The smaller the circle, the harder it is to get inside it. One of the most exclusive circles of all is what some investment writers (including me) call the "$2 trillion club." To be a member, a company must have a market cap of at least $2 trillion.
If a company has its sights set on gaining admission to the $2 trillion club, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) is probably a smart move. All five of the current members invest heavily in AI. And two AI stocks are the most likely contenders to join the club next.
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Current $2 trillion club members
Microsoft (MSFT +2.13%) and Nvidia (NVDA +4.30%) have jockeyed back and forth to be the largest company in the world. Nvidia currently holds the title, with a market cap of nearly $3.8 trillion. Microsoft is breathing down Nvidia's neck, though, with a market cap of nearly $3.7 trillion.
Both companies are leaders in the AI arena. Nvidia's graphics processing units (GPUs) remain the gold standard to power servers used to build and deploy AI models. Microsoft's integration with OpenAI's GPT throughout its product suite and cloud platform has been a game-changer for the tech giant.
For years, Apple (AAPL 0.87%) reigned as the world's biggest company. However, the iPhone maker now holds the No. 3 spot, with a market cap of a little over $3 trillion. While Apple has significant AI expertise, its perceived slowness in rolling out generative AI (genAI) capabilities, along with the lackluster response to the genAI functionality it ultimately did launch, has allowed Nvidia and Microsoft to leapfrog it.
Amazon (AMZN +3.47%) claims the No. 4 position, with a market cap of nearly $2.3 trillion. The e-commerce leader is also the cloud services leader, with Amazon Web Services (AWS) commanding a significant advantage in market share among cloud services providers. AWS' AI offerings have helped it stay at the top, even with other cloud companies gaining ground.
One of those rising cloud stars is Google parent Alphabet (GOOG +1.44%) (GOOGL +1.71%). Google Cloud is the fastest-growing major cloud service provider. Google Search has also introduced generative AI functionality, such as AI Overviews and AI Mode. In addition, Alphabet's Waymo unit is the leader in autonomous ride-hailing, which relies heavily on AI.
Most likely to join the club next
The two companies that trail behind Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet are also, not so coincidentally, AI leaders. Both are the clear favorites at this point to be the next members of the $2 trillion club.
Meta Platforms (META +2.48%) is already knocking at the door, with its market cap approaching $1.8 trillion. All the stock needs is a gain of 23.5% or so to take its place alongside the other five AI stocks. That might not prove to be too difficult. Meta's shares are up more than 20% year to date.
NASDAQ: META
Key Data Points
Some have criticized Meta's AI efforts. However, the company is using AI extensively internally to recommend content to users of its apps and help advertisers. Its Meta AI large language model (LLM) has almost 1 billion active monthly users. Meta is also a leader in AI-powered smart glasses.
Broadcom (AVGO +0.62%) has a steeper climb than Meta does to join the $2 trillion club. With a market cap of $1.24 trillion, the chipmaker's share price would have to jump by more than 60% to become a member. Broadcom stock has risen around 14% so far in 2025.
NASDAQ: AVGO
Key Data Points
AI networking presents a tremendous growth opportunity for Broadcom. Its AI revenue soared 46% year over year to $4.4 billion in the second quarter of 2025, with AI networking making up 40% of the total. Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said on the company's fiscal Q2 earnings call that he expects the demand for AI accelerators to increase in the coming quarters.
Are Meta and Broadcom smart picks to buy now?
I think both of these prospective $2 trillion club members are smart picks for long-term investors to buy now. Granted, Meta and Broadcom could be volatile over the near term. Meta faces some regulatory issues in Europe. Broadcom's valuation is sky-high, with shares trading at more than 40 times forward earnings. If you're patient, though, I expect both companies to continue to benefit from major AI tailwinds.
