Palantir's +79% vs Bill's -43%: The AI Divide That Defined SaaS Performance in 1H'25

"The SaaS market in 1H'25 showed clear bifurcation between companies with compelling AI differentiation (70%+ gains) and traditional enterprise software (single-digit or negative returns)"

SaaS / B2B Public Stock Performance 1H'25: Top Winners & Losers

📊 Market Summary: SaaS Sector in 1H'25

The B2B / SaaS public markets experienced a dramatic bifurcation in the first half of 2025, with clear winners and losers emerging based on AI differentiation, security positioning, and vertical specialization. While the broader S&P 500 gained approximately 5-6% YTD, SaaS performance ranged from spectacular gains of nearly 80% to significant declines of -30% (or more).

Market Drivers:

• AI Premium: Companies with clear AI value propositions (Palantir, Snowflake) dramatically outperformed traditional enterprise software

• Security Dominance: Cybersecurity stocks (CrowdStrike, Zscaler, Palo Alto) captured outsized gains amid escalating cyber threats

• Vertical Specialization Advantage: Industry-focused platforms (Veeva, Guidewire) outperformed horizontal solutions

• Traditional Enterprise Software Struggle: Legacy workflow and CRM platforms (ServiceNow, Salesforce) significantly lagged despite solid fundamentals

The performance spread of over 95 percentage points between top performers (~80%) and worst performers (-43%) highlighted the market's demand for innovation and differentiation in an increasingly competitive landscape.

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📈 Performance Summary Tables

Top 10 SaaS Winners (1H'25)

Bottom 10 SaaS Losers (1H'25) - Negative YTD Performance

🚀 Top 10 SaaS Gainers (1H'25)

1. Palantir Technologies (PLTR): +78.69% YTD 👑

• Hit all-time high of $148.22 on June 26, driven by 39% revenue growth to $884 million in Q1 • U.S. commercial revenue surged 71% as Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) gains enterprise traction

• Deep government/defense roots benefit from heightened geopolitical tensions worldwide

• Clear AI differentiation has made it indispensable for data-driven decision making

2. Zscaler (ZS): +73.27% YTD 🥈

• Zero Trust security leader capitalizing on massive enterprise shift to cloud-first architectures

• Nearly doubled from February lows as cyber threats reach all-time highs

• Cloud-native platform becoming essential infrastructure replacing traditional VPN models

• Strong positioning as distributed workforces prioritize security-first approaches

3. CouchBase (BASE): +57% YTD 🥉

• NoSQL database benefiting from explosion in real-time analytics and data-intensive applications

• Going private transaction driving significant premium for shareholders

• Mobile-to-cloud platform well-positioned for AI and IoT data processing needs

• Distributed database technology increasingly valuable for edge computing requirements

4. CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD): +48.01% YTD

• AI-driven Falcon platform gaining significant enterprise adoption across cybersecurity landscape

• Strategic partnerships like Wipro integration expanding market reach and capabilities

• Recent industry cyber incidents highlighting critical importance of proactive threat detection

• Strong module adoption showing platform stickiness and expansion within existing customers

5. Snowflake (SNOW): +40.62% YTD

• Q1 2025 revenue topped $1 billion milestone for first time, demonstrating platform maturity

• AI product investments gaining traction with 2,500+ accounts using Cortex AI weekly

• Staged impressive recovery from earlier lows as data infrastructure becomes AI foundation

• Positioned as essential platform for enterprise AI and data-driven initiatives

6. Guidewire (GWRE): +37% YTD

• Insurance industry digital transformation accelerating with climate-related claims driving modernization

• Comprehensive P&C platform essential for sophisticated risk modeling and regulatory compliance

• Cloud-first approach and AI capabilities resonating with insurers modernizing operations

• Vertical specialization creating strong competitive moats in regulated industry

7. Rubrik (RBRK): +37% YTD

• Data security focus capitalizing on growing ransomware threats and cyber resilience concerns

• Zero-trust data security approach becoming increasingly valuable for enterprise protection

• Comprehensive backup, recovery, and threat detection in single platform addresses critical needs

• Data breaches becoming existential threats driving demand for robust protection solutions

8. Veeva Systems (VEEV): +35% YTD

• Life sciences specialization benefiting from continued pharmaceutical and biotech innovation

• Specialized CRM and content management solutions indispensable for drug development timelines

• Domain expertise in highly regulated sector creating strong competitive advantages

• Accelerated drug development and complex regulatory environments driving platform adoption

9. Monday.com (MNDY): +31% YTD

• Intuitive, visual workflow management resonating as alternative to traditional enterprise software

• Strong customer expansion with significant growth in $50K+ and $100K+ ARR segments

• Customization and ease of use driving enterprise adoption of collaboration tools

• Work management platform benefiting from continued digital transformation trends

10. Amplitude (AMPL): +20% YTD

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Other Gainers:

• Okta (Okta): +20% YTD -The company's AI-powered identity governance and workforce identity cloud gained significant enterprise traction in H1'25, helping differentiate OKTA from legacy identity providers and driving premium pricing for advanced AI features

• Unity (U): +16% YTD - Gaming engine showed resilience despite industry headwinds

• Paycom (PAYC): +14% YTD - Payroll software demonstrated stability in HR tech

• Twilio (TWLO): +11% YTD - Customer engagement platform had mixed performance

• Palo Alto Networks (PANW): +11% YTD - Cybersecurity leader delivered steady gains

• Datadog (DDOG): +9% YTD - Observability platform showed resilience

• Shopify (SHOP): +8.36% YTD - E-commerce platform maintained modest momentum

Disappointing Performances:

• UiPath (PATH): +2.78% YTD - RPA leader struggled despite AI agent concerns being overblown

• ServiceNow (NOW): +1% YTD - Enterprise workflow platform was essentially flat

• Dynatrace (DT): +1% YTD - Application performance monitoring lagged

Notable Decliners:

• Zoom (ZM): -3.68% YTD - Video conferencing platform continued post-pandemic normalization

• Samsara (IOT): -11.09% YTD - Connected operations platform faced headwinds, but absolute growth still strong. High expectations.

• Salesforce (CRM): -19% YTD - CRM giant struggled with growth deceleration and AI monetization challenges

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🔍 Key Market Insights

Winning Themes:

1. AI + Data Infrastructure: Palantir and Snowflake dominated with clear AI value propositions

2. Cybersecurity Premium: CrowdStrike, Zscaler, and Palo Alto all delivered strong returns

3. Vertical SaaS Strength: Veeva, Guidewire showed specialized industry solutions outperformed

4. Data Security Focus: Rubrik capitalized on enterprise data protection concerns

Struggling Categories:

1. Traditional Enterprise Workflows: ServiceNow, Salesforce underperformed despite strong fundamentals

2. Legacy Communication Tools: Zoom continued post-pandemic decline

3. RPA/Automation: UiPath struggled despite AI transformation efforts

Market Bifurcation:

The SaaS market in 1H'25 showed clear bifurcation between companies with compelling AI differentiation (70%+ gains) and traditional enterprise software (single-digit or negative returns). Security and data infrastructure companies emerged as the biggest winners, while general productivity and communication tools lagged significantly.

Bottom Line: Success in 2025 required either mission-critical positioning (security, data), clear AI differentiation (Palantir), or deep vertical specialization (Veeva, Guidewire). Generic horizontal tools and traditional enterprise software struggled to gain investor confidence despite solid operational performance.

Data sources: Live stock performance data verified through multiple financial platforms as of July 2025