67.1 | 58.1 |
| AI rank | #48 | #183 |
| Latest close | $464.83 | $112.93 |
| 1M return | +18.79% | -14.78% |
| 6M return | -21.37% | -41.84% |
| 1Y return | -40.79% | -20.97% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | AXON | PLTR |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $5.78K (-42.2%) started 2025-06-26 | $7.83K (-21.7%) started 2025-06-26 |
| 5Y ago | $27.02K (+170.2%) started 2021-06-28 | $41.25K (+312.5%) started 2021-06-28 |
| 10Y ago | $204.23K (+1942.3%) started 2016-06-27 | $118.87K (+1088.7%) started 2020-09-30 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | AXON | PLTR |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $34.13B | $307.98B |
| Trailing P/E | 169.36 | 144.35 |
| Forward P/E | 40.04 | 61.70 |
| Price/Sales | N/A | 96.76 |
| EV/Revenue | 11.81 | 57.48 |
| Analyst target | $662.04 | $182.75 |
| Target upside | +56.36% | +42.25% |
| Metric | AXON | PLTR |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 33.70% | 84.70% |
| Earnings growth | 89.80% | 325.00% |
| EPS growth | +89.80% | +325.00% |
| FCF margin | +2.10% | +33.56% |
| Operating margin | 3.75% | 46.18% |
| Profit margin | 6.91% | 43.67% |
| ROIC proxy | 6.77% | 32.59% |
| Return on equity | 6.77% | 32.59% |
| Dividend yield | N/A | N/A |
| Beta | 1.42 | 1.51 |
| Debt/equity | 52.07 | 2.48 |
| Current ratio | 2.27 | 6.91 |
| Quick ratio | 1.70 | 6.82 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | AXON | PLTR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | -42.18% | -21.71% |
| CAGR | -42.23% | -21.74% | |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.77 | -0.30 | |
| Max drawdown | 60.28% | 48.22% | |
| Max daily drop | 10.27% | 11.62% | |
| Max wkly drop | 26.04% | 17.88% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +170.16% | +312.45% |
| CAGR | +22.01% | +32.80% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.56 | 0.69 | |
| Max drawdown | 60.28% | 79.14% | |
| Max daily drop | 16.42% | 21.31% | |
| Max wkly drop | 30.05% | 38.89% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +1942.31% | +1088.74% |
| CAGR | +35.22% | +53.96% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.76 | 0.90 | |
| Max drawdown | 60.28% | 84.62% | |
| Max daily drop | 16.42% | 21.31% | |
| Max wkly drop | 30.05% | 38.89% |
| Category | AXON | PLTR |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Axon Enterprise, Inc. | Palantir Technologies Inc. |
| Sector | Industrials | Technology |
| Industry | N/A | Software - Infrastructure |
| Core business | Public safety technology company providing body cameras, TASER devices, cloud evidence management (Axon Evidence), drone-as-first-responder (DFR), AI-powered report writing (Draft One), and the Axon Fleet vehicle camera system. | AI and data analytics platform serving government (Gotham) and commercial (Foundry, AIP) customers with data integration, operational analytics, and AI/ML deployment tools. |
| Investor focus | Cloud software (Axon Evidence) recurring revenue growth, AI product adoption (Draft One), TASER device upgrades, drone program expansion, and international market penetration. | AIP (Artificial Intelligence Platform) commercial adoption, government contract expansion, Rule of 40+ growth-margin profile, and international market penetration. |
- →Dominant market position in body cameras and TASER devices with deep law enforcement relationships and high switching costs
- →Axon Evidence cloud platform creates sticky recurring revenue with growing AI capabilities (Draft One AI report writing)
- →Drone-as-first-responder program and AI-powered products represent large TAM expansion opportunities
- →Deep government relationships with defense, intelligence, and federal agencies — Palantir's platforms are embedded in critical national security workflows
- →AIP (Artificial Intelligence Platform) is driving accelerating commercial revenue growth by enabling enterprises to deploy AI on their own data
- →Strong Rule of 40+ profile combining revenue growth with high adjusted operating margins
- →Government procurement cycles can create lumpy quarterly revenue
- →Premium valuation requires sustained double-digit growth in both hardware and cloud software
- →International expansion faces different regulatory environments and competitive dynamics than the U.S. market
- →Premium valuation is among the highest in enterprise software — requires sustained high growth to justify
- →Government contract renewals and budget cycles introduce revenue timing uncertainty
- →Commercial AIP adoption must continue accelerating to prove Palantir is more than a government contractor
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