Justin Pope, The Motley Fool
·4 min read
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a big deal today, primarily because the stock market looks ahead. It can see the long-term potential a new technology like AI has to change our world. According to Grand View Research, the global AI market was $200 billion last year and will grow nearly 40% annually through 2030.
Now is the time to place your long-term bets, choosing the top AI companies that have the potential to outperform both competitors and the broader stock market over the coming years.
Some high-potential stocks stand out from the crowd.Here is why investors should consider buying and holding Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW), Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR), and ASML (NASDAQ: ASML) for decades to come. And you can get a share of all three of them for less than $1,150 at today's prices.
1. Storing and organizing data will be critical to AI
Snowflake is becoming crucial to AI. Artificial intelligence models require vast amounts of data on which to train. Snowflake is a data cloud that stores customers' data on its cloud-based platform. Customers can easily query data from Snowflake, which indexes and stores it neatly, making it easy to use. Additionally, Snowflake enables customers to share and source data from third parties.
Data grows exponentially. The more digital our world is, the more data we create. And data doesn't expire; it simply stacks up as time passes. That's why most of the world's data was only recently created. That statement will likely be true 10, 20, 30 years from now. Snowflake charges are based on the computing and storage customers use. It helps customers fit Snowflake into their budget. It also sets up long-term revenue growth as increasing amounts of data require more storage and computing power.
Snowflake is a key industry player, with privately held Databricks as its primary competitor. Snowflake works on top of the major cloud platforms, making them almost more of a partner than a competitor. Its usage-based billing may create some volatility in Snowflake's short-term growth, but the long-term trend should point up.
2. Companies will need help deploying AI applications
Any technology investor who reads earnings reports has likely seen how much every company seemingly mentions AI as part of the future. But not many companies know how to implement AI into their business. That's where Palantir Technologies' opportunity lies. The company builds and deploys custom software for government and commercial clients on its three platforms: Gotham, Foundry, and, most recently, its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP).
AIP is for deploying AI apps, and CEO Alex Karp notedthat customer interest in deploying AI via Palantir is tremendous. It's showing up in the numbers, too. Palantir's U.S. commercial-customer count grew 55% year over year in the fourth quarter and 22% quarter over quarter. Note that Palantir still has just 221 U.S. clients versus a market opportunity of thousands of corporations in the U.S. alone.
It's not a giant leap to imagine Palantir's commercial customer base multiplying in size over the next decade and beyond. It's all supported by strong ties to the U.S. government that gives the company a high floor. U.S. government deals contribute roughly half of Palantir's total revenue today.
3. The machines behind AI's cutting-edge chips
AI chips are currently the primary arms race in the technology industry. Everyone is chasing Nvidia, it seems, which grabbed hold of the chip market with its cutting-edge AI hardware. But ASML doesn't have to care whose chips everyone uses. That's because it makes the machines that make the chips. These machines use extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) to create delicate designs on silicon wafers.
Many don't realize this, but the EUV machines that make the tiniest and most advanced chips come from only one company in the world: ASML. Yep, it's a legitimate monopoly. Only ASML has the know-how and patents to build these machines. That means that in some way or another, ASML's products will be in demand as long as AI models require increasingly advanced chips.
According to Mordor Intelligence, the EUV market is worth approximately $10 billion today and will grow by an average of 11% annually to almost $18 billion by 2029. Investors can buy ASML in confidence, knowing that the drive for innovation in AI will keep business hot for the company's unique machines for years to come.
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Justin Pope has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends ASML, Nvidia, Palantir Technologies, and Snowflake. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
3 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy With $1,150 and Hold for Decades was originally published by The Motley Fool
