The last two years have been dominated by artificial intelligence (AI) stocks. The influx of spending on AI infrastructure and development, combined with investors' excitement aro

Artificial intelligence continued to be a driving force behind stock market returns in 2024. Here are some of the stocks that have benefited the most.

A rate-cutting campaign by the Federal Reserve, a resilient economy and strong corporate earnings provided another solid backdrop for the stock market in 2024. After a stellar 2023, it was a great year for growth stocks in the software space like Palantir Technologies and AppLovin after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite confirmed new uptrends in early November 2023 with one-day gains of more than 1.

Two of the hottest artificial intelligence (AI) stocks heading into 2025 are Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) and SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN). Both stocks had a phenomenal 2024, with Palantir's stock up almost 400% and SoundHound AI's gaining nearly 900%.

Two prominent companies in this area are quantum computing company IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) and semiconductor-giant Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). Through Dec. 11, IonQ's share price was up around 140%, and Nvidia's had risen about 180% in 2024.

But investors looking to add some AI stocks to their portfolio have plenty of other options. And two other companies look far more attractive than the richly valued Palantir. In fact, I predict both will be worth more than Palantir by the end of 2025, as a result of strong relative price performance to 2024's big winner.