2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks You Can Buy and Hold for the Next Decade
The area of artificial intelligence (AI) is hot right now, but that doesn't mean it's a short-term investment opportunity. You could score an even bigger win by choosing quality AI players and holding them for the long term as they take part in a potential AI revolution.
This technology could transform many industries. However, these changes won't happen overnight, which means AI players can benefit every step of the way.
Two companies, in particular, make great long-term AI buys because they're powering AI projects. Without these companies' products and services, many programs might not unfold as efficiently or successfully as they're unfolding today. These players provide the chips, servers, and other behind-the-scenes elements that are crucial to AI -- and their earnings have taken off in recent years.
Let's take a closer look at these two AI powerhouses to buy and hold for the next decade.
Nvidia
Nvidia's (NASDAQ: NVDA) graphics processing units (GPUs) play an essential role in the realm of AI. They power the training and inference processes that are absolutely crucial if you want an AI model to carry out its job down the road of solving complex problems. Nvidia's GPUs are the fastest around, but the company isn't resting on its laurels. Instead, it's investing in research and development to remain ahead.
The efforts are working. Nvidia aims to launch its new H200 chip in the second quarter of this year and is readying a new chip architecture known as Blackwell, along with the B100 chip for launch possibly later this year. Today, Nvidia holds 80% of the AI chip market, and this dominance is likely to continue due to the company's brand strength and will to keep innovating.
Even better, Nvidia doesn't only sell chips -- the company offers a broad range of AI products and services that are available through the world's biggest cloud companies like Amazon's Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. Nvidia has built a complete platform and expertise in AI, making it the go-to provider for companies aiming to develop projects in this market.
This expertise has helped Nvidia report record earnings in recent times, with sales and net income climbing in the triple digits. And even though Nvidia shares have taken off, they still trade at only 36x times forward earnings estimates, a reasonable price considering the company's strength in this high-growth market.
Super Micro Computer
Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ: SMCI) is another behind-the-scenes AI superstar. The company has been around for 30 years, but only in recent times has it seen earnings and share performance take off -- thanks to its AI business. Supermicro provides servers, workstations, full rack scale solutions, and more to customers in the AI space.
A few things help Supermicro stand out. The company uses a building block architecture, meaning it uses common elements across platforms so it can quickly assemble products for clients. This also allows it to incorporate the latest technology into its products. Speaking of this, Supermicro works hand in hand with the world's top chipmakers, including Nvidia, so that it knows about upcoming chip launches and can immediately make the latest innovations available in its offerings.
Supermicro also offers customers a vast selection of configurations in order to tailor their orders to their needs.
All of this has helped Supermicro score a huge victory in the AI market. Just recently, the company reported its first $3 billion quarter -- that's higher than revenue for the entire year back in 2021.
Chief Executive Officer Charles Liang said the company's numerous customer wins now are resulting in increasing demand. Liang says he expects AI growth to continue for many quarters and possibly many years. If he's right, earnings and share-price performance may just be getting started.
Supermicro trades for 54x forward earnings estimates. This may not seem cheap but it's actually a fair price for a company playing a key role in a high-growth industry. Supermicro's standout strategy could help this player continue to win over the long haul.
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John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Adria Cimino has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks You Can Buy and Hold for the Next Decade was originally published by The Motley Fool
