Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most important growth opportunities for many technology companies in recent years. Sure, some companies don't have clear avenues to benefit from the technology and are just benefiting from the hype, but there are plenty of companies that have experienced significant growth from artificial intelligence -- and also make good investments.
If you're in the market for a few AI stock ideas, here are two that could continue to benefit from the increasing demand for artificial intelligence hardware and software.
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1. Broadcom
Broadcom (AVGO +1.32%) makes application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) for AI data centers that are custom to client needs. The company's XPUs have become an integral part of many AI data centers, including ones built by Meta and Alphabet.
What makes Broadcom an intriguing opportunity is that it's not just a bet on AI processors. In addition to its AI semiconductor designs, the company also sells networking products, like switches, and its purchase of VMware a few years ago makes it a formidable software player as well. Software sales rose 17% to $6.7 billion in the third quarter (ended Aug. 3), and now account for nearly 43% of the company's total revenue.
The result of Broadcom's software and hardware prowess is impressive sales and earnings growth. Total revenue rose 22% in Q3 to $15.9 billion and non-GAAP earnings popped 36% to $1.69 per share. Broadcom's AI revenue jumped 63% in the quarter to $5.2 billion, and management expects continued growth in the current quarter -- with AI sales estimated to reach $6.2 billion.
Management estimates that the company's AI revenue could reach up to $90 billion annually by 2027, which means Broadcom and its investors may have more to look forward to.
NASDAQ: AVGO
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2. Microsoft
Microsoft (MSFT 0.24%) has spent the past few years implementing OpenAI's ChatGPT bot into its suite of software -- from Microsoft 365 to GitHub -- and now has millions of customers using its Copilot AI. That's been a boon to nearly all of the company's services, and in Q4 (ended June 30), the company's sales rose 18% to $76 billion and non-GAAP earnings popped 24% to $3.65 per share.
As important as its software offerings are, one of the biggest AI opportunities for Microsoft comes from its cloud computing service, Azure. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said on the company's Q4 earnings call that Azure surpassed $75 billion in annual revenue -- a 34% increase -- and that, "We continue to lead the AI infrastructure wave and took share every quarter this year."
NASDAQ: MSFT
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AI infrastructure will continue to be important for the company for years to come, considering that Goldman Sachs research estimates that global AI cloud computing revenue could reach an estimated $2 trillion by 2030. Microsoft has 20% of the cloud computing market right now, and continues to take market share away from Amazon. With its current cloud computing position and the huge potential for AI cloud sales, Microsoft will likely continue to benefit from this emerging space for years to come.
Keep this in mind when investing in AI
There are some signs that the U.S. economy is slowing down. The August jobs report was worse than expected, spurring the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at its most recent meeting.
But even if there's a slowdown, it's important to keep in mind that artificial intelligence is now mission-critical for many companies. That means that it's unlikely that there will be a significant pullback in investments or focus by companies anytime soon. While nothing is certain, Microsoft and Broadcom look poised to ride the wave of growing demand for AI hardware and services.
