Key Points

• The Ten Titans have contributed more than half of S&P 500 gains in the last decade.

• Avoiding stocks just because they have run-up is a mistake.

• The S&P 500 should be viewed more as a growth index than a balanced index.

• 10 stocks we like better than Vanguard S&P 500 ETF ›

The largest growth-focused U.S. companies by market cap are Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO), Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), and Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX).

Known as the "Ten Titans," this elite group of companies has been instrumental in driving broader market gains in recent years, now making up around 38% of the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC).

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

Investment management firm Vanguard has the largest (by net assets) and lowest cost exchange-traded fund (ETF) for mirroring the performance of the index -- the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO). Here's why the fund is one of the simplest ways to get significant exposure to the Ten Titans.

Ten Titan dominance

Over the long term, the S&P 500 has historically delivered annualized results of 9% to 10%. It has been a simple way to compound wealth over time, especially as fees have come down for S&P 500 products. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF sports an expense ratio of just 0.03% -- or $3 for every $10,000 invested -- making it an ultra-inexpensive way to get exposure to 500 of the top U.S. companies.

The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF could be a great choice for folks who aren't looking to research companies or closely follow the market. But it's a mistake to assume that the S&P 500 is well diversified just because it holds hundreds of names. Right now, the S&P 500 is arguably the least diversified it has been since the turn of the millennium.

Megacap growth companies have gotten even bigger while the rest of the market hasn't done nearly as well. Today, the combined market cap of the Ten Titans is $20.2 trillion. Ten years ago, it was just $2.5 trillion. Nvidia alone went from a blip on the S&P 500's radar at $12.4 billion to over $4 trillion in market cap. And not a single Titan was worth over $1 trillion a decade ago. Today, eight of them are.

S&P 500 Market Cap data by YCharts.

To put that monster gain into perspective, the S&P 500's market cap was $18.2 trillion a decade ago. Meaning the Ten Titans have contributed a staggering 51.6% of the $34.3 trillion market cap the S&P 500 has added over the last decade. Without the Ten Titans, the S&P 500's gains over the last decade would have looked mediocre at best. With the Ten Titans, the last decade has been exceptional for S&P 500 investors.

The Ten Titans have cemented their footprint on the S&P 500

Since the S&P 500 is so concentrated in the Ten Titans, it has transformed into a growth-focused index, making it an excellent way to double up on the Ten Titans. But the S&P 500 may not be as good a fit for certain investors.

Arguably, the best reason not to buy the S&P 500 is if you're looking to avoid the Ten Titans, either because you already have comfortable positions in these names or you don't want to take on the potential risk and volatility inherent in a top-heavy index.

That being said, the S&P 500 has been concentrated before, and its leadership can change, as it did over the last decade. The underperformance by former market leaders, like Intel, has been more than made up for by the rise of Nvidia and Broadcom.

So it's not that the Ten Titans have to do well for the S&P 500 to thrive. But if the Titans begin underperforming, their sheer influence on the S&P 500 would require significantly outsized gains from the rest of the index.

Let the S&P 500 work for you

With the S&P 500 yielding just 1.2%, sporting a premium valuation and being heavily dependent on growth stocks, the index isn't the best fit for folks looking to limit their exposure to megacap growth stocks or center their portfolio around dividend-paying value stocks.

The beauty of being an individual investor is that you can shape your portfolio in a way that suits your risk tolerance and investment objectives. For example, you use the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF as a way to get exposure to top growth stocks like the Ten Titans and then complement that position with holdings in dividend stocks or higher-yield ETFs.

In sum, the dominance of the Ten Titans means it's time to start calling the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF what it has become, which is really more of a growth fund than a balanced way to invest in growth, value, and dividend stocks.

Investors with a high risk tolerance and long-term time horizon may cheer the concentrated nature of the index. In contrast, risk-averse investors may want to reorient their portfolios so they aren't accidentally overexposing themselves to more growth than intended.

Should you invest $1,000 in Vanguard S&P 500 ETF right now?

Before you buy stock in Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Vanguard S&P 500 ETF wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $649,657!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,090,993!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,057% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 18, 2025

Daniel Foelber has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Intel, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, Oracle, Tesla, and Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel, and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• The Ten Titans illustrate the top-heavy nature of the U.S. stock market.

• The combined market cap of the Titans far exceeds the value of the entire Chinese stock market.

• Concentration adds risk, but the reward has historically been worth it.

• 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia ›

The "Ten Titans" are the 10 largest growth-focused S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) components by market cap -- Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO), Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), and Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX).

Combined, these 10 companies alone make up a staggering 38% of the S&P 500.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

Even if you don't own any of the Ten Titans outright, the reality is they have a substantial impact on the broad market.

Here's what the dominance of the Titans in the S&P 500 means for your investment portfolio.

Titans of the global economy

To understand the importance of the Ten Titans, it's helpful to take a step back and quantify the sheer size of the S&P 500.

The S&P 500 has a market cap of $54.303 trillion at the time of this writing and makes up over 80% of the overall U.S. stock market. According to 2024 data from the World Bank, the market cap of the entire U.S. stock market was $62.186 trillion. China, the second-largest stock market in the world, had a market cap of $11.756 trillion in 2024. As a ratio of stock market value to gross domestic product, the U.S. has a far larger market than many other leading countries due to its capitalist structure and the international influence of top U.S. firms.

So, the S&P 500 alone is worth several times more than China's stock market. And with the Ten Titans at 38% of the S&P 500, this group of companies alone is worth roughly double China's entire stock market and over a third of the value of the entire U.S. stock market.

This concentration means that just a handful of companies are moving not only the U.S. stock market but global markets as well.

S&P 500 concentration is a double-edged sword

The S&P 500's high allocation to growth stocks has benefited long-term investors. This becomes evident when comparing the performance of the S&P 500 and S&P 500 Equal Weight indexes.

Data by YCharts.

The S&P 500 Equal Weight index gives each of its components a 0.2% (or 1/500) weighting, so Nvidia makes up the same amount of the index as The Campbell's Company. But Nvidia is worth more than 400 times as much as Campbell's based on market cap, which explains why the chip giant has a 7.5% weight in the standard S&P 500 versus a 0.02% weight for the soup company.

If the S&P 500 Equal Weight index was outperforming the S&P 500, it would mean the top companies by market cap aren't doing well. But as you can see above, investors are benefiting from the concentration in companies such as the Ten Titans.

You may also notice the gap between the two indexes narrowed during the bear markets of 2020, 2022, and earlier this year. But overall, those downturns have been more than made up for by compounding gains.

In sum, having a concentrated index can be a good thing when the largest companies keep expanding, which is precisely what has happened with the Ten Titans.

Paradigm shifts in the major indexes

When I first began investing, I was taught the Nasdaq Composite was the growth index, the S&P 500 was balanced, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average favored value and income. That's no longer the case.

Today, I would define the Nasdaq as ultra-growth, the S&P 500 as growth, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average as balanced. Even the Dow's additions of Salesforce, Amazon, and Nvidia over the last five years have made the index more growth-oriented and less geared toward legacy blue chip dividend stocks.

These changes reflect the evolving economy and the international powerhouse of U.S. technology. Twenty years ago, the 10 largest S&P 500 components in order of market cap were ExxonMobil, Microsoft, Citigroup, General Electric, Walmart, Bank of America, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Intel, and American International Group. Today, eight of the Ten Titans make up the eight largest S&P 500 components.

Balancing S&P 500 risks in your portfolio

Understanding that a handful of companies and growth-focused sectors like technology, communications, and consumer discretionary are driving the S&P 500 is essential for filtering out noise and making sense of market information.

For instance, knowing that the S&P 500 is more growth-focused, investors can expect more volatility and a higher than historical index valuation. This doesn't necessarily mean the S&P 500 is overvalued; it just means the composition of the index has changed. It's a completely different market when the most valuable U.S. company is Nvidia rather than ExxonMobil, and when a social media company like Meta Platforms is worth more than the combined value of several top banks.

As an individual investor, it's especially important to know what you own and why you own it. If you're buying an S&P 500 index fund, expect it to behave more like a growth-focused exchange-traded fund or mutual fund. That may be all good and well if you have a high risk tolerance, want more exposure to the Ten Titans, and have a long-term investing horizon. But for investors with a greater aversion to risk, it may make sense to pair the S&P 500 with value and income-oriented stocks or ETFs.

In sum, the S&P 500's concentration has been a net positive for the U.S. stock market, and I fully expect it to continue benefiting long-term investors because the Ten Titans are truly phenomenal companies. But the growth focus does require investors to reevaluate how the S&P 500 fits into their portfolio.

Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now?

Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $649,657!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,090,993!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,057% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 185% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 18, 2025

Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Citigroup is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Daniel Foelber has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Intel, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, Oracle, Pfizer, Salesforce, Tesla, and Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom, Campbell's, GE Aerospace, and Johnson & Johnson and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel, and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• Bloomberg reports that the U.S. government may take a 10% stake in Intel.

• The government may convert its grants to the semiconductor company into an ownership interest.

• This might be bad news for Intel's competitors.

• 10 stocks we like better than Intel ›

In a just-breaking development, Bloomberg reports the Trump administration may take a 10% stake in Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) -- which perversely is down 3.9% on the news, at least as of 12:35 p.m. ET.

Probably not the reaction that either the Trump administration or Intel itself anticipated.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

$10 billion, or 10%?

We heard rumors last week that a direct investment in Intel might be in the offing, and today's news seems to confirm this -- or at least confirm that talks are occurring.

As Bloomberg reports, the plan is for the government to take money already awarded to Intel under the CHIPS Act and convert it into a government ownership stake in Intel. Intel has so far been awarded $10.9 billion under that act. At the company's current $103.3 billion market capitalization, that would work out to about 10% of the company's market cap.

And that right there, I suspect, is why Intel stock is dropping today, not popping. If Intel had been awarded $10 billion-plus in grants already, and the plan was to invest $10 billion-plus more into Intel for an ownership stake, well, that's one thing -- and probably a good thing in the minds of investors.

If the government plans instead to demand shares for the grants it's already awarded, and maybe not make any additional investment at all, well, that's bad news for Intel.

Buy or sell semiconductor stocks?

It wouldn't be great news for investors in other semiconductor stocks, either. However it comes about, giving the government a stake in Intel's success would also give the government an interest in ensuring Intel succeeds -- perhaps at the expense of rivals like Nvidia and AMD.

Bad news for Intel today, it turns out, could be bad news for a whole lot of investors.

Should you invest $1,000 in Intel right now?

Before you buy stock in Intel, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Intel wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $668,155!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,106,071!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,070% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 184% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 18, 2025

Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• Nvidia's data center revenue hit $39.1 billion in Q1 FY26 alone, with Blackwell shipments ramping and Rubin systems coming before 2028.

• AMD and Intel are winning share at the margins but can't break Nvidia's CUDA ecosystem and supply chain advantages by 2028.

• Even with a potential government stake in Intel, the AI infrastructure buildout measured in trillions supports Nvidia's pricing power through the decade.

• 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia ›

Wall Street is increasingly wary of growing competition in the artificial intelligence (AI) chip market. While Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) continues to dominate with more than 80% of the AI training and deployment market, rivals are starting to score meaningful design wins. Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) has secured adoption of its MI300X chips at Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and OpenAI. Meanwhile, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is in talks with the U.S. government about potential investment support to accelerate its manufacturing and foundry expansion.

Bears argue that Nvidia's market share is unsustainably high, especially in an industry prone to disruption, but that view misses the bigger picture. The AI hardware market is growing from hundreds of billions into the trillions, so even a smaller share of a much larger pie can drive enormous profit. More importantly, Nvidia retains a full-stack advantage that integrates hardware, Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) software, ecosystem support, and developer adoption, creating a moat competitors have yet to match.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

The trillion-dollar tailwind nobody's calculating correctly

Forget the hand-wringing about market saturation. The numbers tell a different story. The big four hyperscalers alone are on track to spend $300 billion on AI infrastructure in 2025, according to Morgan Stanley. Backend AI network switching, a direct proxy for graphics processing unit (GPU) cluster scale, will top $100 billion between 2025 and 2029, per Dell'Oro Group. Omdia forecasts that the cloud and data center accelerator market will reach $151 billion by 2029, with growth merely moderating, not reversing, after 2026.

Nvidia's first-quarter results of fiscal 2026 put this opportunity in perspective. Total revenue hit $44.1 billion for the quarter, with data center revenue alone generating $39.1 billion. That's not a typo -- $39.1 billion in three months from data centers. At this scale, even if Nvidia loses 10 points of market share, the absolute dollar opportunity keeps growing. When your addressable market is expanding by hundreds of billions annually, you don't need a monopoly share to compound revenue.

The moat everyone underestimates

Nvidia dominates not because it builds the fastest chips but because it owns the stack. CUDA has become the default environment for training large models, anchoring developers, frameworks, and tooling to Nvidia's ecosystem. NVLink and NVSwitch give its GPUs the ability to communicate at bandwidths PCI Express cannot match, allowing training to scale seamlessly across entire racks.

Upstream, the bottlenecks are even more decisive. Advanced packaging capacity for CoWoS at Taiwan Semiconductor is limited, even with output expected to roughly double in 2025 and expand again in 2026. Industry reports indicate that Nvidia has secured the majority of that allocation, leaving rivals with less room to ship at scale.

High-bandwidth memory is the second choke point. SK Hynix remains Nvidia's lead supplier, with Micron and Samsung Electronics still ramping up capacity. Priority access to next-generation High Bandwidth Memoty nodes ensures Nvidia's accelerators hit volume while others wait in line.

This combination of software lock-in, interconnect scale-out, and privileged supply allocation is not a fleeting edge. It is a structural moat measured in years. Even if competitors design strong alternatives, they can't reach meaningful volume without access to these same resources. That's why Nvidia's premium valuation is not just about market share. It's about owning the rails on which the AI economy runs.

Why AMD and Intel can't break the kingdom

AMD is real competition -- let's not pretend otherwise. Azure's ND MI300X instances are generally available, Meta publicly uses MI300-class chips for Llama inference, and OpenAI has signaled it will use AMD's latest chips alongside others.

ROCm 7 and the AMD Developer Cloud have genuinely improved software support. But here's the reality check: AMD's entire data center revenue was $3.2 billion last quarter, driven largely by EPYC central processing units, not GPUs. Nvidia does that in about a week.

AMD wins on price-performance for specific workloads, especially inference. It gives hyperscalers negotiating leverage and caps Nvidia's pricing at the margin. But breaking CUDA's gravity requires more than competitive hardware -- it needs a software revolution that won't happen by 2028.

Intel's situation is even more interesting with reports that the Trump administration is considering a government stake. If that happens, Intel gets cheaper capital, stabilized fabs, and preferential treatment for government contracts.

But it doesn't solve CUDA lock-in, NVLink scale, or Nvidia's platform cadence. Gaudi 3 is shipping through Dell Technologies' AI Factory and IBM Cloud, targeting better price performance than H100 on selected workloads. But it's still behind H200 and Blackwell in absolute performance and ecosystem support.

The path to 2028

The base case through 2028 is straightforward: demand growth plus platform innovation keep Nvidia atop training workloads while AMD and Intel expand as cost-optimized alternatives. Nvidia maintains 70% to 80% share in training and loses some inference share to cheaper alternatives but grows absolute revenue on market expansion. The bears worry about customized chips, power constraints, or supply shocks, but none of these threats materialize fast enough to derail the story before 2028.

Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now?

Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $668,155!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,106,071!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,070% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 184% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 13, 2025

George Budwell has positions in Microsoft, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, International Business Machines, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel, and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• Chip fabricators use ASML's machines.

• Management sees strong growth through 2030.

• These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires ›

A handful of companies have technological monopolies on some of the world's most important devices. Investing in these companies is a genius move, as they are vital.

One of them, in the artificial intelligence (AI) realm, is ASML (NASDAQ: ASML). ASML makes extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines used in the chip manufacturing process. Without ASML, the advanced chip technology used today wouldn't be possible. As a result, it's one of the most important companies in the world.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

However, ASML's stock is flat year to date and down around 35% from its all-time high. With other tech giants constantly hitting new all-time highs in the current market, is ASML well positioned to do the same?

ASML's machines are used by foundries worldwide

ASML's technology is vital for cutting-edge chip fabricators. The chip foundry industry has only three major players: Taiwan Semiconductor, Intel, and Samsung. Taiwan Semiconductor has been the biggest winner by far and is constructing new fabrication facilities worldwide to meet rising chip demand, driven by AI, including a $165 billion investment in the U.S. alone. Demand for ASML machines is mainly coming from Taiwan Semi, because the other two have been losing business.

It's no secret that Intel's foundry business has struggled. It's currently losing money, and Intel's CEO has indicated that it isn't willing to invest heavily in the business in an attempt to revitalize it. It will invest in capacity only if it can find a customer first.

Considering Intel's poor track record in the foundry business recently, this is a terrible idea, as Intel needs to showcase its prowess before it can take such an approach. Intel's business will likely continue to deteriorate, which causes a headwind for ASML amid less demand for its cutting-edge machines.

Samsung isn't seeing as much success as TSMC, but it's also not struggling like Intel. Samsung has invested in new plants and recently partnered with Tesla to produce its AI6 chips. This partnership could cause increased demand, leading to more ASML machines being purchased.

With some of ASML's major customers not needing the capacity and TSMC, which is known for pushing ASML's machines to their technological limits, sometimes reluctant to upgrade them, the future isn't as bright for ASML as one might expect.

This pessimism showed up in ASML's financial results. Before Q2 earnings, management was adamant that 2026 would be a growth year, just as it had expected 2025 to be. Now management is taking this stance: "While we are still preparing for growth in 2026, we cannot confirm it at this stage."

That's concerning for investors, which is why ASML's stock has done so poorly. However, the outlook beyond 2026 is still bright, and long-term investors (those willing to hold for at least five years) should still be excited about the stock.

ASML's long-term outlook is still intact

One of the reasons ASML gave that 2026 might not be a growth year was uncertainty about tariffs. ASML is based in the Netherlands, so it is a potential target of U.S. tariffs. Management's commentary regarding 2026 was given before the U.S. and European Union reached a trade deal, so this outlook may shift now that a trade deal framework has been reached.

Regardless, management's long-term outlook of revenue between 44 billion euros and 60 billion euros by 2030 hasn't shifted, so whether the growth comes in 2026 or beyond is irrelevant as long as you're patient.

Over the past 12 months, ASML's revenue totaled 32.2 billion euros, so ASML's revenue could come in at the high end of the projection over the next five years. If it does, there's no doubt that ASML will be a market-crushing stock.

If ASML's revenue comes in on the lower end of that guidance, though, ASML's returns could lag the market's, making it a poor stock pick. Time will tell which of these paths ASML's stock takes, but considering the sheer demand for chips and the stabilization of trade relations, I think it's likely that ASML will come in on the high end of that range, making it an excellent stock to buy today.

Don’t miss this second chance at a potentially lucrative opportunity

Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you’ll want to hear this.

On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a “Double Down” stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you’re worried you’ve already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it’s too late. And the numbers speak for themselves:

• Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you’d have $473,820!*
• Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you’d have $43,540!*
• Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you’d have $653,427!*

Right now, we’re issuing “Double Down” alerts for three incredible companies, available when you join Stock Advisor, and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.

See the 3 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 11, 2025

Keithen Drury has positions in ASML, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends ASML, Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• Taiwan Semiconductor's growth seems unstoppable as demand for AI chips surges.

• Upstart has beaten the market despite a huge selloff after the Q2 report.

• Meta's hard pivot into AI has drawn considerable investor interest.

• 10 stocks we like better than Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ›

Although many artificial intelligence (AI) stocks have performed well since "Liberation Day" on April 2, the rough start to the year has weighed on many of them. So severe was the drop in some stocks that many continue to lag the performance of the S&P 500 in 2025 despite dramatic recoveries.

Fortunately, a few have managed to outperform the index. Moreover, some even remain solid buys. Investors looking for AI stocks that can continue to perform should consider these names.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

Taiwan Semiconductor

In a sense, the performance of Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM) may not come as a surprise. The company dominates advanced semiconductor manufacturing, as competitors such as Samsung and Intel failed to match its technical prowess.

Consequently, top chip design companies such as Nvidia and Apple outsource most manufacturing to TSMC, which holds a 68% market share in the third-party foundry market. Since such companies cannot run AI workloads without its chips, TSMC is one of the most essential companies in the AI industry.

So, it is little wonder that Grand View Research forecasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the AI chip industry of 29% through 2030. This means that doubts about the economy are much less likely to affect TSMC.

Indeed, one can find little that is sluggish about TSMC's performance. In the first half of 2025, it generated nearly $56 billion in revenue, a 40% increase from year-ago levels. Over the same period, costs and expenses rose 24%. Thus, its net income of almost $24 billion was 60% higher than in the first two quarters of 2024.

It sells at a P/E ratio of 28. That valuation is unlikely to deter investors, considering its rapid growth, and should translate into gains for TSMC stock over time.

Upstart Holdings

The fact that Upstart Holdings (NASDAQ: UPST) is a market beater so far in 2025 may come as a surprise. Its stock lost 19% of its value following Q2 earnings. Additionally, it had posted net losses for years before the current quarter. At one point in the 2022 bear market, it had even lost 97% of its value.

Nonetheless, Upstart is worth following, especially considering its ability to transform the credit scoring market. Fair Isaac's FICO score, the industry standard, has not had a major update since 1989.

In contrast, Upstart's model leverages AI to consider attributes overlooked by FICO. It trained its model on over 90 million data points and is working to increase its advantage in AI during the year. Such efforts have helped it uncover loan opportunities overlooked by FICO without adding to lender default risks.

Moreover, amid a sluggish economy, the Fed appears poised to lower interest rates, which should encourage more consumers to take out loans. So far, it mainly scores personal loans, but expanding into auto and home equity loans should significantly broaden its addressable market.

Due to a modest profit in Q2, Upstart has earned only $3.1 million this year. Still, revenue of $426 million in the first half of the year is up 59% yearly.

Also, recent losses temporarily left it without a price-to-earnings ratio. Still, considering its revenue growth, investors are likely to perceive its forward P/E ratio of 39 as reasonable, making it feasible for interested investors to cash in on this potentially lucrative opportunity.

Meta Platforms

Another company banking heavily on AI is social media giant Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META). Over 42% of the world's population uses at least one of its social media sites daily.

Amid such saturation, its user base growth slowed to 6%. Thus, to maintain rapid revenue growth over the long term, it leveraged its treasure trove of personal data to help clients train AI models.

In 2025 alone, it pledged between $66 billion and $72 billion in capital expenditure (capex) to compete in this space, investing heavily in technical improvements and data center capacity to maintain its leadership.

Additionally, digital advertising continues to drive growth for now. In the first two quarters of 2025, Meta generated $90 billion in revenue, 19% more than the same period last year. In comparison, costs and expenses grew 10% over the same time, allowing its $35 billion in profit for the first half of the year to rise by 36%.

Despite those increases, Meta's stock sells for around 28 times earnings. Considering its rapid growth and growing role in AI, that valuation should make Meta stock attractive to prospective shareholders.

Should you invest $1,000 in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing right now?

Before you buy stock in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $653,427!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,119,863!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,060% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 11, 2025

Will Healy has positions in Intel and Upstart. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Intel, Meta Platforms, Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Upstart. The Motley Fool recommends Fair Isaac and recommends the following options: short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Intel's (NASDAQ: INTC) management team provided critical insights long awaited by investors.

*Stock prices used were the afternoon prices of July 30, 2025. The video was published on Aug. 1, 2025.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

Should you invest $1,000 in Intel right now?

Before you buy stock in Intel, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Intel wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $624,823!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,064,820!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,019% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 178% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of July 29, 2025

Parkev Tatevosian, CFA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intel. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Parkev Tatevosian is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through his link, he will earn some extra money that supports his channel. His opinions remain his own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) reported quarterly financial results that reveal critical insights about its turnaround efforts.

*Stock prices used were the afternoon prices of July 29, 2025. The video was published on July 31, 2025.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

Should you invest $1,000 in Intel right now?

Before you buy stock in Intel, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Intel wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $624,823!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,064,820!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,019% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 178% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of July 29, 2025

Parkev Tatevosian, CFA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intel. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Parkev Tatevosian is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through his link, he will earn some extra money that supports his channel. His opinions remain his own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.

Key Points

• Intel is undergoing a large restructuring under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan.

• AMD continues to take market share from Intel in the PC segment.

• TSMC has become the world's dominant chip manufacturer.

• 10 stocks we like better than Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ›

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) may be unrivaled in the tech sector in its underperformance in recent history. Over the last 10 years, the stock is down 26% even as many of its semiconductor peers and the "Magnificent Seven" have delivered monster returns.

Intel's recent earnings report highlighted the company's multiple challenges as new CEO Lip-Bu Tan has embarked on a massive right-sizing campaign. The company has already laid off 15% of its workforce. It's spinning off its networking and edge business, turning Intel into a stand-alone company that can take on outside investment. It's also taken more impairments for equipment that's no longer useful.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

That's all part of Tan's strategy of refocusing the business on core priorities like AI, its x86 CPU franchise, and the launch of a foundry for its 18A process.

Some investors continue to bet on Intel's eventual turnaround, but the latest report shows that's likely to take longer than investors had hoped. Instead of buying Intel, investors are better off buying these two stocks that are capitalizing on the company's struggles.

1. Advanced Micro Devices

While Intel has struggled over the last decade, Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) has emerged as a winner, grabbing market share from Intel in the PC-focused client segment.

It's also proven itself to be more nimble, shedding its foundry business to become a fabless designer, and it's emerged as the closest challenger to Nvidia in AI graphics processing units (GPUs), though it's a distant second behind the leader. AMD has made several acquisitions of start-ups in AI to bolster its product offerings and make it more competitive.

AMD is also growing much faster than Intel, showing it's capitalizing on the AI boom. It hasn't reported second-quarter results yet, but in its first quarter, revenue rose 36% to $7.44 billion, driven by its success in both the data center, where revenue jumped 57% to $3.7 billion, and in the client segment, where revenue jumped 68% to $2.3 billion on the strength of its Zen 5 Ryzen processors.

By contrast, Intel reported a 3% revenue decline in its client segment to $7.9 billion. As those numbers show, Intel is still the leader in PC chips, but AMD is rapidly gaining market share. The client segment is also Intel's biggest, making up nearly half of its revenue before intersegment eliminations.

Finally, AMD is in a strong position because it has healthy franchises in both central processing units (CPUs) and GPUs, which should benefit it in the AI era.

2. TSMC

In the foundry business, Intel's primary competitor is TSMC (NYSE: TSM), or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. In fact, it's not a close competition at this point as Taiwan Semiconductor makes up more than half of the contract chips in the world and roughly 90% of advanced chip production in the world, even manufacturing advanced chips for Intel.

Intel has aspirations of challenging TSMC in the contract business, but at this point, the legacy chip maker is far behind, and it will take years for that strategy to materialize.

In the meantime, Taiwan Semiconductor continues to post blistering growth. In Q2, it reported 44.4% revenue growth in U.S. dollars to $30.1 billion, and profits have soared as well, as earnings per share jumped 60.1% to $2.47.

Thanks to its dominance of the contract foundry business and relationships with tech giants like Nvidia and Apple, TSMC enjoys huge operating margins, which came in at 49.6% in Q2. By comparison, Intel is struggling to turn a profit.

TSMC now makes most of its revenue from advanced chips, which it defines as 7 nanometers (7nm) or less. That strength in advanced chips also positions it to continue to take advantage of growth in AI.

Considering its growth rate, TSMC's valuation also looks attractive at a price-to-earnings ratio of 29. As rivals like Intel and Samsung have faltered, TSMC's leadership position has become even more dominant. The stock looks set to continue being a winner.

Should you invest $1,000 in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing right now?

Before you buy stock in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $630,291!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,075,791!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,039% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of July 29, 2025

Jeremy Bowman has positions in Advanced Micro Devices, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Apple, Intel, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• Artificial intelligence (AI) spending could reach $4.8 trillion by 2033, and this company stands to benefit.

• It's a major AI player and still trading at an attractive valuation for long-term investors.

• 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia ›

If you're looking for massive growth potential, check out artificial intelligence (AI) stocks. According to the U.N., the AI market is set to explode from a $189 billion valuation in 2023 to nearly $5 trillion by 2033. However, despite these massive projections, one of the most popular AI stocks on the market today remains surprisingly cheap.

This popular AI stock is cheaper than you think

Looking for an AI stock that can directly benefit from a massive jump in demand over the next decade and beyond? Check out Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). While many investors are already familiar with the company, you may not realize how cheap the stock actually is. Fortunes have already been made with Nvidia stock. But there's still plenty of room left to run.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

Before we jump into Nvidia's surprisingly cheap valuation, let's quickly review what makes this stock so special.

Nvidia is the largest GPU stock in the world. Its hardware powers data centers worldwide -- data centers that AI developers rely on to build, train, and deploy their models. End users, too, rely on data centers to use AI services, putting Nvidia's GPUs at the center of the AI value chain. Recent estimates suggest that the company may have a market share of 90% or more for GPUs designed for AI use cases.

How did Nvidia get so dominant? According to William Blair analyst Sebastien Naji, Nvidia invested heavily to develop "the broadest ecosystem" of software tools and developers, which essentially allows it to control both the hardware and software components of its GPUs. "And so it's just so much easier to build an application, build an AI model on top of those chips," Naji adds.

Nvidia got a lead on the AI GPU market through early investment. Its software focus, meanwhile, allowed users to customize their chips, creating a "stickiness" to its products. Switching to a competing chip isn't just a matter of hardware, but also software integration, providing Nvidia with a durable moat around its business model.

Nvidia's sales have grown in the heavy double digits for years. And its gross margins lead the industry. And yet, as we'll see, shares remain surprisingly cheap.

Is now the time to invest in Nvidia?

On the surface, Nvidia stock looks expensive. Shares trade at nearly 30 times sales -- a huge premium for a multitrillion-dollar stock. But on a profit basis, the situation improves dramatically.

Yes, Nvidia shares are trading at 54 times trailing earnings. But because sales are growing so quickly, it's important to look at the company's forward valuation. Based on what the company is expected to earn over the next 12 months, shares trade at just 39 times forward earnings.

Meanwhile, Intel, another chipmaker, is struggling to remain profitable. Its revenues are expected to fall by around 5% over the next fiscal year. The firm failed to invest in the AI opportunity, and the company is struggling to remain relevant in the next-gen GPU space. By comparing Intel and Nvidia on some key metrics, we can easily ascertain Nvidia's core strengths. Nvidia is positioned well for the near term and the long term. Intel's fate, meanwhile, remains uncertain for both time frames.

NVDA Revenue Growth Estimate for Current Fiscal Year data by YCharts

Compared to competitors like Intel, Nvidia is doing quite well. But is 39 times earnings actually a "bargain" valuation? It is if you keep doing the math. The AI market is expected to continue growing by 20% to 30% annually for nearly a decade. With the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) trading at 30 times earnings, it won't be long until Nvidia stock trades below the general market based on today's trading price.

The key here is patience. If you're willing to hold Nvidia stock for the long term, high sustained growth rates will quickly eat into the up-front valuation premium, making the stock a bargain in hindsight. As with any high-multiple stock, expect plenty of volatility along the way. But if you're betting on AI stocks for the long haul, Nvidia remains surprisingly cheap for patient shareholders.

Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now?

Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $636,628!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,063,471!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,041% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 183% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025

Ryan Vanzo has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intel and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• Intel beat Wall Street revenue expectations but posted an unexpected loss due to charges related to streamlining.

• The company, under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, is taking decisive action to get costs in line.

• These are the early days of what figures to be a long turnaround, but the initial results provide some reason for optimism.

• 10 stocks we like better than Intel ›

Here's our initial take on Intel's (NASDAQ: INTC) fiscal 2025 second-quarter financial report.

Key Metrics

Metric	Q2 2024	Q2 2025	Change	vs. Expectations
Revenue	$12.8 billion	$12.9 billion	1%	Beat
Adjusted EPS	$0.02	-$0.10	n/m	Missed
Gross margin	35.4%	27.5%	-790 bp	n/a
Intel Foundry revenue	$4.3 billion	$4.4 billion	2%	n/a

Intel Works to Get Its House in Order

Intel posted better-than-expected revenue in the second quarter but noted an unexpected loss due to impairment charges related to "excess tools with no identified reuse." This is the first full quarter under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who joined in March, and the new chief executive outlined his plan for the company, including significant cost cuts.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

Intel management said it has completed the majority of a plan to cut its workforce by 15% and is taking action to optimize its manufacturing footprint. The company said it no longer intends to move forward with planned projects in Germany and Poland. In addition, Intel said it would "further slow" the pace of construction at a plant in Ohio to ensure the spending is aligned with market demand.

Revenue was boosted by strong demand from the personal-computer business, driven by efforts by PC makers to boost inventories ahead of potential tariffs. The company's client computing group, which includes PCs, saw revenue grow by $300 million on a sequential-quarter basis to $7.6 billion.

Intel's Foundry unit, which has been touted as a future driver for growth, did $4.4 billion in revenue in the quarter compared to $4.7 billion in the first quarter of 2025 and $4.3 billion a year ago.

Data center revenue came in at $3.9 billion.

Immediate Market Reaction

Investors seem to be taking the earnings miss in stride. Shares of Intel were up about 2% in after-market trading immediately following the announcement on Thursday but ahead of the company's conference call with investors.

What to Watch

Intel and Tan are at the early stages of a very long journey, with the CEO focused for now on getting costs under control before focusing attention on reestablishing Intel's legacy as an innovation powerhouse. That will take time, and investors can only gather so much information from a single quarter's results.

Intel is guiding for revenue of $12.6 billion to $13.6 billion in the current quarter, which would be down slightly from a year ago at the midpoint. It expects to be breakeven on a per-share basis, which would be substantially better than last year's third-quarter loss.

The jury's still out on Intel. But for those who have bought into the turnaround story, there is ample reason for optimism that Tan is aggressively taking important first steps.

Helpful Resources

• Full earnings report
• Investor relations page
• Additional coverage

Should you invest $1,000 in Intel right now?

Before you buy stock in Intel, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Intel wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $634,627!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,046,799!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,037% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025

Lou Whiteman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intel. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) shares surged 4% to close at $170.70 on Tuesday, outpacing broader market indices as investors responded positively to news about graphics processing unit (GPU) exports to China resuming. The chipmaker received assurances from the Trump administration that it can once again export its H20 GPU to the Chinese market.

While Nvidia rallied, major indices showed mixed performance. The S&P 500 fell slightly, dropping 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite remained relatively flat with its 0.18% gain, highlighting Nvidia's strong individual performance against market headwinds. Among competitors, Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) showed even stronger performance, jumping 6.4% to $155.61, while Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) declined 1.63% to $22.92, highlighting the diverging fortunes within the semiconductor sector.

Nvidia's trading volume reached approximately 229 million shares, below its 200-day average of approximately 253 million shares, according to Barchart data. Technically, the stock has established positive momentum by reclaiming its 200-day moving average of around $131.40, with the shares now trading nearly 30% above this key technical indicator.

The company's renewed access to the crucial Chinese market, combined with ongoing sector rotation into artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure investments, appears to be solidifying Nvidia's position as the premier semiconductor manufacturer in the rapidly expanding AI space.

Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now?

Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $680,559!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,005,670!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,053% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of July 15, 2025

JesterAI is a Foolish AI, based on a variety of Large Language Models (LLMs) and proprietary Motley Fool systems. All articles published by JesterAI are reviewed by our editorial team, and The Motley Fool takes ultimate responsibility for the content of this article. JesterAI cannot own stocks and so it has no positions in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• TSMC has become the undisputed foundry leader.

• This essentially makes it the arms dealer in the AI chip battle, making it a winner no matter who comes out on top.

• The company could be one of the biggest beneficiaries of autonomous driving as well.

• 10 stocks we like better than Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ›

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM) may not design artificial intelligence (AI) chips, but it's a company that every AI chipmaker relies on. The AI giants rely on TSMC to manufacture their number-crunching chip designs. That's why TSMC is the safest long-term play in the AI infrastructure space.

Let's look at what makes the company so special.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

The foundry leader

TSMC is the world's most advanced semiconductor foundry, and it counts the world's leading chip designers among its top customers, including Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices, Broadcom, and Apple. It has the scale and technological leadership that rivals can't match. Intel has been burning cash trying to establish its foundry business, while Samsung's yield issues continue to be an issue. That has given TSMC a huge market share lead in the advanced node market, and it's not particularly close.

Nodes refer to the size of the transistors used on a chip, measured in nanometers. The smaller the node, the more transistors can be packed onto the chip, which boosts performance and power efficiency. Smaller nodes are becoming a bigger part of TSMC's mix. Chips made on 7nm and smaller nodes made up 73% of its revenue in the first quarter, up from 65% a year ago. Its 3nm node accounted for 22% of revenue, and Apple has booked much of its 2nm supply for future products. Even Intel has been using TSMC's 3nm tech for some of its most advanced chips. That says a lot.

TSMC's clear leadership in the space has also given the company strong pricing power. Between increasing demand and higher prices, this is driving both strong revenue growth and improved gross margins. Last quarter, its revenue jumped 35% to $25.5 billion, led by growth in high-performance computing (HPC). That continued in Q2, with the company reporting preliminary revenue growth of 39% to $31.9 billion, as estimated by Reuters.

Margins remain strong despite new fabs ramping. Gross margin rose 190 basis points to 58.8% in Q1 despite its Arizona and Japan fabs still ramping up and weighing on profitability. TSMC expects these newer facilities to dilute margins by 2 to 3 percentage points this year, but the company is already raising prices to offset the pressure. According to reports, TSMC will increase AI chip prices this year, with Arizona-made chips potentially commanding a 30% premium.

TSMC's business risks

TSMC is not entirely without risks. Geopolitical tensions around Taiwan will always be part of the story, and it's not immune to tariffs and policy shifts in the U.S. However, TSMC is already addressing both by expanding its footprint globally. The company has been building new fabs in the U.S., Japan, and Europe in partnership with its largest customers.

However, what makes TSMC the safest AI semiconductor stock is its position in the semiconductor value chain. It ultimately doesn't matter which company wins the AI chip race. TSMC's success is tied to overall AI chip demand, not any one company's products.

AI chip demand isn't slowing down, either. TSMC previously projected AI-related revenue to grow at a mid-40% compounded average growth rate (CAGR) over the next five years, starting in 2024. It's also working closely with customers to time its capacity expansion accordingly. With its top customers booking future supply, it has solid visibility into future growth.

Meanwhile, it could see a tailwind beyond AI with autonomous driving. Robotaxis are beginning to take off and gain traction, and all of those vehicles will need to be fitted with advanced chips. It's still early, but if robotaxis and autonomous driving become commonplace, TSMC will be a big beneficiary.

Time to buy the stock

In the AI chip battle, TSMC is essentially the AI arms dealer. It doesn't need to bet on who will dominate the chip market, because it sells manufacturing services to all of them. For investors who want exposure to AI semiconductors without betting on a single chipmaker, TSMC is the safest way to play it.

The stock is also attractively valued, trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 24 times based on analysts' 2025 estimates and a price/earnings-to-growth ratio (PEG) of less than 0.7. Stocks with PEG ratios below 1 are typically considered undervalued.

Taken all together, TSMC is one of the best and safest stocks to buy in the semiconductor space right now.

Should you invest $1,000 in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing right now?

Before you buy stock in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $671,477!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,010,880!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,047% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 180% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of July 7, 2025

Geoffrey Seiler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Apple, Intel, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and recommends the following options: short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• Unity is refocusing on subscriptions and improving its advertising platform after a major company reset.

• Intel is leaving no stone unturned as it searches for a viable strategy after years of struggle.

• Both stocks could soar on any positive developments.

The stock market has rebounded over the past few months, but some struggling stocks have been left behind. Unity (NYSE: U) and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) are facing serious challenges, and it will take time for their turnarounds to gain traction. In both cases, new CEOs are making big changes with the potential to get the companies back on track. While Unity and Intel are risky stocks, they could soar on any positive progress.

Unity

Video game engine developer Unity went through a major restructuring last year. A company reset led to significant layoffs and the exit from multiple non-core businesses. A new CEO stepped in last May with extensive experience in the mobile games business. While progress has been slow, the early results are promising.

While Unity's overall revenue still declined in the first quarter of 2025, the situation looks better under the surface. Subscription revenue increased, the result of price increases and the company fully scrapping a proposed fee that set off a developer revolt in 2023. Unity 6, the latest version of the company's game engine, brings important performance improvements and new features that are resonating with customers.

In the advertising business, the launch of the new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered Vector ad platform sets the stage for recovery. The Grow Solutions segment, which houses Unity's advertising business, still saw revenue decline by 4% in Q1. However, Unity Vector is starting to offset declines in other products.

Unity is one of two major commercial game engines that dominate the market, along with Epic Games' Unreal Engine. This dominant position is Unity's most valuable asset, and the game engine is used heavily across the gaming industry. The challenge now is to turn that dominance into a growing, profitable business.

Shares of Unity are down 88% from their all-time high. While the turnaround is just getting started, visible progress over the next few quarters could light a fire under the stock and deliver major gains to patient investors.

Intel

Semiconductor giant Intel is going through some major changes. Following a turnaround effort led by former CEO Pat Gelsinger that ultimately led to his ouster, the company has brought on industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan to fix its problems. The first order of business is a streamlining of operations that will involve substantial layoffs. Rumors suggest that even workers in the foundry, one of Intel's key growth initiatives, won't be immune. Intel is also planning to outsource marketing to a consulting company, which will use AI to slash marketing costs.

Beyond cost cutting, Intel will likely pare down its product portfolio and focus on its best opportunities. A new strategy for its AI chip business could be coming following the scrapping of its previously planned Falcon Shores GPU. The company has already sold off a majority stake in Altera, and more exits could be coming.

In the foundry business, Tan may be about to take a dramatic step. According to Reuters, Tan is considering giving up on marketing the Intel 18A manufacturing process to external customers, instead shifting focus to the upcoming Intel 14A process. While Intel 18A represents a huge leap over Intel's previous manufacturing technology, it only closes the gap with TSMC, and the company has struggled to win over big customers.

Long story short, Intel's comeback is going to be a drawn-out affair. However, the stock is priced so pessimistically today that any meaningful progress could send shares soaring. Intel is currently valued right around book value, or assets minus liabilities, a historically low valuation for the storied semiconductor company. If Tan can tell a good story and convince investors that a turnaround is viable, a major recovery for the stock could be in the cards.

Intel investors will need to be patient as the company attempts to fix its past mistakes and return to profitable growth. It's not a sure thing, but the risk-reward trade-off looks appealing.

Don’t miss this second chance at a potentially lucrative opportunity

Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you’ll want to hear this.

On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a “Double Down” stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you’re worried you’ve already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it’s too late. And the numbers speak for themselves:

• Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you’d have $397,573!*
• Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you’d have $39,453!*
• Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you’d have $697,627!*

Right now, we’re issuing “Double Down” alerts for three incredible companies, available when you join Stock Advisor, and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.

See the 3 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of June 30, 2025

Timothy Green has positions in Intel. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Unity Software. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD), better known simply as AMD, is often overlooked by investors, as it has a distant second-place market share to leading chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) in the AI-fueled data center accelerator market.

There are several reasons why AMD stock should be on your radar right now. CEO Lisa Su has established a long track record of outperforming expectations. The company's recent data center chips are gaining impressive traction. And AMD has been steadily taking PC market share from long-time leader Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) for years.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

However, the biggest reason why it's not too late to buy AMD right now is because of the long-tailed growth potential in some of its core markets.

AMD's market growth

Here are a few projections for AMD's core markets from reputable analytical firms:

• Data center capital expenditure is expected to roughly double over the next three years, and according to Grand View Research; the data center accelerator market is expected to grow from about $34 billion in revenue last year to $166 billion by 2030.
• The gaming GPU market is estimated to be a $5 billion opportunity today, but is expected to more than 6x in size by 2030, according to Mordor Intelligence.
• The automotive GPU market is expected to be a $45 billion market by 2030, according to Virtue Market Research, a 33% annualized growth rate.
• Overall, the global GPU market (which is only one type of chip AMD makes) is expected to grow from $62 billion in 2024 to over $460 billion by 2032, a 29% annualized growth rate.

The bottom line is that even if AMD simply maintains its current market share, revenue growth could be extremely strong for the foreseeable future.

Should you invest $1,000 in Advanced Micro Devices right now?

Before you buy stock in Advanced Micro Devices, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Advanced Micro Devices wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $713,547!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $966,931!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,062% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 177% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025

Matt Frankel has positions in Advanced Micro Devices. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) stock is soaring Tuesday. The semiconductor company's share price was up 6.4% as of 3:45 p.m. ET amid the backdrop of a 1.2% rise for the S&P 500 and a 1.5% rise for the Nasdaq Composite.

Intel's valuation is surging today following a recently released market share report on the semiconductor industry. The stock is also getting a boost from macroeconomic and geopolitical dynamics that are supporting bullish momentum for the broader market.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

Intel stock rises on foundry report

Counterpoint Research published a new report on the semiconductor fabrication industry, and it included some good news for Intel investors. While Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing maintained a 35.3% market share in Counterpoint's Foundry 2.0 category in this year's first quarter, Intel ranked in second place with a 6.5% market share. While Intel's performance declined from a market share of 6.8% in Q1 2024, it was up from 5.9% in Q4 2024.

More importantly, Counterpoint's update included some signs of favorable progress for Intel's 18A manufacturing process. Intel is aiming to challenge TSMC as a provider of chip fabrication services for third-party customers, and the near-term outlook on the front hinges heavily on whether chip yields from 18A wind up being attractive to potential clients.

Adding another bullish catalyst, Samsung is reportedly shifting focus away from its 1.4nm process in order to improve yields from its 2nm process technology. If that news is accurate, it suggests a setback for one of Intel's competitors.

Geopolitical and macroeconomic factors are also lifting chip stocks today

The announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran is pushing the broader market higher today, and Intel is participating in the rally. The war between the two countries has been in focus as a risk factor that could lead to a broader conflict and a pronounced bearish turn for the market, but investors are seeing signs that things may now be on a path toward continued de-escalation.

Adding another bullish catalyst, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated today that it was possible that the central banking authority's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) could cut interest rates next month. While a July rate cut may or may not happen, the Fed seems to be adopting a more dovish stance -- and that's good news for Intel and other chip stocks.

Should you invest $1,000 in Intel right now?

Before you buy stock in Intel, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Intel wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $676,023!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $883,692!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 793% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 173% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025

Keith Noonan has positions in Intel. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Semiconductor giant Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) slashed its dividend in 2023 and then pulled the plug completely in 2024 amid chronic struggles and weak financial performance. The initial dividend cut helped the company preserve cash as it plowed capital into its manufacturing operations, while the dividend suspension was coupled with significant layoffs and came a few months before former CEO Pat Gelsinger was shown the door.

While Intel has a new CEO with plans to aggressively cut costs and streamline operations, the dividend is unlikely to make a comeback any time soon.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

A deteriorating balance sheet

Intel has spent the past few years investing in new manufacturing facilities and new process technologies in a bid to regain its manufacturing advantage against TSMC and build out a foundry business of its own. This was always going to be a multiyear endeavor that consumed far more cash than it produced in the beginning. Even today, with the Intel 18A process marching toward volume production, the foundry business generates minimal revenue from external customers.

This heavy spending occurred just as Intel's products business hit the skids. A severe downturn in PC demand following a pandemic-era boom hurt the client computing business, as did competition from AMD. In the data center segment, strong products from AMD and a shift in spending toward AI accelerators knocked down revenue and decimated profits.

The net result of all of this is a balance sheet that has taken a beating. While Intel had around $21 billion in cash and short-term investments at the end of the first quarter of 2025, it also had more than $50 billion in debt. Intel's debt load has been climbing for the past 15 years, rising from next to nothing in 2010 to nearly $30 billion in 2020 and topping $50 billion today.

INTC Total Long Term Debt (Annual) data by YCharts.

Intel has plenty of cash on hand but needs a big buffer to continue its manufacturing investments and weather an uncertain economic environment. Until Intel's debt is reduced, a dividend is highly unlikely.

Profit and cash-flow troubles

Intel's products business, which includes all its first-party PC CPUs, server CPUs, and other products, is still profitable. In the first quarter, the products business generated an operating income of $2.9 billion on $11.7 billion in revenue.

The problem is the foundry business, which currently generates nearly all its revenue internally from Intel's products business. The foundry business registered an operating loss of $2.3 billion and less than $1 billion in revenue in the first quarter. Add in corporate operating expenses, and Intel produced a total operating loss of $301 million for the quarter.

The cash-flow situation looks much worse since Intel's capital spending is vastly outpacing depreciation, thanks to its manufacturing investments. Intel poured more than $5 billion into capital expenditures in the first quarter alone, leading to an adjusted free-cash-flow loss of roughly $3.7 billion. At the moment, Intel's products business isn't generating nearly enough cash to fund the company's ongoing investments.

Intel is spinning off and selling off non-core businesses, including the recent sale of a majority stake in Altera, and it reduced its target for gross capital spending in 2025 by $2 billion to $18 billion. Those moves will help the situation, but a rebound in the products business and an influx of external revenue in the foundry business are going to be necessary for the company to even consider restarting its dividend.

The dividend could return, but it will take a while

Under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, Intel is planning to slash costs, remove layers of middle management, and downsize its workforce. The company is also putting a renewed focus on engineering and listening to its customers, the latter of which will be critical to winning major foundry customers. Intel's first chips using the Intel 18A process will start shipping by the end of this year, potentially ending AMD's manufacturing lead by catching up to TSMC in terms of performance and efficiency.

While Intel's turnaround could gain traction in 2026, the dividend isn't likely to return for some time. Intel has a lot of work left to do to stabilize and then grow its CPU market share and still needs to win major foundry customers and ramp up external foundry revenue.

Once all that happens, improving the balance sheet and reducing debt should be the top priority. The dividend is probably not a priority right now, and it will likely be years before the company seriously considers restarting dividend payments to investors.

Should you invest $1,000 in Intel right now?

Before you buy stock in Intel, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Intel wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $658,297!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $883,386!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 992% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025

Timothy Green has positions in Intel. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

In March 2020, I outlined where I thought tech giant Nvidia's business and stock would be in five years, or in March 2025. It's now a little past the five-year mark, so how did I do?

Overall, I'd give myself a B or a B+. I was mostly correct in my business predictions and accurate about what investors care about the most, the stock price: "I feel very comfortable predicting that Nvidia stock will solidly outperform the market over the next half decade," I wrote.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »

Indeed, from March 1, 2020 (when my five-year predictions article published) through March 1, 2025, Nvidia stock's total return was 1,760% -- nearly 15 times the S&P 500's return of 118%. In other words, Nvidia stock turned a $1,000 investment into a whopping $18,600 over this five-year period. (Nvidia stock's five-year return through the date of this writing, June 4, is a little lower, as the chart below shows. Shares are up since March 1; it's the change in the 2020 start date that slightly lowers their current five-year return.)

Nvidia stock's fantastic performance has largely been driven by the incredible demand for the company's graphics processing units (GPUs) and related technology that enable artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.

Prediction 1: CEO Jensen Huang will still be leading the company

Status: Correct.

In March 2020, I wrote that "as long as [Huang] stays healthy, the odds seem in favor of his still being at Nvidia's helm in five years."

For context, Jensen Huang, who co-founded the company in 1993, turned 62 in February, according to public records.

Nvidia investors should certainly hope that Huang remains the company's leader for some time. As I wrote in June 2024:

Nvidia is many years ahead of the competition in AI-enabling technology thanks to Huang's foresight. Starting more than a decade ago, he began to steadily use profits from Nvidia's once-core computer gaming business to position the company to be in the catbird seat when the "AI Age" truly arrived.

Prediction 2: Nvidia will still be the leading supplier of graphics cards for computer gaming

Status: Correct.

Here's part of what I wrote in the March 2020 article:

Nvidia dominates the market for discrete graphics processing units (GPUs) -- the key component in graphics cards for desktop computer gaming. In the fourth quarter of 2019, the company controlled 68.9% of this market.

Nvidia has increased its leadership position over the last five years. In the fourth quarter of 2024, it had an 82% share of the desktop discrete GPU market, compared with longtime rival Advanced Micro Devices' 17% share, according to Jon Peddie Research. Intel, which entered this market in 2022, had a 1% share.

Growth in Nvidia's gaming market platform will be covered below.

Prediction 3: The global gaming market will continue its robust growth

Status: Correct.

In March 2020, I wrote: "In 2025, the gaming market should be much bigger [relative to 2020]."

By all counts -- the number of global gamers, total computer gaming market revenue, and computer gaming PC revenue -- the computer gaming market has grown solidly over the last five years.

And Nvidia has benefited nicely from this growth. In fiscal year 2020 (ended late January 2020), the company's gaming market platform generated revenue of $5.52 billion. In fiscal 2025 (ended in late January), this platform's revenue was $11.35 billion. This increase amounts to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.5%.

This is strong growth for such a huge market. It might not seem so only because Nvidia's data center market platform's growth has been phenomenal over this same period.

In fiscal 2020, gaming was Nvidia's largest platform, accounting for 51% of its total revenue. In fiscal 2025, gaming was its second-largest platform behind data center, contributing about 9% of its total revenue.

Prediction 4: Nvidia's GPUs will still be the gold standard for AI training

Status: Correct.

In March 2020, I wrote:

The company's GPU-based approach to accelerating computing is considered the gold standard for DL [deep learning, the dominant type of AI] training, the first step in the two-step DL process. [The second step is inferencing.] This statement is extremely likely to hold true in 2025, in my opinion.

Since 2020, both AMD and Intel have launched GPUs for AI-powered data centers, but Nvidia's grip on this market -- which is growing like wildfire -- remains tight. IoT Analytics, a technology market research firm, estimates Nvidia had a 92% share of the data center GPU market in 2024.

As an added plus, since 2020, Nvidia's GPUs have gone from having very little share of the AI inferencing chip market to having the largest chunk of this market. Inferencing is the running of an AI application.

In fiscal 2020, Nvidia's data center platform's revenue was $2.98 billion. It skyrocketed to $115.2 billion in fiscal 2025, equating to about a 107% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). This amazing growth powered the data center to account for 88% of Nvidia's total revenue in fiscal 2025, up from 27% in fiscal 2020.

Prediction 5: The legalization of driverless vehicles will turbocharge its auto platform's growth

Status: My timeline was too optimistic.

In March 2020, I wrote: "In 2025, fully autonomous vehicles should be legal -- or very close to being so -- across the United States. Nvidia is well positioned to majorly profit from [this event]."

I wouldn't say that fully autonomous vehicles are "very close" to being legal across the U.S. This event seems at least a few years away. But I continue to believe this watershed event will "turbocharge" Nvidia's growth thanks to its widely adopted AI-powered DRIVE platform.

Prediction 6. The X factor

Status: Correct.

In March 2020, I wrote: "Nvidia is incredibly innovative, so there seems a great chance that the company will introduce at least one major new technology that takes nearly everyone by surprise."

Over the last five years, Nvidia has launched a good number of major new technologies that have likely taken most investors and Wall Street analysts by surprise.

One example is its Omniverse platform, which launched in 2021. This is a simulation platform that enables the creation of virtual worlds and digital twins. It's been widely adopted by a broad industry range of large enterprise companies -- including Amazon, PepsiCo, and BMW Group -- for uses such as designing products and optimizing facility workflow.

2020 article ending: And Nvidia's stock price in 2025?

Status: Correct.

Here's what I wrote in March 2020:

It's impossible to predict a company's stock price in five years because so many unknowns ... can have a huge influence on the market in general. That said, given the projections made in this article, I feel very comfortable predicting that Nvidia stock will solidly outperform the market over the next half decade.

Stay tuned. I'm planning on a predictions article similar to my 2020 one. Hint: It's going to be optimistic, as Nvidia's highly profitable strong revenue growth is far from over, in my opinion.

Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now?

Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $668,538!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $869,841!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 789% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025

John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Beth McKenna has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon, Intel, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft and recommends the following options: short August 2025 $24 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Intel's (NASDAQ: INTC) first-quarter results came up flat, and investors sent shares of the struggling semiconductor company lower. Intel shares are down more than 40% over the past year.

Revenue was flat for the quarter, coming in at $12.7 billion. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) sank 28% to $0.13. The lackluster numbers easily surpassed the $0.01 in EPS and $12.3 billion in revenue in the analyst consensus compiled by LSEG, but Intel's guidance disappointed.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

Let's take a closer look at Intel's quarterly results to see when a turnaround could be in store.

Intel's struggles continue

Intel's flat revenue was the first time it didn't see a revenue decline since Q1 of last year. However, the company has been more stuck in the mud in regard to revenue growth than seeing any big declines.

Intel's product revenue fell 3% to $11.8 billion. Its client computing group (CCG) product revenue fell 8% to $7.6 billion, while data center and AI (DCAI) product revenue rose 8% to $4.1 billion. The company said it saw better-than-expected sales of its Xeon chip, which is a CPU (central processing unit) designed for data centers and enterprise services. However, it said the growth was likely driven by customers increasing orders ahead of tariffs.

Its foundry business, meanwhile, had revenue increase 7% to $4.7 billion. However, the segment continues to post large losses, with an operating loss of $2.3 billion in Q1. That was a slight improvement from its $2.4 billion loss a year ago.

Revenue from Intel's other businesses, which include subsidiaries Altera and Mobileye, shot up 47% to $900 million. This segment also flipped from an operating loss of $170 million to a profit of $103 million.

Segment	Revenue	Revenue Growth (YOY)
Product	$11.8 billion	(3%)
--CCG	$7.6 billion	(8%)
--DCAI	$4.1 billion	8%
Foundry	$4.7 billion	7%
Other (subsidiaries)	$900 million	47%

Data source: Intel. YOY = year over year.

Gross margins remain under pressure, falling by 410 basis points from 41% to 36.9%. Some of the gross-margin pressure stems from ramping up the foundry business, but Intel has also seen a lot of margin pressure in its CCG and DCAI businesses as well.

The company produced $813 million in operating cash flow during the quarter, while spending $5.2 billion in capital expenditures (capex) as it continues to pour money into its foundry business. It ended the quarter with $50.2 billion in debt against $21.1 billion in cash and short-term investments.

Looking ahead, it forecast Q2 revenue to range between $11.2 billion and $12.4 billion, well below analyst expectations for revenue of $12.8 billion. At the midpoint, that would be a year-over-year decline in revenue of about 8%.

Due to its struggles, Intel is looking to significantly cut its operating expenses (opex). It plans to reduce opex to $17 billion this year and $16 billion in 2026. Excluding restructuring charges, opex was $22 billion in 2024, or $19.4 billion when excluding share-based compensation.

Meanwhile, it reduced its capex budget by $2 billion to $18 billion, and it plans to monetize noncore assets. This will begin the process of improving its balance sheet.

Is a turnaround near?

The simple answer to that question is no. None of this is a quick fix, and Intel won't be able to just cut its way to prosperity. On that front, it plans to refine its artificial intelligence (AI) strategy with the goal of developing full-stack AI solutions that improve accuracy, power efficiency, and security. That's a great goal to have, but Intel will have difficulty competing with a company like Nvidia, which is currently leaps and bounds ahead of it and has created a wide moat with the CUDA software platform.

That said, I think there's value to be unlocked within Intel. Its core business, while not growing, has been fairly steady on the revenue front, and I would expect gross margins to eventually start to plateau. The company has a lot of physical assets, as it's poured money into its foundry business, building new fabrication plants in both the U.S. and Europe. It has spent over $200 billion in capex over the past two years, which is more than twice its market cap.

As a result, Intel trades at a ratio of price to tangible book value (TBV) of just 1.2. TBV is the value of its physical assets minus any net debt, so basically, at current prices, investors are able to buy Intel at around the value of its assets.

INTC Price to Tangible Book Value data by YCharts.

Investors will need to be patient, but I think there's enough value in Intel for its stock to eventually work. That means you might consider accumulating shares now, and on any further dips.

Should you invest $1,000 in Intel right now?

Before you buy stock in Intel, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Intel wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $594,046!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $680,390!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 872% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 160% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 28, 2025

Geoffrey Seiler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intel and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Mobileye Global and recommends the following options: short May 2025 $30 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) recently posted its first-quarter earnings report. The chipmaker's revenue came in flat year over year at $12.7 billion, which still beat analysts' estimates by $390 million. Its adjusted earnings per share (EPS) fell 28% to $0.13 but still cleared the consensus forecast by $0.13. Those headline numbers seemed stable, but its guidance was grim.

For the second quarter, it expects its revenue to decline from 3% to 13% year over year (compared to analysts' expectations for sales to remain flat), with an adjusted EPS of zero -- which also missed the consensus forecast of $0.07.

Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More »

In other words, investors shouldn't expect Intel's turnaround efforts to bear fruit anytime soon. But can the chipmaker's new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, fix its ailing business and strike back against Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) in the x86 CPU market?

What happened to Intel?

Intel is still the world's largest manufacturer of x86 CPUs for PCs and servers. But between the third quarter of 2016 and the second quarter of 2025, Intel's share of the x86 market plummeted from 82.5% to 58.2%, according to PassMark Software, which compares PCs. AMD's share rose from 17.5% to 40.3%.

That disastrous decline was largely caused by Intel's failure to keep pace with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the race to manufacture smaller and denser chips. AMD, which didn't manufacture its own chips, outsourced its production to Taiwan Semiconductor's superior foundries -- which enabled it to produce smaller, cheaper, and more power-efficient chips than Intel. Meanwhile, Intel -- which struggled with delays, shortages, and abrupt CEO changes as it tried to keep up -- lost a lot of its business to AMD.

But that wasn't Intel's only failure over the past decade. It also failed to crack the mobile chip market, which it ceded to Arm Holdings, while missing the seismic shift toward AI chips, which Nvidia dominates with its discrete GPUs. It also di-worsified its business with too many messy acquisitions, and then hastily divested them when they didn't pay off.

That's why Intel's annual revenue declined from $55.87 billion in 2014 to $54.23 billion in 2024. Over the past 10 years, its stock price fell 34% as the S&P 500 advanced 160%. AMD's stock surged a dizzying 3,950% during the same period as its CEO, Lisa Su, drove the underdog chipmaker to reboot its engineering process and capitalize on Intel's mistakes.

How does Intel's new CEO plan to turn around its business?

Before Intel brought in Lip-Bu Tan as its new CEO this March, many analysts speculated that it might sell its foundries to Taiwan Semiconductor (also known as TSMC) and its chip design business to Broadcom, or follow AMD's lead and become a fully fabless chipmaker. However, Tan quickly dismissed those rumors and suggested that Intel would continue to improve its engineering capabilities, develop more CPUs with integrated AI features, and expand its foundry business.

During Intel's first-quarter conference call, Tan reiterated those priorities and said it would streamline its business and divest its noncore assets (including the programmable chipmaker Altera in the second half of this year). Meanwhile, it's ramping up its smallest 18A process node to support the launch of its next-gen Panther Lake CPU for PCs in late 2025. It also expects its upcoming Granite Rapids Xeon 6 CPU to strengthen its defenses in the server market.

That road map seems feasible, but Intel's dim near-term outlook suggests its newest chips won't boost its near-term revenue and profits. Moreover, Intel plans to lay off a big percentage of its staff this year (rumored to be around 20%) to cut costs, and it's been outsourcing the production of some of its 2nm Nova Lake CPUs (which are scheduled to launch in 2026) to TSMC.

Those red flags suggest Intel will remain stuck in its previous cycle of trying to cut costs, rolling out new chips, and quietly relying on TSMC to pick up the slack. Meanwhile, AMD could continue to chip away at Intel with its Ryzen CPUs for PCs and Epyc CPUs for servers. In other words, Intel still hasn't explained how it will stop the bleeding and strike back at AMD.

But that's not all. Intel still needs to cope with the Trump administration's unpredictable tariffs and export curbs, its push to end the CHIPS Act subsidies for domestic chipmakers, and intense competition from TSMC in the foundry market. All of those challenges could make it even tougher for Intel to mount a meaningful recovery against AMD.

Is it too late to strike back against AMD?

Intel's losses in the mobile market, the discrete GPU market, and now its core CPU market indicate its business is suffering from some deep-rooted issues. AMD was led by one dynamic CEO over the past decade, while Intel was led by four different ones.

The contrarian investors might believe that Lip-Bu Tan might succeed where three predecessors failed, but I don't see any green shoots yet. So for now, I think it's too late to assume Intel can fend off AMD in the x86 CPU market.

Should you invest $1,000 in Intel right now?

Before you buy stock in Intel, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Intel wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $594,046!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $680,390!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 872% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 160% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 21, 2025

Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and recommends the following options: short May 2025 $30 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.