It took over 400 years from the time the first stock was traded until a stock reached a market cap of $1 trillion. And that stock, PetroChina, soon fell below the magic level, causing investors to wait more than a decade for a stock to hit $1 trillion and remain above the threshold.
However, I don't think it will take nearly as long for multiple stocks to break another important barrier. I predict that the following three artificial intelligence (AI) stocks will be worth over $10 trillion by 2035.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Nvidia
Nvidia (NVDA 3.17%) is the easiest pick with my prediction. The company's valuation already hovers close to $4.5 trillion. Nvidia would only need to grow by around 8.3% per year for its market cap to hit $10 trillion by 2035. I think that growth level is readily attainable.
Two things need to happen for Nvidia to deliver average annual growth of at least 8.3% over the next 10 years. First, the demand for AI chips must continue to increase robustly. Second, Nvidia's GPUs must remain the best in the business for building and deploying AI models.
NASDAQ: NVDA
Key Data Points
I'm confident that the demand for AI chips will grow for years to come. Like many others, I believe we're only in the early days of AI adoption. If significant progress is made in building artificial general intelligence (AI) systems, the growth in demand for AI chips could be explosive.
Will Nvidia's GPUs remain the gold standard for AI applications? My hunch is that they will. Sure, Nvidia has several formidable challengers. However, the company continues to invest heavily in research and development and has a rapid cadence of launching new innovations. I expect Nvidia will stay on top.
2. Apple
Apple (AAPL 0.38%) became the first stock to sustain a market cap of over $1 trillion. I believe it will be among the elite group of stocks worth $10 trillion or more by 2035. To accomplish this, Apple would need to nearly triple its current market cap of around $3.4 trillion. Is that doable? Yes, if the company can deliver a compound annual growth rate of 11.4%.
The good news is that Apple is already achieving the earnings growth needed. The company's earnings per share jumped 12% in its latest quarter. The better news is that Apple could have catalysts on the way that accelerate its growth.
NASDAQ: AAPL
Key Data Points
Rumors are rampant that Apple plans to launch a foldable iPhone next year. Bloomberg recently reported that the company will introduce a countertop robot in 2027. These AI companions would incorporate a turbocharged and more visual version of Apple's Siri AI assistant.
Perhaps the most important new growth driver for Apple, though, could be AI glasses. The first version of the new device could come as soon as 2026 and compete against Meta Platforms' popular smart glasses.
3. Alphabet
I predict Alphabet (GOOG 2.25%) (GOOGL 2.01%) will join Nvidia and Apple in the $10 trillion club. The Google parent's market cap currently stands at roughly $2.5 trillion. Its stock would need to quadruple by 2035 to hit $10 trillion. That translates to an annual growth rate of nearly 15%.
Alphabet is already delivering earnings growth that tops the required level. Current revenue growth falls just short, but a modest uptick would close the gap. I think there are several ways the company could squeeze out a little more growth.
NASDAQ: GOOGL
Key Data Points
Probably the simplest way for Alphabet to reach a market cap of $10 trillion is for Google Cloud to gain even more momentum. Google Cloud is the fastest-growing major cloud service provider right now. I can envision its growth accelerating with the launch of highly capable AI agents that perform a wide variety of tasks for users.
But Alphabet has multiple other alternative growth drivers. Waymo is poised to be a big winner in the robotaxi market over the next few years. Don't be surprised if Google becomes a major player in the AI glasses market, along with Apple and Meta. It could even make a huge breakthrough in quantum computing that helps boost Alphabet's market cap to the $10 trillion mark.
Could there be more?
While I'm predicting that Nvidia, Apple, and Alphabet will have market caps of at least $10 trillion by 2035, I'm not saying there won't be other AI stocks in the club. Microsoft is an obvious candidate. So is Amazon. I wouldn't be surprised if Meta is in the group as well, although it's somewhat more of a dark horse.
