The tech sector is hot, hot, hot.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 are hitting new highs driven by technology companies. They are seizing upon the artificial intelligence (AI) hype, committing huge amounts of money. The generative AI industry predicted to become a $1.3 trillion economy by 2030. If you aren’t investing in the must-have tech stocks, you could missing a big gain opportunity.
While Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) remains one of the industry leaders. Yet many other tech stocks are worth adding to your portfolio. Let’s explore the seven must-have tech stocks for this year.
Nvidia (NVDA)
If you had bought Nvidia at my recommendation in 2022, you’d be sitting on massive gains today. However, looking at its rally, it remains a buy.
The massive difference in the demand and supply of AI chips has helped Nvidia soar to new heights. The AI boom will lead Nvidia to hypergrowth. It’s currently trading at $131 after the split. If you thought Nvidia was expensive, now is the time to make your move.
The third-most valuable company in the world, Nvidia reported a blowout quarter which led to the stock surge. Its revenue was up 262% year-over-year (YOY) and hit $26 billion, beating analyst expectations.
The data center revenue soared 427% YOY to reach $22.6 billion. Also, it hiked the dividend this quarter and has set the right momentum for 2024. Nvidia is a long-term buy and hold.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
Nvidia’s biggest competitor, Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) is on a roll. The stock is up 15% YTD and 25% in the past 12 months. Exchanging hands for $158, it looks undervalued and could hit $200 in the coming quarter.
AMD is seeing strong business driven by AI with a lot of upside potential from here. While it’s hard to imagine that AMD will be able to grab Nvidia’s market share, it will keep going strong but not rally as much as NVDA did.
Also, the company is expanding its product offerings. Recently, it announced a new AI graphics processing unit and an AI chip, MI325X accelerator. This chip will be available from the fourth quarter of the year.
Additionally, it announced the MI350 chip series that will be launched next year and the company says this chip will be 35 times better in inference. Investors should not doubt AMD’s AI capabilities because in the past, it has proven its technology capabilities.
Recent earnings show that the company is on track and its data center revenue saw an 80% YOY jump. Buying AMD right now is a smart move, and the stock could soar in the coming quarters.
Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL)
Industry stalwart Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) is a buy on every opportunity. Trading at $177, the stock is up 26% year-to-date (YTD) and 32% over the past six months. It is an unstoppable stock that looks undervalued. Further, its two segments, Search engine and YouTube, have been generating steady revenue growth.
It reported a revenue of $9.6 billion from Google and $8.1 billion from YouTube. Besides these two segments, it has a range of products and services that help increase the cash flow.
It holds 90% of the search market share and advertisers are well that they can reach a massive audience through Google search. Also, the company is experimenting with new ad formats in search.
An ideal blue-chip stock below $200, Alphabet has a strong free cash flow and announced a dividend of $0.20 per share. Considering the current and historical performance of the stock, Alphabet can prove to be an ideal addition to your portfolio this year. You will never regret owning this stock.
Palantir Technologies (PLTR)
After releasing the Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) in 2023, tech company Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR) has been on a roll. The company has been offering bootcamps to organizations, and this has led to conversion of the leads. Using AIP, companies can deploy the large language model in their network.
The success of these boot camps was reflected in the strong financials. Palantir has seen impressive growth in the commercial business, seeing a 21% jump in revenue in the first quarter. PLTR ended the quarter with a revenue of $634 million and investors now have sky-high expectations from it.
Moreover, Palantir has been in the business for more than two decades, and it continues serving government organizations. As one of the most trusted and reliable companies in the country, Palantir is balancing well between government and commercial clients.
Trading at $23, PLTR stock is up 40% YTD and is ready for a breakout. It is poised for long-term growth as billionaires have loaded up on the stock in the first quarter.
Microsoft (MSFT)
My favorite tech stock, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is an ideal addition to your portfolio before it hits new highs. Trading at $442, the stock is up 19% YTD and has the potential to continue soaring higher. Microsoft’s timely investment in OpenAI has already started to pay off and the company is committing billions toward the development of AI infrastructure globally.
As one of the best tech giants, Microsoft is a safe and reliable investment with steady revenue growth and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The company has announced the launch of AI powered Copilot PCs and laptops which could become the finest computing products available in the market in the near term.
Its cloud computing business is growing at a rapid pace, and several analysts are extremely bullish on the stock. Azure saw a 21% YOY jump in revenue in the recent quarter. With a steady free cash flow and a stable balance sheet, Microsoft is a well-established business and a stock to own until retirement.
Oracle (ORCL)
Trading at $139, Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) stock is up 34% YTD and has been on a rally since the company recently reported strong results. It has outperformed the S&P 500 since the beginning of 2024 and I believe it will continue moving higher. The company’s cloud infrastructure segment saw a 42% jump in revenue to hit $2 billion while the EPS came in at $1.63.
Oracle has already been in the business for many years, but I believe its best days have just started. An important metric, the remaining performance obligations came in at $98 billion, up 44% YOY. It is a sign that the company will have revenue flowing throughout this quarter.
As one of the biggest players in the AI race, Oracle is slowly but steadily moving forward. It is building 100 data centers and has partnered with some of the biggest industry players including Microsoft. Its recent partnership with OpenAI has boosted the stock. It also has a dividend yield of 1.14%.
Meta Platforms (META)
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) has bounced back and how. From the low of $90 in November 2022 to $504 today. The stock is up 45% YTD and 51% in the past six months. It reported an impressive first quarter which has led to a rally in the stock. Additionally, the company’s cost-cutting measures are paying off.
It reported an impressive user growth metric with a 7% rise in daily active users to end the first quarter with 3.24 billion daily active users. With businesses spending more on advertising efforts, Meta Platforms is set to gain. Social media remains a key factor in the business, leading to higher revenue.
The company could become a massive social media giant in the next few years while making the majority of its revenue from ads. The company’s metaverse ambitions could take a bite of the profit since it has been making huge losses. However, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg believes it could become a huge business one day. While we wait for that to happen, it’s time to cash in on the growth of META’s ad business.
On the date of publication, Vandita Jadeja 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.