Core Insights - The article highlights three companies that present strong investment opportunities despite rising valuations in the AI sector [1][2] Company Summaries Amazon - Amazon's cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services (AWS), is experiencing significant growth, with AI services becoming a multibillion-dollar business growing at triple-digit rates year over year [5][8] - AWS revenue grew 17% year over year last quarter, although some analysts express concerns about its growth rate compared to competitors [5] - The company is investing heavily in AI infrastructure, with capital expenditures expected to exceed $100 billion this year, impacting free cash flow, which fell to $18.2 billion from $53 billion in the previous year [7] - Amazon's retail operations are also thriving, with North America operating margin increasing by 190 basis points to 7.5% and international margin expanding by 290 basis points to 3.4% [8] EPAM Systems - EPAM Systems focuses on platform and application engineering and has restructured its workforce to mitigate risks from political turmoil in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine [9][10] - The company has seen a turnaround with 18% year-over-year revenue growth in the second quarter, marking the third consecutive quarter of sequential growth [11] - EPAM is positioned to benefit from the rising demand for AI services, with expectations of 13% to 15% growth for the full year [11][12] - The stock is trading at 12.5 times analysts' estimates for 2026 earnings, indicating it is undervalued [12] ASML - ASML manufactures essential equipment for advanced semiconductor production, crucial for AI applications [14] - The company has strong demand for its extreme ultraviolet (EUV) machines, with management expecting 2026 sales to exceed 2025 levels despite challenges in the Chinese market [15][19] - ASML's stock trades at around 34 times 2026 earnings expectations, reflecting its long-term growth potential in the semiconductor industry [19]

There's still a ton of growth potential for these two industry giants.Few companies have benefited more from the race to harness the power of generative artificial intelligence (AI) than Palantir Technologies (PLTR -0.23%). The stock has climbed roughly 2,300% since OpenAI released ChatGPT in late 2022. It now sports a market cap of around $424 billion, as of this writing.Despite its incredible momentum, Palantir might not be the best AI stock to buy right now. I've identified two other opportunities in the ...