There's a lot of instability in the stock market right now. Conflict in Europe, sky-high inflation, supply chain constraints, and the potential for upcoming interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve have all put investors on edge.
And yet the stock market is still a great place for people to build wealth over the long term. Investors looking for a great place to put $10,000 right now should look no further than these five unstoppable trends and the companies right in the middle of them.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. AI-based lending platforms: $739 billion TAM
For years, artificial intelligence (AI) has been used by companies to improve their own businesses, but consumers haven't reaped the same rewards -- until now. Thanks to companies including Upstart Holdings (UPST -1.25%), AI lending platforms are making it easier for people to secure loans without additional risks to lending companies.
Upstart's platform uses AI to help assess potential borrowers by analyzing data points beyond the traditional credit score. The result is that more borrowers receive loans -- at better interest rates -- and the percentage of borrowers who default on those loans is lower than for traditional banks. That's a win-win for both borrowers and lenders.
Upstart focuses on both the personal loan and automotive markets, which represents a combined total addressable market (TAM) of $739 billion.
Topping off Upstart's fantastic opportunity in this space is the fact that it makes its money by charging fees to banks and lending institutions, not borrowers, which means the company takes on little risk in the process.
2. Telehealth: An $18.5 billion market opportunity
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that there was a more than 63-fold increase in telehealth demand since the COVID-19 pandemic began. And one company that's been in this space for more than a decade is Doximity (DOCS -1.34%).
The company operates a HIPAA-compliant app that allows doctors to easily set up virtual calls and other communications with their patients. Already, more than 150 hospitals and health systems in the U.S. have doctors using Doximity's app.
The company already boasts some impressive figures, with more than 80% of U.S. doctors using Doximity, as well as 50% of nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
Doximity sets itself apart in the burgeoning telemedicine market -- of which it believes it has an $18.5 billion market opportunity -- by also offering medical workers a social networking tool to help advance their careers as well as keep up with medical research and news.
3. Fintech: Fast-growing and far-reaching
Financial technology, or fintech, is a fast-growing trend that all sorts of companies -- from banks to technology start-ups -- are honing in on. Fintech is the broad term for nearly anything that involves using technology for financial transactions. That means Apple dabbling in fintech with Apple Pay, as well as fintech-specific companies including Block (SQ -1.68%).
One of the most important ways that Block, formerly called Square, is tapping into the fintech space is with its Cash App. The app allows people to easily pay each other for the monthly rent, split checks at dinner, or even pay merchants with their phones while in a store.
Block's Cash App brings in about half of the company's gross profit and has more than 44 million transacting accounts. Additionally, users can use Cash App to buy and sell Bitcoin, which has helped Block tap into the cryptocurrency market.
The company is also working on several projects that will help it move further in the cryptocurrency and blockchain spaces in the coming years, which will not only help it benefit from the growth of fintech but also transition to new trends, like decentralized finance.
4. The metaverse: An eventual $800 million market opportunity
The metaverse -- where people spend their time in digital environments using avatars -- is still in its early stages, but interest here is already skyrocketing. That's because some estimates predict the metaverse could potentially turn into a massive $800 billion market in just a few years.
Some of the world's leading technology companies are already positioning themselves to benefit when the metaverse becomes a reality. One company with tons of potential in this space is Nvidia (NVDA 3.71%).
The metaverse will need lots of high-end graphics processors to help users explore their virtual worlds on their computers and virtual reality headsets. That's great news for Nvidia because that company's GPUs are typically considered the best graphics processors for gaming.
Not only could Nvidia's processors become the go-to GPUs for many metaverse users, but the company is also building out its own Omniverse platform that could help developers build their metaverse experiences. Interest in the company's metaverse-building platform is growing quickly, with more than 70,000 users already signed up.
5. Cybersecurity: A $116 billion TAM by 2025
Cybersecurity is one trend that we all probably would rather not be unstoppable because its growth comes from the increasing need to protect our devices. But as long as criminals are out there trying to steal people's data -- and there always will be -- then it's good that companies like CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD 0.13%) exist.
CrowdStrike says that there was an 82% increase in ransomware-related data leaks in 2021 and it's statistics like these that have helped fuel the company's stellar growth.
In the most recent quarter (reported on Dec. 1), CrowdStrike's customer count surged 75%, and its revenue spiked 63%. Just as important is the fact that CrowdStrike's customers continue to add more services, with 68% of the company's subscription customers using at least four of the company's cybersecurity modules.
CrowdStrike is helping companies combat ongoing cybersecurity threats, and it estimates that its total addressable market will increase from $55 billion this year to $116 billion by 2025.
