Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), increased demand for big data and security to protect it, and big-picture growth trends like e-commerce and cloud computing all point to technology playing a more prominent role in the future economy.
Here are five stocks that could potentially be millionaire makers based on their competitive positions today and their potential to perform for many years to come. Despite their current sizes, they could still generate life-changing returns as they expand in enormous markets and return profits to shareholders.
1. Tesla
No company has a footing in as many massive market opportunities as Tesla (TSLA -1.11%). The company is a leader in electric vehicles, has a growing energy business and is developing cutting-edge artificial intelligence applications like self-driving (FSD) and humanoid robots. Electric vehicles are still just a tiny fraction of cars on U.S. roads, and Tesla is bringing the Cybertruck to market, a potential hit with SUV- and truck-loving Americans.
More importantly, the potential of FSD and a humanoid robot to perform manual labor are the stories to watch a decade out. These are groundbreakingly ambitious products, and success could take Tesla's value into the trillions of dollars. Tesla requires some faith to hold the stock for these long-term projects, but the established EV and energy businesses are a great foundation to invest in today.
2. Nvidia
There's no question that Nvidia (NVDA 6.18%) has become the face of AI. Its GPUs are the go-to building block companies use to power their AI models, and Nvidia's growth has exploded by triple-digit rates. This is no fluke. Analysts estimate that Nvidia owns 80% of the AI chip market. In fact, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently unveiled an agenda calling for trillions of dollars in investments to build semiconductor capacity to fuel the demand that AI tech will create moving forward.
Nvidia offers top-flight chips and software that optimizes it for AI, making deploying the technology simple for customers. The company's recent earnings showed how well the business is doing -- though as the stock rises, it prices in future growth, and investors must follow the market for signs of how Nvidia's market share holds up over time. Even so, it's hard to see a future for AI where Nvidia isn't an integral player.
3. Meta Platforms
Social media giant Meta Platforms (META 0.43%) is a beautiful business right now because it makes a ton of money advertising to its nearly four billion users across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. But Meta's lean into AI and augmented reality gives the company a lot of long-term potential. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is in an all-out war with Apple for the next generation of personal electronics dominance.
Meta is building its footing in augmented reality with the Meta Quest headset brand (formerly Oculus), a bet that society will eventually evolve past smartphones, which are dominated by the iPhone today. Investors can still do well with the stock as Meta repurchases shares and grows its dividend, but the Meta Quest could be what creates life-changing returns in the future.
4. Apple
The future beyond smartphones is big enough that investors should bet on multiple horses. Why not Apple (AAPL -0.35%), the defending smartphone champ? The iOS ecosystem is arguably the most powerful competitive advantage in tech. And Apple recently launched the Vision Pro headset, showing it won't let competition stay ahead.
Apple has repurchased tons of shares for years and is becoming a notable dividend growth stock. Investors can own Apple and sleep well at night for that alone, and it should become apparent over time if Apple comes under fire from next-generation competition like Meta's Quest headset. Until then, betting on iOS dominance could be easy money.
5. Amazon
Consumer spending makes the U.S. economy go round, which is why Amazon's (AMZN 3.43%) e-commerce dominance is impressive. The company owns a staggering 38% of online shopping in America, and the category is still just 15% of all retail sales. In other words, there is a decades-long shift that Amazon should capture as the runaway leader.
That's before getting into Amazon as an AI stock. The company's cloud platform, Amazon Web Services, is the global leader, which means it will be the computing foundation on which many companies will build and deploy their AI applications. It's a two-headed monster quickly growing a third head with a blossoming advertising business already doing tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue.
These companies could of course get disrupted over the coming years. Still, it's hard not to trust these companies' size, balance sheets, and sheer dominance. It's probably safe to buy and hold these companies and expect continued long-term greatness until they give shareholders a reason to think otherwise.
