With earnings season in full swing, many stocks are on the move. Macroeconomic headwinds have continued to plague companies in the tech industry this past quarter that otherwise have solid long-term outlooks. As a result, now is an excellent time to fill your portfolio with tech stocks that could offer massive gains once the market fully recovers.
Companies that are leading in industries such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and e-commerce have vast potential in the coming years. These are some of the hottest sectors in 2023, making their stocks attractive investments. Here are three top tech stocks to buy right now.
1. Apple
Since the start of 2023, Apple's (AAPL 0.75%) stock has been on an upward trajectory, resulting in new all-time highs and an increase of 38% year to date. Yet so far in August, its share price has dipped roughly 10%, from $196 at the start of the month to around $177 today.
The price drop came after the company announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2023, which revealed revenue declines across its product segments. Despite the losses, though, earnings were better than expected.
Apple also warned that it expects sales to be down in Q4 2023. If the prediction holds up, that would make it four quarters in a row of declining sales.
The market's reaction to Apple's falling sales has been swift, but its long-term growth history suggests it could be an overreaction. The future remains bright for the company. Its services segment continues to rise quickly, there's incredible growth potential for next year's Apple Vision Pro, and it's also developing a position in artificial intelligence (AI).
This could be the best time to buy Apple stock since the start of summer, the last time it was trading in the $170-$180 range.
2. Amazon
Amazon (AMZN 2.39%) shares have climbed 5% since the company released earnings on Aug. 2. The retail giant revealed significant improvements in its e-commerce business, with its North American segment hitting over $3 billion in operating income after reporting negative $627 million a year ago.
Despite the rally, Amazon shares remain down roughly 28% from the all-time high they achieved in July 2021. The difference indicates there's still plenty of growth potential for the e-commerce company's stock.
Moreover, Amazon has made a massive push into AI this year, a market projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 37% through 2030. In June, the company unveiled several new AI tools on its cloud platform, Amazon Web Services. Then in July, Amazon announced it had developed two new AI chips, diversifying its position in the high-growth sector and going up against chipmakers like Nvidia.
A quickly recovering e-commerce business and growing role in AI give Amazon immense potential over the long term. The company's stock price is still significantly down from its high, so there's no better time to invest in this tech giant.
3. Intel
Overall, it's been an excellent year for Intel (INTC 9.25%) stockholders. The company's stock price is up 27% since January. And more recently the company has started to turn its business around.
Intel has struggled in recent years. Apple, previously the company's single largest customer, started making its own processors for its Mac lineup in 2020. Meanwhile, Intel's biggest x86 processor competitor, Advanced Micro Devices, grew its market share from just under 10% in 2018 to over 30% by the end of 2022. Almost all of that came from Intel's slice of the pie.
Consequently, Intel's stock is down nearly 30% in the last five years, even when accounting for its gains in 2023.
However, in its Q2 2023 earnings report, Intel announced a return to profitability and a stronger-than-expected forecast. Both of these bode well for the company's long-term outlook and continuing recovery in the coming years.
Intel's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 16 is significantly undervalued, compared to competitors like AMD's P/E of 484 and Nvidia's P/E of 226. If Intel's turnaround continues on its current trajectory, it could be one of the better tech stocks to buy right now.
