Retail Investors Buy More Palantir Than Apple for the First Time

Expectations for Increased Revenue Amid Tariff War

It has been revealed that domestic investors who invest in U.S. stocks have recently invested more in Palantir, an artificial intelligence (AI) software company, than in Apple.

AFP Yonhap News

According to the Korea Securities Depository's securities information portal as of April 30, domestic investors held $4.26 billion (approximately 6 trillion won) worth of Palantir shares, surpassing the amount held in Apple shares, which was $4.1 billion (about 5.8 trillion won), on the New York Stock Exchange. As of the same date, the only stocks with a larger holding amount than Palantir were Tesla ($19.3 billion, about 27 trillion won) and Nvidia ($10.2 billion, about 14.3 trillion won).

At the beginning of the year, the holdings of Palantir and Apple were $2.3 billion and $4.8 billion, respectively, with Apple more than double that of Palantir. However, starting from April 25, Palantir's holdings began to surpass those of Apple. So far this year, domestic investors have made a net purchase of $520 million (about 730 billion won) worth of Palantir shares. In comparison, net purchases of Apple shares amounted to only $2.33 million (about 3.3 billion won).

Palantir is considered a leading AI stock in the defense industry sector. Expectations for continued revenue growth are rising, driven by a surge in demand for generative AI platforms amid large-scale public sector restructuring by the U.S. government, as well as increased demand for military AI, particularly in Europe, following the war in Ukraine. These factors are fueling optimism for future revenue growth, independent of the ongoing tariff war.

As a result, Palantir's stock price soared by 340% last year and has continued its upward trend, rising by 53.6% since the beginning of this year. In February, the stock temporarily plummeted on news that the U.S. would cut its defense budget, but soon rebounded to approach previous highs, supported by improved investor sentiment toward tech stocks.

Kim Sujin, a researcher at Mirae Asset Securities, stated in a recent report, "Although it is difficult to be certain of solid earnings due to unstable macroeconomic conditions and the situation in the U.S., there is no doubt that Palantir currently plays the most pivotal role in the AI industry."

Palantir was founded in 2003 with support from In-Q-Tel, a startup fund established by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) after the September 11 attacks in 2001 to build a terrorist surveillance system. Since then, the company has grown by winning contracts for U.S. government security programs and AI platforms. More than 40% of its total revenue still comes from U.S. government contracts. Currently, Palantir's AI platforms are being widely used not only in the Ukraine war but also in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

According to Koscom ETF CHECK, there are 73 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed in the domestic market that include Palantir in their portfolios. Products with a high proportion of Palantir holdings include 'SOL Palantir US Bond Covered Call Mixed' (30.62%), 'SOL Palantir Covered Call OTM Bond Mixed' (28.49%), and 'KODEX US AI Software TOP10', among others.