Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing everything. The debut of the generative AI chatbot ChatGPT last November set in motion a dramatic realignment in what was achievable. In less than a year, numerous generative AI projects were unleashed that showed the potential for enhancing creativity, cost-savings, productivity and efficiency in virtually all industries.
Generative AI models can create images, video and audio that are almost indistinguishable from real life. It can write human-like text and code software in a fraction of the time. Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood estimates AI training costs are plummeting at a 70% annual rate, even faster than the 60% forecast she made just one year prior. In less than a decade, AI coding assistants like GitHub’s Copilot could increase the output of software engineers 10-fold.
Wood also says worldwide adoption of AI could add some $200 trillion to the global economy. That far exceeds the $32 trillion total currently spent on the salaries of knowledge workers such as analysts, lawyers, scientists, education professionals and engineers.
There is an opportunity for investors to also capitalize on AI’s potential. It should not be difficult to triple your returns with the following tremendous AI stocks to buy for your portfolio today.
Palantir Technologies (PLTR)
AI transforming the world around us and taking companies like data analytics specialist Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR) to a new level. CEO Alex Karp said its new Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) launched only a few months ago, but it’s already having an impact. AIP is “giving us the aspiration and realistic perspective of being the most valuable enterprise software company in the world,” he told analysts.
Global marketing intelligence firm IDC previously ranked Palantir as the No. 1 AI software platform in terms of market share and revenue. The big data outfit’s Foundry and Gotham platforms for business and government, respectively, provided the lengthy runway necessary for making data management possible. Now AIP promises to go the next step by allowing businesses to run large language models like OpenAI’s GPT-4 on private networks.
Not everyone is convinced, but Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives calls Palantir “the best pure-play AI name, in terms of them monetizing, not just on the government side but on the enterprise side when it comes to AI.”
Making money off of AI will be key for businesses hoping to cash in on the revolution. Palantir is making good on that promise. Enterprise clients grew 8% sequentially in the second quarter and were up 38% year over year. That pushed U.S. enterprise revenue up 20% to $103 million. U.S. government revenue hit $302 million, some 15% higher than a year ago. The Wedbush analyst calls Palantir Technologies “the gold standard in AI.” An investment should readily triple as the sort of growth expected from AI materializes.
ASML Holding (ASML)
Chipmakers like Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) grab the headlines when it comes to AI chips, but ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) is the real power hiding behind the curtain.
ASML is a large semiconductor supplier and the world’s only supplier of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) photolithography machines. That is the equipment necessary for chipmakers to manufacture the most advanced chips. ASML counts Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), TSM, and Samsung as customers of its specialized equipment. Look at AMSL as selling the picks and shovels to the AI gold miners.
Yet shares are down. While up 9% year-to-date, ASML stock is off 22% from its 52-week high. It’s a result of macroeconomic and regulatory concerns slowing sales. PC sales continue their secular decline while sales of advanced equipment to China will come under tighter control in 2024. Because that pulled forward sales into the third quarter, ASML guided towards flat revenues next year.
ASML’s machines are not mass-made items. It built just 345 lithography systems last year, 81 immersion systems and only 40 EUV machines. While Samsung and Intel have been buying as many as ASML can produce, it’s a slow process. Yet as the demands of AI force chipmakers and foundries to increase their output, ASML will see sales grow. That’s especially true as it increases capacity. It seeks to have the capacity to produce 600 deep ultraviolet machines and 90 EUV machines by 2025. It also wants to build 20 EUV lithography machines annually by 2027.
With the stock down, that gives investors a chance to get in cheap and reap the rewards later.
Microsoft (MSFT)
Tech giant Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is integrating artificial intelligence into all of its products and services. It’s an investor in ChatGPT’s parent OpenAI and is making the generative AI chatbot a component of its Bing search engine. It also put it into its Teams collaborative tools and made it an integral part of its Azure Cloud Services platform.
Microsoft is also the owner of Copilot parent GitHub. A recent Wall Street Journal article says the tech giant is running Copilot at a loss. Recently reports claim the company loses $80 per month on it. Although a loss leader, Microsoft could still use the efficiency and cost-savings that Cathie Wood says AI promises. And it just might.
The Register says Microsoft is expected to unveil a new chip specifically designed for AI next month. The custom AI accelerator will help the company reduce its reliance on and the costs associated with Nvidia’s AI chips.
Shares of the tech leader are up 38% this year. Yet at 31 times earnings estimates and almost 2x sales, it’s not such a far-fetched premium for a leading player. Look for AI to give a three-fold generative boost to Microsoft stock in the years to come.
On the date of publication, Rich Duprey did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
