Data analytics company GlobalData projects that the AI market will grow 35% annually over the next few years, reaching $909 billion by 2030. Naturally, that’s made AI chip stocks extremely popular with investors.
Google the words “AI chip stocks” in quotation marks, and you will get 39,600 results. AI is undoubtedly a priority subject for investors at the moment.
On April 1, Barron’s reported that Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and OpenAI plan to build a $100 billion AI data center, an investment equal to Microsoft’s capital spending over the past four years.
Investors are stocked because the AI chips required to power such a large data center would be enormous. That’s good news for Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and every other major AI player.
Bank of America’s Global Research analyst Vivek Arya has buy ratings on Nvidia and four other AI chip stocks. I’d normally include Nvidia in any AI-related recommendation, but I’ll go with three that he does not mention in his article.
To make my selection, I looked at the Horizons Global Semiconductor Index ETF’s holdings, which trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM)
I’ll admit that my picks aren’t the most original. However, that doesn’t make them any less actionable.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) makes the cut because of its commitment to American manufacturing. TSM is building an Arizona plant that will go live in 2025. The company also plans to start making its most advanced chips beginning in 2028. By 2030, it plans to open three fabrication plants in the U.S., which would cost the company $65 billion to get them up and running.
Now, big business gets done with some help from the federal government, which is chipping in $11.6 billion in grants and loans. That pales compared to the nearly $20 billion being thrown Intel’s (NASDAQ:INTC) way under the CHIPS Act, intended to bring 20% of the world’s advanced semiconductor manufacturing back to the U.S.
I’ve always thought globalization worked best when companies manufactured products in the country where the products are intended to be sold. Good for TSM.
ASML Holding (ASML)
As I write this, ASML Holding (NASDAQ:ASML) stock is falling. The Dutch chip maker reported weaker-than-expected sales in Q1 2024.
Analysts expected revenue of 5.39 billion euros ($5.73 billion), but ASML delivered 5.29 billion euros ($5.63 billion), 2% shy of the mark. However, its net income was 1.22 billion euros ($1.30 billion), 14% higher than Wall Street’s predictions.
ASML produces extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, which are used to make technologically advanced chips. Lower consumer demand for smartphones and laptops has had a knock-on effect on the company’s revenues. Sales and profits were down 21.6% and 37.4% in Q1 2024, respectively. Bookings were also down 4% year over year.
Despite the miss, ASML reiterated its 2024 guidance for revenue. Similar to 2023, it suggests that 2025 will be its breakout year as both TSM and Intel increase their U.S. production.
“I think by 2025 you will see all three of those coming together. New fab openings, strong secular trends and the industry in the midst of its upturn,” said CFO Roger Dassen in an interview for CNBC.
ASML is a buy below $900.
Qualcomm (QCOM)
Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) stock is up more than 19% year to date and more than 49% since November lows.
Qualcomm launched AI Hub in early March. It includes over 75 popular AI and generative AI language learning models such as Whisper, ControlNet, Stable Diffusion and Baichuan 7B, which will provide developers with high performance and low power consumption when creating applications.
In a February interview from the 2024 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Qualcomm Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer Akash Palkhiwala spoke with Yahoo Finance host Brad Smith about Qualcomm’s AI Hub’s role in generative AI.
“And you could take those models, build it into an application, test it on a device, and deploy it into an application store, all in one go right at the website. So it just makes it very easy for the developers to take advantage of the hardware that we’ve put forward. And we’re excited that this broadens the reach of our products. And it makes it very easy for developers to access them.”
Smartphone makers will launch devices with full AI capabilities integrated into them in 2024 and 2025. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip will help manufacturers deliver these capabilities.
This is a big positive for the company and its stock.
On the date of publication, Will Ashworth 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.