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Investors looking for the next decade's big tech winner have no shortage of options now. MongoDB (MDB) and Datadog (DDOG) both trade under $500, yet each is targeting massive opportunities in cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI). But only one has the better chance of making investors richer over the next decade.
The Case for MongoDB
MongoDB is a cloud database company that helps businesses store, manage, and access application data at scale. Its biggest product is MongoDB Atlas, a cloud-based database service that runs on major cloud providers such as Amazon’s (AMZN) AWS, Microsoft (MSFT) Azure, and Alphabet's (GOOG) (GOOGL) Google Cloud.
Atlas ended the first quarter with 66,400 customers, up from 55,800 from the year-ago quarter. Atlas reported a 29.4% year-over-year (YoY) increase in revenue and added a record $117 million in annual revenue, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of at least 29% growth. Its flagship product has already surpassed a $2 billion revenue run rate, accounting for nearly 75% of total revenue.
Overall, the company reported more than 67,700 customers at the end of Q1, adding 2,500 customers sequentially. Total revenue in Q1 increased 25% year over year to $688 million, while adjusted earnings climbed by 32% to $1.32 per share. However, the company’s revenue is not solely based on its cloud business. Enterprise Advanced (EA) and other revenue also climbed by 13% YoY. Management stressed that customers prefer MongoDB because of its hybrid deployment model that can operate across public clouds and on-premises environments. This flexibility helps reduce infrastructure complexity and lowers total ownership costs.
As AI advances, three major groups, namely the Frontier Labs, AI-native companies, and enterprises deploying AI applications, are considering the company’s AI-related products. MongoDB has ample resources to continue investing in AI innovation, international expansion, and growth initiatives while maintaining strong profitability trends. It ended the quarter with $2.4 billion in cash, equivalents, and short-term investments and free cash flow (FCF) of $198 million.
The company’s premium forward price-to-earnings multiple of 57x forward earnings depicts investors’ optimism for its AI-driven growth trajectory. Analysts forecast MongoDB’s earnings to climb by 23.4% and 19.6% over the next two fiscal years.
Overall, Wall Street rates MDB stock a consensus “Strong Buy.” Out of the 39 analysts covering the stock, 28 rate it a “Strong Buy,” two suggest it’s a “Moderate Buy,” and nine rate it a “Hold.” MongoDB's stock has fallen 15% year-to-date (YTD), but its average target price of $399.68 implies a potential upside of 15% from its current levels. The high price estimate of $545 suggests the stock can rally as much as 57% this year.
The Case for Datadog
Datadog is a cloud monitoring and cybersecurity platform that helps businesses track the performance, health, and security of their applications, servers, databases, and AI systems. Datadog recently reported one of its strongest quarters in years, pushing the stock up 73% YTD, outperforming the broader market.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, Datadog reached a significant milestone of quarterly revenue surpassing $1 billion for the first time, while also increasing 32% YoY. Meanwhile, total ARR exceeded $4 billion. AI has been the company’s biggest growth catalyst. In the quarter, Datadog made its MCP Server available while expanding Bits AI capabilities and introduced GPU Monitoring to help customers optimize AI infrastructure. However, management stressed that both AI and non-AI customer cohorts contributed to the robust quarter.
The company ended with 33,200 customers, up from about 30,500 a year earlier. Net revenue retention remained in the low 120% range, reflecting both strong customer loyalty and continued expansion spending across its customer base. Another green flag is its expanding product ecosystem. More than 56% of customers use four or more products, while 20% use eight or more products, creating powerful cross-selling opportunities and higher switching costs. The company now has five products generating more than $100 million in ARR. Datadog's broader portfolio gives it more ways to grow with existing customers over time. At the end of the quarter, Datadog had $4.8 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, along with $289 million in FCF.
Datadog stock is also trading at a premium of 96x forward 2026 earnings. Analysts expect the company’s earnings to increase by 18% in 2026, followed by 17.5% in 2027.
Overall, analysts see DDOG stock as a “Strong Buy.” Among the 45 analysts that cover the stock, 39 rate it a “Strong Buy,” three say it is a “Moderate Buy,” two say it is a “Hold,” and one recommends a “Strong Sell.” The stock has crossed its average target price, but the Street-high estimate of $320 implies the stock has upside potential of 37% from current levels.
Which One Could Make Investors Richer?
Both MongoDB and Datadog have compelling investment cases. However, Datadog appears to have the stronger long-term advantage. Datadog's growth is more diverse, with both AI and non-AI customers rising simultaneously. Datadog also appears to be monetizing the AI opportunity more aggressively. With faster revenue growth, a larger scale, stronger cash generation, and a rapidly expanding product suite, Datadog looks like the stock more likely to make investors richer over the next 10 years. Since both stocks are trading at a premium now, they may not offer a wide margin of safety at current levels. It is up to investors to select which stocks are worth paying a premium for now.
