The stock market generally marches higher over time, but the circle of trillion-dollar stocks is still pretty exclusive, an honor just a few companies enjoy. However, that club should grow larger over time -- the trillion-dollar question is which companies will hit that milestone.

Three Fools have sifted the market for some proven winners with the upside potential for years of growth, making them excellent candidates for a long-term portfolio. Here is why Nvidia (NVDA 2.37%), ASML Holding (ASML -0.48%), and Meta Platforms (META -12.82%) could deliver handsome returns over the next decade.

With a $685 billion market cap, Nvidia is already within striking distance of the $1 trillion club

Jake Lerch (Nvidia): Ten years ago, Nvidia's market cap stood at just over $7 billion. Today, it's more than $685 billion. What's behind the nearly 100x increase in value? In short, Nvidia is one of the driving forces behind today's -- and tomorrow's -- cutting-edge technology.

Nvidia's graphics and mobile processors have already found a home in PCs, gaming devices, workstations, data centers, and mobile devices. There is, however, so much more room to grow.

Secular growth trends, such as artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous driving, and cloud computing, will keep Nvidia's products in high demand for years to come. After all, Nvidia's chips are often the brain behind the coolest new feature or device -- whether that's better graphics on a gaming console, a smarter AI, or an innovative safety feature in an automobile.

And that's part of why Wall Street analysts remain so bullish on Nvidia. Despite having grown revenue at an average rate of 24% over the last 10 years, analysts expect the blistering growth to persist, with 11.5% revenue growth for this year and 24.5% the year after.

With that type of growth, it's reasonable to think Nvidia's stock could easily rise 50% from its current level. That would bring the company's overall market cap to $1.027 trillion -- joining the likes of Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon in the Trillion dollar club.

Don't count out this "unknown" tech giant

Will Healy (ASML): Given the hype surrounding better-known semiconductor stocks, Netherlands-based ASML describes itself as the "most important tech company you've never heard of" due to its role in the chip industry.

It leads its industry in extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV), the technology that powers the world's most advanced chip manufacturing processes. Companies like Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC) and Samsung cannot produce their most powerful chips without ASML's EUV technology, giving ASML a competitive advantage over peers such as Lam Research and Applied Materials.

At a market cap of just over $250 billion, it will have to double in value twice over the next seven years for its market cap to reach $1 trillion. However, TSMC, Samsung, and Intel have pledged hundreds of billions of dollars to construct additional fabs to power the latest technology and diversify the manufacturing base away from Taiwan.

Due to this rising demand for EUV machines, the company expects annual revenue to grow to between 44 billion euros and 60 billion euros ($48 billion to $66 billion) by 2030. This means considerable growth compared to the 21 billion euros ($23 billion) in revenue ASML generated in 2022. Still, the 6.7 billion euros ($7.4 billion) in revenue for the first quarter of 2023 indicates it is well on its way to meeting that 2030 revenue goal.

Moreover, ASML earned 5.6 billion euros ($6.2 billion) in 2022, more than double the 2.6 billion euros ($2.8 billion) in 2018. The increase in gross margins from 46% to 50.5% during that time considerably boosted its profits, and a 50.6% gross margin in Q1 2023 indicates margin expansions are continuing. Additionally, for 2030, ASML predicts gross margins will rise to the 56% to 60% range, increasing the chances it will double its income at the same or possibly a heightened pace.

This is significant because doubling its income twice would take its annual earnings to approximately 22 billion euros, or $24 billion, in 2030. At that income level, it must reach a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 42 to attain a $1 trillion market cap. Fortunately for ASML, it now sells for 42 times its earnings, and its P/E ratio often exceeded 50 during the most recent bull market.

Admittedly, a lot can happen in seven years. But as conditions stand now, rising chip demand means the world needs more of ASML's technology. If the company can maintain its income growth and valuation until 2030, $1 trillion is within reach.

Meta's ruthless efficiency is good news for your portfolio

Justin Pope (Meta Platforms): Remember when Wall Street declared Meta's golden years were over? That Mark Zuckerberg had lost his touch, spending billions on his metaverse projects? You don't hear that anymore now that shares have risen nearly 80% since the start of 2023. The good news is that Meta isn't delivering flukey returns. Instead, the market is celebrating the company's decision to tighten spending, cut costs, and squeeze profits from its dominant family of social media apps.

Meta has announced multiple rounds of layoffs, shedding roughly 25,000 jobs across three rounds of cuts. The job cuts, combined with some spending reductions, should lower Meta's total 2023 expenses to $89 billion to $95 billion from $94 billion to $100 billion. While you shouldn't want Meta going too far and suffocating innovation, it acknowledges that the company had grown bloated.

This sets the stage for Meta's family of apps to continue raking in big profits. Monthly users across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp continue growing, increasing 4% year over year in Q4 to 3.74 billion. Political pressure on TikTok has proven a tailwind for Meta's short-term video product -- Reels activity more than doubled from 2021 to 2022.

Social media looks like it's going nowhere, which could continue driving steady earnings growth for Meta. A rebound in Meta's ad business, continued user growth, monetization from Reels, and future innovations can help grow the bottom line.

With a market cap of over $500 billion, Meta must double its earnings-per-share (EPS) by 2030 and hold its valuation (which remains very reasonable) to hit a trillion-dollar market cap. Analysts expect nearly 11% annual EPS growth over the next three to five years, so Meta has a very realistic shot of delivering for shareholders.