Both stocks delivered impressive gains in 2025, but which one of these two AI companies should you be buying for next year?Palantir Technologies (PLTR 0.58%) and BigBear.ai (BBAI +1.14%) specialize in providing artificial intelligence (AI) software solutions to both commercial and government customers. They help their customers integrate various types of generative AI tools into their operations to enhance productivity, which is why they have been popular among investors this year.While Palantir's stock pri ...

Group 1 - BigBear.ai shares experienced a nearly 13% increase in early trading, currently up 10.6% as of 11:25 a.m. ET, despite no obvious news [1] - BigBear.ai positions itself as a leading provider of AI solutions for defense and critical infrastructure, focusing on predictive analytics [3] - The company has a market capitalization exceeding $2 billion but reported less than $153 million in revenue over the past year, with a significant loss of $444 million [4] Group 2 - BigBear.ai's revenue growth is minimal, with a trailing revenue increase of less than 5% since 2021, resulting in a sales growth rate of only 1% [4] - The company's losses have increased dramatically, with trailing-12-month losses more than 3.5 times greater than those in 2021, and analysts predict continued losses [5] - A recent contract for data analytics at Nashville International Airport has not provided clarity on potential revenue or profit, leading to skepticism about the stock's value [6]

Financial Performance - Q1 FY'26 - Net sales increased by 5% year-over-year to $893 million[20, 37] - Adjusted operating earnings increased by 8% year-over-year to $114 million[20, 39] - Adjusted EBITDA increased by 2% year-over-year to $123 million[20, 41] - Adjusted EPS increased by 5% year-over-year to $2.08, but decreased by 6% excluding the 45X tax credit[20, 42] - Free cash flow was negative $32 million, a decrease of $6 million year-over-year[20] - Gross margin was 28.4%, an increase of 40 bps year-over-year, but 24.1% excluding the 45X tax credit[21] Q2 FY'26 Guidance - The company expects net sales to be flat year-over-year, in the range of $870 million to $910 million[9, 60] - Adjusted EPS is expected to increase by 26% year-over-year, or 8% excluding the 45X tax credit, with a range of $2.33 to $2.43[9, 60] - The company anticipates a $35 million to $40 million benefit to the cost of sales from IRC 45X[9, 60] Strategic Initiatives - The company introduced EnerGize, a strategic framework to transform and grow the company[9, 10] - The company is restructuring for operational efficiency, including an 11% workforce reduction, expecting $80 million in annualized savings[12] - The company increased its buyback authorization by $1 billion to be executed over 5 years and returned $159 million to shareholders through buybacks and dividends[9]