Nvidia's (NVDA 0.05%) business has gone through an incredible transformation over the last decade. While the company got its start designing graphics processing units (GPUs) to support high-end video games, its strengths in processing hardware gave it the foundation to be the frontrunner in artificial intelligence (AI) computing and deliver huge wins for long-term shareholders.
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Nvidia stock has been an incredible winner
As of this writing, Nvidia has a market capitalization of $4.6 trillion and stands as the world's most valuable company. Over the last decade, Nvidia has delivered a total return of roughly 25,500%. If you had invested $100 in Nvidia a decade ago and held on to your stock, your holdings would now be worth approximately $25,570. Meanwhile, the stock has posted a total return of roughly 1,300% over the last five years -- good enough to turn a $100 investment into roughly $1,400.
NASDAQ: NVDA
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In addition to its core strengths in the AI data center market, Nvidia has been making some big moves to diversify its tech portfolio and plant the seeds for potentially explosive new growth shoots. The company has been putting its big cash pile to use with acquisitions, and purchasing businesses and tech licenses that can strengthen its core AI processing business as well as facilitate growth in categories such as robotics and autonomous vehicles.
Nvidia looks poised to remain the leader in GPU technologies, and its strengths in AI hardware could help it score wins in other promising markets. This should help grow an Nvidia investment significantly over the next decade as well.
