The magnificent seven stocks have had a fantastic 2023. Those firms dominate Silicon Valley and are amongst seven of the largest eight firms globally, as measured by market capitalization.
They’ve also accounted for an outsized portion of the stock market’s returns in 2023. While they continue to be sound investments, their outsized contribution continues to cause some concern. That concern opens the door for other investments which are on the precipice of disrupting their position.
That’s what will be discussing today: Another seven stocks that are rising to prominence and have the potential to disrupt and perhaps supersede the magnificent seven.
Visa (V)
It’s probably unfair to characterize Visa (NYSE:V) as a stock that is rising to prominence. The company has long been recognized as a sound investment and is a globally dominant credit card firm.
It’s also fair to assert that Visa should continue to rise. It’s probably true of all of the major credit card providers. The reason is simple: U.S. credit card debt reached a fresh new high of $1.3 trillion in October.
Americans may be cash-strapped, but that will not prevent them from continuing to spend. Despite high inflation, consumer discretionary purchases have not slowed. As concerning as that may be for the average consumer, it’s a boon to Visa.
Beyond that, Americans continue to travel abroad resulting in significant cross-border transaction volume and fees. again, a boon to Visa Which saw its revenues increase by 11% in the most recent quarter.
Holiday spending this year is expected to reach record levels that should only result in stronger performance for Visa.
Eli Lilly (LLY)
Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) to expand rapidly as its diabetes and obesity treatments receive strong demand. Its stock is in position to continue to rise as obesity treatments become a major market.
Throughout 2023, Eli Lilly has received a lot of attention for Mounjaro, its diabetes treatment. The drug was also noted for its ability to reduce weight in patients who were also obese, gaining massive attention.
However, the drug lacked FDA approval as an obesity treatment. That didn’t stop patience from trying to secure the drug for the purpose of reducing their weight. It did prevent Eli Lilly from marketing the drug for that purpose.
In early November, the company received FDA approval to market the drug for weight reduction. The drug is currently being marketed under the trade name, Zepbound.
Analysts expect that combined sales figures for Zepbound and Mounjaro could reach $100 billion annually. The American obesity crisis is only getting worse and will propel LLY stock to greater prominence.
Novo Nordisk (NVO)
Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) is directly competing with Eli Lilly for dominance in the pharmaceutical weight loss space.
The company received FDA approval for its weight loss drug, Wegovy, prior to Eli Lilly doing so. That said, Novo Nordisk’s stock hasn’t been the runaway success it could have been due to early production issues.
Novo Nordisk continues to be a company to watch precisely because of the strong demand for its weight loss drug.
Novo Nordisk’s recent results reflect very strong sales for its treatments. Sales in North America increased by 46% during the most recent quarter. Revenues within its obesity and weight loss segment increased by 36%, reaching 158.8 million Danish Kroner ($22.9 billion).
The company is investing heavily to increase production both domestically and internationally at the moment. Recent research by Goldman Sachs suggests that the anti obesity drug Market could grow to $100 billion by 2030 making Novo Nordisk among very clear contenders to rise to prominence.
LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMUY)
LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (OTCMKTS:LVMUY) is the largest luxury goods firm globally and the most prominent stock in the sector. The company’s portfolio of luxury brands spans businesses from wine and alcohol, to leather goods, to watches, perfumes, and jewelry.
LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton is the 17th largest firm globally by market cap. It is also the most valuable firm in France. It isn’t traded on major US indexes, including the Nasdaq and the NYSE. U.S. investors who would like to own equity in the firm will have to do so through the over-the-counter markets.
Investors know broadly that the rich continue to get richer. That is reflected through sales at the firm which grew by 14% during the first nine months of 2023. LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s Leather goods and selective retailing businesses, its two largest, grew at a rate of 16% and 26%, respectively, during that period.
UnitedHealth (UNH)
American consumers and investors are aware of the value and power of healthcare stocks like UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH). The cost of healthcare in the United States is extraordinarily high and that has increased the value of many firms, including UnitedHealth.
While you can probably detect my frustration with the situation, I’m also a realist. That means I recognize stocks like UNH continue to be a worthwhile investment.
It’s hard to argue with the numbers: UNH Shares have returned 23.95% annually over the past decade. That figure doesn’t include the company’s dividend which currently yields 1.4%. Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) returns have only been a few percentage points higher over the same span of time.
UnitedHealth is a very large company already yet continues to grow at a rapid pace. Revenues increased by 14% during the third quarter, reaching $92.4 billion. Though the company remains divisive and has recently been called out by politicians on both sides of the aisle for its prices, it will likely remain a sound investment.
ASML (ASML)
A lot of investors are already well aware of how important ASML (NASDAQ:ASML) is. The Netherlands-based firm manufactures photolithography machines that are used to produce the world’s most technologically advanced semiconductors.
Microchips contain billions of transistors and the more that can be packed onto a single chip, the better. That’s where ASML’s photolithography machines come into the picture.
Those machines are the industry standard and are capable of mass producing the most powerful chips with the greatest density of transistors. That’s incredibly important today as firms across all industries scrambled to secure their supply of chips.
In particular, those firms are looking for the most capable AI-enabled chips that the company’s machines can produce.
That strong demand is reflected in the company’s financial results over the first nine months of 2023. Despite the high cost of lending and inflation, ASML’s sales have mushroomed during the period. Company-wide sales eclipse $16 billion during that period. a year earlier, sales did not reach $11 trillion.
AMD (AMD)
AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) is going to continue to compete with Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) for dominance in the artificial intelligence field.
The company just launched its new Instinct MI300X GPU and chip. Based on early reception, it’s very easy to see that companies are eager for an alternative to the high priced chips from Nvidia.
Both Meta (NASDAQ:META) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) have said that they will buy the chips as they seek alternatives to Nvidia’s expensive h100 chips.
The chip won’t begin shipping until 2024 but it is expected that other firms will follow suit and buy those chips. Nvidia’s chips can cost as much as $40,000 a piece, which has motivated affirms like Meta and Microsoft to look elsewhere.
AMD did not reveal a price for its newly released chips but they will be competitive. AMD is going to continue to become much more interesting in 2024 in the lead up to the start of shipping of those chips.
On the date of publication, Alex Sirois did not have (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.
