Finding quality stocks to buy isn't too terribly tough for most investors. Finding stocks that could turn practically nothing into half a million bucks within one lifetime, however, does have its challenges.
Potential candidates are likely to be found within the tech sector, since technology is ultimately at the heart of most major sociocultural advancements. But these companies must also be able to adapt products and services that are perpetually in demand. This criterion narrows the list of possibilities quite a bit.
With that as the backdrop, here's a closer look at three technology stocks that -- given enough time -- have a great shot at turning next to nothing into $500,000, if not more.
1. Nvidia
You most likely know Nvidia (NVDA +0.04%) as a maker of computer graphics tech. Its stand-alone GPUs (graphics processing units) are a favorite among video gaming enthusiasts, although the company also offers display solutions for PCs without graphics cards.
Computer displays aren't its biggest business anymore, however -- not even close. Last year, data center processing solutions accounted for over three-fourths of the company's revenue. By and large, these data centers are using Nvidia's hardware in artificial intelligence applications. As it turns out, the same computer architecture that makes for high-performance graphics cards is also perfectly suited to handle the heavy-duty data loads inherent in AI! That's why Nvidia has been making purpose-built artificial intelligence hardware for a while now. And that's why Nvidia is believed to now control the vast majority of the AI hardware market.
NASDAQ: NVDA
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Problem? Investors keeping close tabs on Nvidia probably already know that. With its market cap of well over $2 trillion, this company is now a regular contender for the honor of being the world's biggest. This sheer size, however, also seemingly limits its potential upside. How big can a corporation realistically get?
The thing is, there is no actual limit to Nvidia's potential size. Those are purely mental constructs. That's particularly true in light of the fact that the world's still only scratched the surface of its use of AI. An outlook from Precedence Research suggests the worldwide AI market is set to grow an average of 19% per year through 2032, while Mordor Intelligence says the AI computing hardware market alone will likely grow at an annualized pace of 26% through 2029. Both predictions of course bode well for Nvidia.
2. The Trade Desk
The Trade Desk (TTD 0.56%) is anything but a household name. But there's a good chance you or someone in your household is regularly impacted by its service.
In simplest terms, The Trade Desk helps companies advertise more effectively, particularly as it pertains to digital advertising. From ad-supported streaming to billboards to conventional web ads, The Trade Desk is a one-stop shop for getting your message in front of consumers. Just as important, the company helps advertisers better target specific audiences and monitor the success of ad campaigns. It even integrates its platform with other, comparable advertising-support and data-monitoring services.
NASDAQ: TTD
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It's not exactly a brand new idea. Companies have sought to fine-tune their advertising for decades now. It didn't take long for advertisers to do the same shortly after the internet itself was identified as a viable advertising medium.
The Trade Desk arguably does it better than most, if not all, competitors in this space. Quadrant Knowledge Solutions identified The Trade Desk as 2023's top advertising technology provider, putting it ahead of competitors like Alphabet's Google, Amazon, and Adobe. IT research and consultancy Gartner also regularly ranks The Trade Desk as a leader within the ad-tech space, again placing it on par with Adobe, Google, and Amazon.
This powerful platform is the chief reason the company's revenue is expected to climb nearly 23% this year and almost another 20% next year. Earnings are growing even more, from last year's $1.26 per share to an expected $1.47 this year to a projected $1.76 per share next year.
This might help seal the deal: The Trade Desk is doing well, but the stock remains well below analysts' estimates of its worth. Most analysts rate shares as a strong buy at this time, with its consensus price target of $97.85 being more than 20% above the stock's present price.
3. IonQ
Last but not least, add IonQ (IONQ 0.97%) to your list of unstoppable technology stocks that could take you from zero to half a million dollars in a relatively modest amount of time.
Most investors have likely heard the term "quantum computing." But most investors would also be pretty hard-pressed to name a single publicly traded company working on this revolutionary computing technology. IonQ is one of the few. Using ionized ytterbium atoms as the basis for its computing platforms, the company can offer computational solutions that couldn't even be conceived with the use of more conventional, silicon-based hardware. For perspective, quantum computes are on the order of 100 million times faster than the type of computers you may use at home or at work.
NYSE: IONQ
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That doesn't necessarily make them better for all purposes. Quantum computers aren't practical for most ordinary uses like browsing the internet or playing a video game, for instance. They're only well suited for handling complex calculations like those needed to be done by AI or drug development platforms. They may also be able to handle jobs like financial modeling or cybersecurity, which aren't necessarily data-intensive but are still complicated, multifaceted tasks.
Investors must understand that these solutions are no longer merely theoretical, or even in a beta-testing stage. They're real. IonQ's quantum computers are now commercialized. The company booked $22 million worth of revenue last year, and it is expected to report $39 million this year en route to nearly $81 million worth of sales in 2025.
The company's not yet profitable, for the record, and probably won't be in the foreseeable future. That's a risk to consider simply because unprofitable companies often make for volatile, unpredictable stocks.
That doesn't necessarily mean IonQ shares won't perform well in the future, particularly as more investors start seeing the company's opportunity in the quantum computing space. Precedence Research suggests this market will grow an average of 37% through 2030, when it's expected to be worth $125 billion per year.
