Using the word "unstoppable" to describe a stock has significant weight. To qualify, the company needs to be dominant but still capturing market share at an impressive rate.
These are the types of companies that make start-ups shiver when they launch a competing product, and I have two examples that I think qualify.
Both Amazon (AMZN +0.61%) and Alphabet (GOOG +1.10%) (GOOGL +1.31%) earned the unstoppable moniker, and their performance has been an example of that.
AI is a vital part of both businesses
Amazon might not seem like much of an artificial intelligence (AI) stock, but it is both a heavy user and provider of the technology. On the commerce side, it has long used AI to make the company more efficient. Whether that's planning the most efficient route for package delivery, strategically stocking warehouses based on demand predictions, or ensuring products are packed in boxes efficiently, the company is a role model for many commerce companies that want to integrate AI.
It also works on the provider side. Its Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform provides the computing power its customers need to create and run AI models. AWS is the industry leader in cloud computing and has a significant AI tool kit for its users. Amazon partnered with Anthropic to give its users access to a top-notch generative AI model, so AWS has the technology it needs to compete with Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud.
Alphabet, the parent of Google, is another company I would consider unstoppable. Although it doesn't have nearly the market share AWS has in cloud computing, its platform is attractive to a very particular set of businesses: generative AI unicorns.
Unicorns are private companies with over a $1 billion valuation and are either targets to go public or be acquired by larger business. About 90% of generative AI unicorns use Google Cloud, and 60% of funded generative AI start-ups choose it. Considering that there are three main choices regarding cloud computing infrastructure, that's a massive advantage for Alphabet.
NASDAQ: AMZN
Key Data Points
The company also uses its AI prowess to improve search results. If you have searched anything on Google lately, you'll notice that an AI summary powered by its in-house model, Gemini, appears at the top. Although this rollout hasn't been perfectly smooth, it cements Google as the top place to find information online, which is key when looking for unstoppable stocks.
But that's only the first part of this analysis. What makes these two great stocks to buy now and hold forever?
The world wouldn't be the same without Amazon or Alphabet
It's hard to imagine a world without Amazon or Alphabet. In 2023, Amazon accounted for nearly 40% of all e-commerce sales in the U.S. That's a substantial market share considering that Walmart is in a distant second place with a 6% share. Furthermore, if AWS ceased to exist, websites, businesses, and parts of the government wouldn't be able to function.
NASDAQ: GOOGL
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While there are alternative search engines to Google, there's a reason few people use them. And all of the ancillary services that Google provides -- like Google Drive and the free products similar to Microsoft Office that many businesses depend on -- would be missed if Alphabet didn't exist.
Because these two companies are so ingrained in our daily lives -- along with their drive to capture new market share -- they make for great stocks to build a portfolio on.
Because of their proven track record, I'm confident that Alphabet and Amazon will continue to succeed in their current industries and whatever new ones they enter over the next few decades.
