The tech market is booming, with the Nasdaq-100 Technology sector up about 58% year to date. Advances in high-growth markets like artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing have made Wall Street particularly bullish, and excitement is unlikely to dissipate in 2024.
With the new year right around the corner, now is an excellent time to consider investing in companies likely to flourish over the next 12 months. Tech stocks are an attractive option, as they're known for delivering significant gains over the long term. And there's no telling how high they could rise alongside developments in AI and other markets.
So here are two hypergrowth tech stocks to buy in 2023 and beyond.
1. Alphabet
As the world's third-most-valuable tech company with a market cap of $1.7 trillion, it's hard to go wrong with Alphabet (GOOG 9.96%) (GOOGL 10.22%). The company is home to some of the most recognizable brands, with Google, YouTube, and Android attracting billions of users daily. Alphabet's potent products have made it nearly impossible for most consumers to go a single day without using one of its services.
The tech giant's vast user base has seen it become an advertising powerhouse, using the popularity of its platforms to gain a 25% market share in the $680 billion digital ad market. Macroeconomic headwinds burdened the industry in 2022 as spikes in inflation caused businesses to cut ad spending. However, solid growth in Alphabet's third quarter of 2023 has likely signaled an end to market declines.
The quarter saw Alphabet post revenue gains of 11% year over year, beating analysts' expectations by $980 million. The growth was mainly thanks to boosted advertising income, with Google Search and YouTube ads reporting revenue rises of 11% and 12%, respectively.
In addition to advertising, Alphabet has a lucrative position in the cloud market with Google Cloud. The company revealed in August that 70% of AI start-ups worth more than $1 billion are Google Cloud customers. Meanwhile, the company is gearing up to launch Gemini in 2024, a large language model likely to allow Alphabet to expand its AI cloud offerings.
Data by YCharts
Despite Alphabet's success and brand recognition, it's one of the cheapest tech stocks right now. The charts above compare the price-to-earnings ratios and price-to-free cash flows of some of the biggest tech companies. These valuations are helpful when determining if a stock is trading at the right price, with the figures indicating Alphabet is a bargain compared to its peers. The company is an excellent investment option in 2023 and ahead of the new year.
2. Apple
Apple (AAPL -0.35%) has been a favorite on Wall Street for years, with shares that have soared more than 360% over the last five years and significantly outperformed the S&P 500's growth of 75%.
A P/E and price-to-free cash flow of 31 don't scream bargain, as the chart shows in the previous section, but that's in comparison to Alphabet, which is one of the cheapest ways to invest in tech. Meanwhile, the company has the cash and brand loyalty to flourish over the long term.
Data by YCharts
Apple hasn't had the easiest year, with an economic downturn causing repeated declines in its product sales and revenue dipping 3% year over year in its fiscal 2023. Yet it still ended the year with more than $162 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities. And as illustrated by the table above, Apple achieved more free cash flow than many of the most prominent tech companies.
The company may have stumbled over the last 12 months, but it has the funds to overcome market challenges and heavily invest in its business.
Moreover, it wasn't all bad news for Apple this year. Its services division remained the fastest-growing part of its business, with the segment posting revenue growth of 9% year over year. Services includes income from the App Store and subscriptions like Apple TV+, Music, and iCloud. The digital business is a particularly lucrative area for Apple, proving less vulnerable to economic fluctuations and delivering profit margins of around 71%. For reference, products' profit margins come in at 36%.
Apple's business is gradually prioritizing digital offerings, making its stock an attractive long-term option. Alongside substantial cash reserves and recent expansions into AI and virtual reality, Apple is a hypergrowth stock too good to pass up.
