Key Points

• ServiceNow stock rose today following the company's second-quarter earnings report.

• The enterprise software specialist beat Wall Street's sales and earnings targets for Q2, and it raised its subscription revenue forecast for this year.

• ServiceNow is seeing strong AI-related tailwinds and looks poised to continue benefiting from digital transformation trends.

• 10 stocks we like better than ServiceNow ›

ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) stock posted gains in Thursday's trading following the company's latest quarterly report. The software specialist's share price gained 4.2% in the session and had been up as much as 9.9% early in the day's trading.

ServiceNow published its second-quarter results after the market closed yesterday, and the numbers came in better than Wall Street had anticipated. The company's report showed continued artificial intelligence (AI) tailwinds, and management raised full-year performance targets for the business.

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 »

Image source: Getty Images.

ServiceNow stock jumps on strong Q2 numbers

ServiceNow recorded non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share of $4.09 on sales of $3.22 billion in the second quarter, beating the average analyst estimate's call for per-share earnings of $3.57 per share on sales of $3.12 billion in the period. Revenue was up roughly 22% year over year, and the business closed out the quarter with remaining performance obligations of $23.9 billion -- representing growth of 25.5% on a currency-adjusted basis.

What's next for ServiceNow?

ServiceNow is seeing strong AI-related demand for its enterprise software suite, and the company has raised its performance outlook for the year on the heels of strong results in the second quarter. Management is now guiding for subscription revenue to come in between $12.77 billion and $12.79 billion. At the midpoint, the new guidance is up by $125 million compared to its previous forecast.

As a leading enterprise software provider, ServiceNow looks poised to continue benefiting from AI and digital transformation trends. While gains for the company's valuation could open the door for downside volatility in the near term, the company looks poised to deliver wins for shareholders over the long haul.

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

Before you buy stock in ServiceNow, consider this:

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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!*

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*Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025

Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends ServiceNow. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• Alphabet and GitLab are misunderstood stocks that are poised to be AI winners.

• Salesforce and ServiceNow are software companies with big AI opportunities in front of them.

• SentinelOne has a big potential catalyst in the second half as its deal with Lenovo rolls out.

• 10 stocks we like better than GitLab ›

The first half of 2025 wasn't kind to a number of promising artificial intelligence (AI) stocks, particularly in the software space. However, the second half could be very different.

Let's look at five stocks that were AI losers in the first half of 2025 that look poised to rebound in the second half.

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 »

Alphabet

Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL)(NASDAQ: GOOG) continues to be one of the most misunderstood stocks in the market. Investors keep worrying about AI disrupting its core search business, but that misses the bigger picture. Google isn't a search company -- it's a content discovery platform with a huge distribution advantage and decades of behavioral data behind it.

Alphabet's browser and mobile operating system give it an enormous edge. Chrome commands more than 65% of global browser share, while Android runs on over 70% of smartphones. Meanwhile, Google has revenue-sharing deals to be the default search engine across Apple devices and other browsers. As search and AI evolve, that distribution becomes increasingly important.

At the same time, Google has stepped up its game with its new AI-powered Search Mode. In a recent Oppenheimer survey, 82% of users found it more helpful than traditional search, and 75% preferred it to ChatGPT. Importantly, Google doesn't need to change user behavior and have people switch over to its apps. Its billions of users just need to click AI Mode to get this experience.

Its cloud computing business is also gaining traction. Google Cloud revenue rose 28% last quarter, and the company is investing heavily to build capacity to keep up with demand. Add in under-appreciated assets like its Waymo robotaxi business and its Willow quantum chip, and Alphabet looks ready to rebound in the back half.

GitLab

Another company that is misunderstood is GitLab (NASDAQ: GTLB). Investors are worried that with AI, organizations are going to need fewer coders. However, thus far AI has led to more software development, while GitLab has quietly been transforming itself into a software development lifecycle platform.

The company took a big step forward in this direction with the release of GitLab 18. It added over 30 new features, including its Duo Agent Platform, which allows users to deploy AI agents across the entire development cycle from code generation to testing to compliance. This is important, as according to William Blair, developers only spend about 20% of their time actually writing code.

The company has already been growing revenue at a strong clip, including 27% last quarter. The growth is being driven by new customers as well as existing customers buying more seats and upgrading tiers. GitLab has also been expanding key partnerships, including with Amazon.

As a company that is helping drive end-to-end development workflow efficiency, GitLab has a strong future ahead and looks like a solid rebound candidate.

Image source: Getty Images.

Salesforce

Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) has spent the last year refocusing its platform around AI. Its new Agentforce platform has over 4,000 paying customers already, and it's at the center of what could become a much bigger digital labor platform.

The company's strategy is to unify apps, data, automation, and metadata to a single framework called ADAM. It will then use this as a foundation to build and scale AI agents, helping create a digital workforce. It also recently rolled out a more flexible pricing model tied to outcomes to help increase adoption.

Salesforce is already the leader in customer relationship management (CRM) software, and its push into AI agents could be a huge growth driver. With the stock lagging in the first half, it could rebound if Agentforce starts to gain more traction.

ServiceNow

ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) may not be an obvious AI name, but it's also using AI to help transform its business. The company's roots are in IT management, but it has since expanded into human resources, finance, and customer service.

The company's strength has always been connecting siloed departments and helping organizations streamline their operations. It has embedded AI into its Now Platform, helping take these efforts to the next level. It's been seeing strong traction, with AI-driven Pro Plus deals quadrupling year over year last quarter. As organizations increasingly focus on efficiency and automation to help reduce costs, ServiceNow is well-positioned.

While some investors worry about enterprise software budgets, ServiceNow is a cost-saving platform that should continue to perform well in the current environment. That should help set the stock up to rebound later this year.

SentinelOne

SentinelOne's (NYSE: S) stock was under pressure in the first half of the year, but there's a good reason to believe that it will perform much better in the second half. The big reason is that its new partnership with Lenovo is about to ramp up.

Lenovo is the world's largest enterprise PC vendor, and starting in the second half, it will pre-install SentinelOne's Singularity Platform on all new computers it sells. Existing Lenovo users will also be able to upgrade to SentinelOne's AI-powered security platform. That's a huge opportunity for the cybersecurity company.

SentinelOne has already been seeing solid revenue growth, including 23% last quarter. While it's not the leader in the endpoint security space -- that would be CrowdStrike -- its platform receives high marks from Gartner. Meanwhile, its Purple AI solution, which helps analysts hunt complex security threats through the use of natural language prompts, has been the fastest-growing solution in its history.

All in all, SentinelOne is a solid company whose stock trades at a big discount to some of its bigger peers. Meanwhile, the Lenovo deal should be a catalyst in the second half.

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

Before you buy stock in GitLab, 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 GitLab 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 $652,133!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,056,790!*

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*Stock Advisor returns as of July 15, 2025

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Geoffrey Seiler has positions in Alphabet, GitLab, Salesforce, and SentinelOne. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, CrowdStrike, GitLab, Salesforce, SentinelOne, and ServiceNow. The Motley Fool recommends Gartner. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Key Points

• Stock splits are common among companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

• Most companies tend to split their stock when the share price exceeds approximately $1,000.

• 10 stocks we like better than Microsoft ›

Stock splits are less common than they used to be, as fractional shares have negated their effect. However, fractional shares aren't available to every investor, especially outside the U.S. Still, stock splits have their uses, namely for employee compensation.

Stock splits can still be exciting for investors and may sometimes cause a stock to surge. With a few potential splits expected next year, now may be a great time to acquire these stocks that are ripe for a split.

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 »

Image source: Getty Images.

Microsoft

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) may not appear to be a top stock-split candidate, but it might be compelled to split its stock. Although its share price is roughly $500, which isn't at a level you'd expect from a stock split, it is a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a price-weighted index.

This means that the index is weighted by a stock's price rather than by the company's size. Currently, Microsoft is the second most expensive stock in the index, and it may be forced to split its stock to stay in the index. Otherwise, it could throw the index out of balance.

As a result, investors shouldn't be surprised if Microsoft splits its stock next year.

Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) is also a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, but it holds the title of the most expensive stock in the index, trading for more than $700. Like Microsoft, it may split its stock next year, making it a smaller component of the widely used index.

Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) could be vying for a position within the Dow as the index transitions from older manufacturing companies to newer AI-focused ones. This represents the broader shift in the American economy, so the inclusion of a company like Meta makes sense.

With the stock currently trading at around $725 per share, it's a stock that could potentially undergo a split next year.

Berkshire Hathaway

It's unlikely that you'll see a Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) Class A share split, given that the stock price is currently more than $700,000 per share. However, Warren Buffett is retiring at the end of the year, and with a new CEO at the helm, you never know what might happen.

The B-class shares, which are significantly more affordable at $477 per share, could be a candidate for a stock split next year. Berkshire Hathaway is a world-renowned company, and maintaining affordable access to its shares is likely a key point for management.

Costco

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) experienced an impressive stock run over the past decade, with its stock price exceeding $1,000 per share, although it's currently slightly below that mark. Once a company reaches $1,000 per share, it lands on investors' radar as a stock-split candidate, so don't be surprised if you see Costco announce a stock split sometime in 2026.

Netflix

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is in a similar boat to Costco but at an even more expensive level. Its shares trade for around $1,250, which is quite expensive for a tech stock. Many tech companies use stock options to compensate employees, which would be a very expensive bonus to hand out from Netflix, given the high price of their stock.

As a result, I think it could split its stock in 2026.

ASML

ASML (NASDAQ: ASML) currently trades for approximately $800, but its 52-week high was over $1,100. This critical semiconductor manufacturing equipment supplier is poised for strong growth over the next few years as chip production capacity increases, and the company may consider splitting its stock in anticipation of further market run-up.

ServiceNow

ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) trades for around $1,000 and is benefiting from the integration of AI into business. The stock has been on a remarkable run over the past few years, and it could see its shares rise even further, making it a potential candidate for a stock split.

Fair Isaac Corporation

Fair Isaac Corporation (NYSE: FICO), better known as FICO, is the company behind credit card scores. Its stock has been a stellar performer, crushing the market on its way up to more than $1,600 per share. However, it decreased significantly from its 52-week high of $2,400.

Still, given the stock's high price, don't be surprised if it announces a split next year.

MercadoLibre

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) is a Latin American e-commerce and fintech giant. It has built a massive empire in Latin America and continues to expand rapidly. Its run has taken it to a $2,400 per share stock price, and it could be a company that's ripe for a stock split in 2026.

Even if none of the companies on this list fail to split their stock, some of them appear to be strong investment candidates. Although an impending stock split could be a part of the investment thesis, there should be a compelling investment case for each company beyond a stock split.

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

Before you buy stock in Microsoft, 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 Microsoft 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

Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Keithen Drury has positions in ASML, MercadoLibre, and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends ASML, Berkshire Hathaway, Costco Wholesale, Goldman Sachs Group, MercadoLibre, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Netflix, and ServiceNow. The Motley Fool recommends Fair Isaac and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

• The first installment of the beloved "Lord of the Rings" trilogy came out in 2001.
• Several stars like Ian McKellen and Orlando Bloom reprised their roles in the "Hobbit" films.
• Sean Bean and Karl Urban have gone on to play iconic TV characters. 

Believe it or not, it's been over two decades since the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy wrapped in 2003.

The film franchise, based on the J. R. R. Tolkien novel of the same name, received critical acclaim — and also launched several actors' careers.

Since leaving Middle Earth, many of the franchise's stars have gone on to play other iconic roles. Here's a look at what the star-studded cast is up to today.

Elijah Wood played Frodo Baggins.

Wood played a hobbit named Frodo in the "Lord of the Rings" films. 

After inheriting the One Ring from his cousin Bilbo Baggins, Frodo bravely volunteers to take it to Mordor to be destroyed, kicking off the epic journey across Middle Earth.

Wood began acting at a young age and had several major film credits before "The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001), like "Flipper" (1996) and "Avalon" (1990).

Wood has since acted across a variety of genres.

Wood has stayed busy with movies of all genres, including the action-comedy "Spy Kids 3D: Game Over" (2003), romantic drama "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (2004), animated musical "Happy Feet" (2006), and psychological slasher "Maniac" (2012). 

In 2010, Wood cofounded the production company SpectreVision, formerly known as The Woodshed, and has gone on to produce films like "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" (2014),  "Mandy" (2018), and "Color Out of Space" (2019).

In addition to his other career as a DJ, Wood still found time to work on projects like Cartoon Network's "Over the Garden Wall," "I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore" (2017), and "Come to Daddy" (2019).

These days, you can catch him in the ensemble cast of Showtime's "Yellowjackets."

Viggo Mortensen played Aragorn.

The Danish-American actor Mortensen played Aragorn — the son of Arathorn, heir of Isildur, and eventual King of Gondor. 

Aragorn is a member of the Fellowship and leads the fight against Sauron's army while the One Ring is being destroyed.

Before joining the "Lord of the Rings" cast, Mortensen had worked with directors like Peter Weir, Brian De Palma, Tony Scott, Ridley Scott, and Jane Campion. 

Fans would likely recognize him from films like "Young Guns II" (1990), "Crimson Tide" (1995), "The Portrait of a Lady" (1996), and "G.I. Jane" (1997).

Mortensen has been nominated for several Academy Awards.

Mortensen has since been nominated for best actor at the Academy Awards three times, for "Eastern Promises" (2007), "Captain Fantastic" (2016), and "Green Book" (2018), and has received numerous other honors. 

He made his feature directorial debut with the 2020 drama "Falling," which he also wrote, coproduced, and starred in opposite Lance Henriksen.

Most recently, the actor starred in "Eureka" (2023). 

Sean Bean played Boromir.

Bean played Boromir, the son of Denethor and a member of the Fellowship.

Boromir primarily appears in the first movie, as he dies defending Merry and Pippin against a horde of orcs after briefly allowing himself to be tempted by the One Ring.

Bean was previously known for his roles in action thrillers like "Patriot Games" (1992), "GoldenEye" (1995), and "Ronin" (1998).

Bean played another beloved fantasy character on "Game of Thrones."

After meeting his character's demise in "The Fellowship of the Ring," Bean appeared in "Equilibrium" (2002), portrayed Odysseus in "Troy" (2004), and chased Nicolas Cage in "National Treasure" (2004).

He went on to famously play Ned Stark on HBO's "Game of Thrones." 

More recently, he played Mr. Wilford on TNT's "Snowpiercer," John Parse in Brandon Cronenberg's 2020 sci-fi thriller "Possessor," and Ian on the BBC drama "Marriage."

Dominic Monaghan played Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck.

Monaghan played the troublesome hobbit Merry in the "Lord of the Rings" films. 

Merry is a hobbit from Frodo's village who finds himself leaving the Shire and joining Frodo's dangerous adventure.

He had acted in several TV movies, but "The Fellowship of the Ring" was Monaghan's big-screen debut. 

Monaghan had a major role on "Lost."

After concluding the film trilogy, Monaghan landed the role of Charlie Pace on ABC's "Lost" and appeared on the series until 2010.

After that, he hosted and produced the BBC wildlife docuseries "Wild Things With Dominic Monaghan" from 2012 to 2016.

He also starred in the video short for Eminem and Rihanna's "Love the Way You Lie," played a mutant in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (2009), and joined another major franchise when he appeared in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" (2019).

He voiced Archibald Desnay on Amazon Prime's 2022 animated adaptation of "Critical Role," "The Legend of Vox Machina." Most recently, he voiced an Orc in the animated "Lord of the Rings" prequel "The War of the Rohirrim" (2024).

Sean Astin played Samwise Gamgee.

Astin portrayed the loyal hobbit Samwise, Frodo's best friend. 

Save for a few brief separations, Sam is always by Frodo's side and risks his life many times to save his friends.

Astin had several notable credits before the fantasy franchise, famous for roles in films like "The Goonies" (1985) and "Rudy" (1993). 

Astin has worked on several major TV shows.

Astin has since done a lot of voice-over work for animated films and video games, even providing the voice for Raphael on Nickelodeon's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."

In 2017, he joined the second season of Netflix's "Stranger Things" as Joyce's love interest, Bob Newby.

He has several projects in the works, and he also recently played a recurring role on the sitcom "The Conners."

Ian McKellen played Gandalf.

If not for McKellen's character, the Fellowship would never have formed and likely would not have survived.

McKellen mainly began his professional acting career on the stage in the early 1960s. A year before the fantasy trilogy debuted, he joined the Marvel universe as Magneto in the "X-Men" franchise.

McKellen also appeared in the "Hobbit" films.

McKellen continued playing Magneto during and after the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, most recently in "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (2014).

The actor is one of the few "Lord of the Rings" cast members to also appear in the "Hobbit" films, reprising his role as the powerful wizard.

Some of McKellen's more recent turns include Cogsworth in the live-action "Beauty and the Beast" (2017) and Gus the Theatre Cat in "Cats" (2019).

He also has several recent theater credits in the UK, including "Hamlet" and "The Cherry Orchard."

John Rhys-Davies played Gimli.

The Welsh actor Rhys-Davies portrayed the dwarf warrior Gimli. 

Gimli is the representative for the dwarfs in the Fellowship and the son of Glóin, one of Bilbo's companions during the events of "The Hobbit."

Rhys-Davies, who also provided the voice of Treebeard in the films, previously played Sallah in several "Indiana Jones" films and Vasco Rodrigues on NBC's miniseries "Shogun," for which he received an Emmy nomination. 

Rhys-Davies has continued working on fantasy projects.

After "The Lord of the Rings," he appeared in a number of notable TV movies and on shows like Comedy Central's "TripTank."

There are a few other fantasy projects on his recent résumé, including ABC's "Once Upon a Time" and MTV's "The Shannara Chronicles." 

Rhys-Davies has also lent his voice to video games and animated projects like Guillermo del Toro's Netflix miniseries "Wizards" and the 2019 feature "Mosley."

Most recently, he voiced a character in "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" (2023).

Orlando Bloom played Legolas.

Bloom played the master archer and wood elf Legolas.

The arrow-wielding hero is also a member of the Fellowship and eventually becomes Gimli's best friend, even though dwarfs and elves historically hated each other.

Bloom was relatively unknown when he was cast in the trilogy, but between the first and second films, he appeared in "Black Hawk Down" (2002).

Bloom has played other action-packed roles.

Bloom famously played Will Turner in four of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" installments. 

Alongside McKellen, he also revisited the role of Legolas in the "Hobbit" films. 

In addition to other hit projects like "Troy" (2004) and "The Three Musketeers" (2011), the actor starred on the Amazon series "Carnival Row" as Rycroft Philostrate.

More recently, he starred in the action film "Red Right Hand" (2024).

Billy Boyd played Peregrin "Pippin" Took.

Boyd played Pippin, the immature best friend of Merry, and appeared in all three "Lord of the Rings" films. 

As a part of the Fellowship, his antics cause trouble for the group, but he always means well.

Boyd had primarily worked on television before he was cast in the first film of the trilogy and continued to do so in between the franchise's sequels.

Boyd continues making music and acting.

Boyd appeared in "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" alongside Russell Crowe in 2003, the same year as "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." 

The next year, he provided the voice of Glen and Glenda for the horror film "Seed of Chucky" (2004). 

Boyd is also a musician and got to write and perform a song for "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" (2014).

He was seen on episodes of FX's "Snowfall," ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," and Starz's "Outlander." He also appeared in the 2021 thriller "An Intrusion."

More recently, he voiced a character in the anime "Lord of the Rings" prequel, "The War of the Rohirrim."

Ian Holm played Bilbo Baggins.

The English actor Holm played Bilbo Baggins, the previous ring bearer. 

Bilbo is Frodo's guardian and cousin, and he is unnaturally old because of the effects of the One Ring.

Even before the film franchise, Holm was a Tony Award-winning actor, probably best known to fantasy and sci-fi fans for playing Ash in the Ridley Scott film "Alien" (1979).

Holm has starred in a variety of films.

After the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, Holm worked on an impressive array of films like "Garden State" (2004), "Lord of War" (2005), and "Ratatouille" (2007).

In 2020, Holm died at age 88 of complications related to Parkinson's disease.

Liv Tyler played Arwen Undómiel.

Tyler brought Arwen, daughter of Lord Elrond, to life on the big screen. The elf saves Frodo from the Black Riders and later marries Aragorn.

Before "The Fellowship of the Ring," Tyler had been in plenty of films, including "Stealing Beauty" (1996) and "Armageddon" (1998).

Tyler has since been on several hit shows.

Tyler joined another major franchise in 2008 as Betty Ross in Marvel's "The Incredible Hulk." In 2025, she reprised the role in "Captain America: Brave New World."

Elsewhere, Tyler played Meg Abbott on HBO's "The Leftovers," Lady Isabella Fitzwilliam on ITV-Hulu's "Harlots," Eve in the sci-fi thriller "Ad Astra" (2019), and Michelle Blake on Fox's "9-1-1: Lone Star."

Hugo Weaving played Lord Elrond.

Elrond, played by Weaving, is the Lord of Rivendell. The elf was there when Isildur claimed the One Ring and tried to get him to destroy it, to no avail.

Fans would likely recognize Weaving as Agent Smith in "The Matrix" films, a franchise that mostly ran at the same time as the "Lord of the Rings" movies. 

Weaving continues to act in blockbuster hits.

Weaving went on to play V in "V for Vendetta" (2006), voice Megatron in Michael Bay's "Transformers" films, and portray the Red Skull in "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011). 

Weaving starred in the drama "Lone Wolf" and appeared on the Binge miniseries "Love Me" in 2021.

Most recently, he played the villainous Frank Harness in the thriller series "Slow Horses."

Cate Blanchett played Galadriel.

Blanchett portrayed Galadriel, Lady of the Golden Wood and grandmother to Arwen. 

In "The Fellowship of the Ring," she gives each traveler a special gift, including the "star-glass" that later proves useful against the giant spider.

Blanchett didn't get a ton of screen time in the films — only a minute and 23 seconds, according to Screen Rant. 

She had appeared in several movies before "The Lord of the Rings," like "Elizabeth" (1998) and "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (1999).

Blanchett is now an Academy Award-winning actor.

Immediately after "The Lord of the Rings," Blanchett appeared in "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" (2004) and "The Aviator" (2004), which earned her an Oscar win. 

She racked up more nominations for "Notes on a Scandal" (2006), "I'm Not There" (2007), and "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" (2007) before winning another Oscar for "Blue Jasmine" (2013). 

Blanchett was nominated yet again for her work in "Carol" (2016) and played the activist Phyllis Schlafly in the FX miniseries "Mrs. America."

More recently, she starred in "Don't Look Up" (2021), "Tár" (2022), "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio" (2022), and the TV series "Disclaimer" (2024).

Andy Serkis played Gollum.

Serkis' portrayal of Gollum was an impressive feat of motion-capture technology. 

Throughout the films, Gollum, originally known as Sméagol, is painted as an antagonist and a representation of the One Ring's consequences.

Before his performance in the trilogy, Serkis had been in several shows and films, like "Career Girls (1997)" and "Among Giants" (1998).

Serkis has appeared in other major film franchises.

Serkis reprised Gollum in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (2012) and did groundbreaking performance-capture work for the "Planet of the Apes" films. 

He then joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the flesh as Ulysses Klaue, provided the voice of Baloo in "Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle" (2018), and was Snoke in the recent "Star Wars" trilogy. 

Recently, Serkis played Alfred Pennyworth in "The Batman" alongside Robert Pattinson and Kino Loy on the Disney+ series "Andor."

Christopher Lee played Saruman.

A film legend, Lee took a notable turn as the wizard Saruman the White, who was introduced as a respectable ally but turned out to be a power-hungry pawn of Sauron.

Before his role in the fantasy films, he starred in many movies like "Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace" (1962) and "Count Dracula" (1977).

Lee acted in several other notable films.

After the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, Lee appeared in several films and shorts, like "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (2005) and "Hugo" (2011), before reprising his role as Saruman in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey."

In 2015, Lee died at age 93 after being hospitalized for heart failure and respiratory problems.

Miranda Otto played Éowyn.

Otto played arguably one of the most important characters in the trilogy, Éowyn. 

Disguised as a Rider of Rohan, Éowyn, shield maiden of Rohan and daughter of Éomund, ultimately kills the Witch-king of Angmar during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. 

Before her turn in the "Lord of the Rings" films, Otto appeared in movies like "The Well" (1998) and "The Thin Red Line" (1998).

Otto has acted on several series.

Shortly after the Middle Earth films, Otto appeared on-screen again in the 2005 adaptation of "War of the Worlds." 

She has since worked on films like "Annabelle: Creation" (2017) and miniseries like USA's "The Starter Wife," ABC's "Cashmere Mafia," and Fox's "24: Legacy." 

In 2018, she showed off her fantasy roots on the Netflix series "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" as aunt Zelda Spellman.

Otto recently appeared on several TV miniseries, like SBS' "The Unusual Suspects." In 2024, she reprised her role of Éowyn in the "Lord of the Rings" prequel anime film, "The War of the Rohirrim."

John Noble played Denethor II.

Noble made playing a troublesome ruler look fun. The last viewers saw of Denethor, he was falling off a cliff on fire after he had tried burning his son alive.

Before the fantasy franchise, the actor had been on TV series and in films like "The Monkey's Mask" (2001).

Noble has since worked on several hit TV shows.

Noble is probably best known for playing Walter Bishop on the Fox series "Fringe." 

Like his "Lord of the Rings" costars Blanchett and Weaving, Noble also appeared as a guest on the ABC series "Rake" before signing longer stints on shows like Fox's "Sleepy Hollow," The CW's "DC's Legends of Tomorrow," and CBS' "Elementary." 

He also showed up as Billy Butcher's father on an episode of Amazon Prime's "The Boys."

More recently, he worked on Netflix's "Cowboy Bebop," Paramount+'s "Star Trek: Prodigy," and Apple TV+'s "Severance."

Karl Urban played Éomer.

Urban played Éomer, the leader of the Riders of Rohan who later becomes King of the Mark.

Before the trilogy, he played Julius Caesar on Syfy's "Xena: Warrior Princess" and appeared in several films.

Urban continues to make a name for himself as an action star.

Urban became an action-movie star shortly after "The Return of the King" with "The Chronicles of Riddick" (2004), followed by "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004) and "Doom" (2005). 

He later played Leonard "Bones" McCoy in "Star Trek" (2009) and continued his action-star legacy as the titular judge in "Dredd" (2012).

Urban plays Billy on "The Boys" — making Noble's guest appearance a "Lord of the Rings" reunion.

What's the hottest mega-cap stock on the market right now? Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR). Shares of the artificial intelligence (AI)-powered software provider have skyrocketed more than 70% year to date. No other stock with a market cap of at least $200 billion has delivered anywhere close to that gain.

While many investors have hopped aboard the Palantir bandwagon, Warren Buffett isn't one of them. Don't expect the multi-billionaire to become a fan of the stock anytime soon, either. Here are three reasons why Buffett wouldn't touch Palantir stock with a 10-foot pole.

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1. Palantir isn't in Buffett's wheelhouse

I seriously doubt that Buffett has even looked at Palantir's financials. Why? The company's business isn't in Buffett's wheelhouse.

The legendary investor was asked at Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting last month if he anticipated being able to put the conglomerate's hefty cash stockpile to use soon. Buffett replied that he'd be willing to invest $100 billion in a company if it met several criteria. First on the list was that he understands the business.

Granted, Berkshire's portfolio has included software companies in the past. Snowflake is a great example. However, CNBC noted shortly after Berkshire invested $800 million in the AI cloud software provider, "It's widely speculated that Buffett lieutenants Todd Combs and Ted Weschler orchestrated the Snowflake bet." I think it's a safe bet that this take is correct.

Buffett has readily acknowledged that he doesn't understand AI. I suspect Palantir's AI-focused business is enough reason by itself for the legendary investor to avoid buying any shares.

2. Buffett couldn't reasonably estimate Palantir's earnings growth

Let's suppose, though, that Buffett didn't shy away from investing in Palantir because of its business. I still don't think he would buy the stock for another critical reason: He couldn't reasonably estimate the company's long-term earnings growth.

Buffett wrote to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders in 2014 that his first step in evaluating a stock (or business) he's considering buying is to try to estimate its future earnings for at least the next five years. He stated, "If, however, we lack the ability to estimate future earnings -- which is usually the case -- we simply move on to other prospects."

I seriously doubt that Buffett would be able to project Palantir's earnings growth because so much of the company's business stems from U.S. government contracts. How much federal money Palantir might receive depends in large part on which way the political winds are blowing over the next few years. Buffett's nickname is the "Oracle of Omaha," but even he probably wouldn't try to predict what will happen in Washington, D.C.

3. Buffett would find Palantir's valuation shocking

Buffett studied under Benjamin Graham, who is widely recognized as "the father of value investing." Although Buffett isn't as much a purist value investor now as he was in the past, he still looks closely at stock valuations before investing.

I'd bet that Buffett would find Palantir's valuation shocking. Actually, I think many investors would find it shocking. We're talking about a stock that trades at roughly 103.9 times trailing 12-month sales and more than 238 times forward earnings.

The only way those metrics would be justifiable is if Palantir were generating truly spectacular growth. To be sure, the company is growing rapidly -- 39% year over year in the first quarter of 2025. But is this growth rate sustainable? Probably not. Palantir's own revenue guidance for full-year 2025 reflects expected somewhat slower growth of around 36%. The consensus Wall Street estimate is for even more of a slowdown in revenue growth next year.

Could I be wrong that Buffett wouldn't touch Palantir stock with a 10-foot pole? Maybe. But with the AI software company's stratospheric valuation, I'd be comfortable making it a 20-foot pole.

Should you invest $1,000 in Palantir Technologies right now?

Before you buy stock in Palantir Technologies, 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 Palantir Technologies 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 $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $868,615!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 792% — 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 2, 2025

Keith Speights has positions in Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway, Palantir Technologies, and Snowflake. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

This AI stock helps enterprises improve employee productivity.

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 »

*Stock prices used were the afternoon prices of May 24, 2025. The video was published on May 26, 2025.

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

Before you buy stock in ServiceNow, 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 ServiceNow 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 $653,389!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $830,492!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 982% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 171% 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 May 19, 2025

Parkev Tatevosian, CFA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends ServiceNow. 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.

Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) stock floated 8.9% higher through 10:25 a.m. ET Thursday after the company posted top- and bottom-line "beats" in its first-quarter earnings report last night.

Heading into the report, Wall Street analysts forecast Snowflake to earn $0.21 per share on $1.01 billion in revenue. In fact, Snowflake earned $0.26 per share on sales of $1.04 billion.

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Image source: Getty Images.

Snowflake's Q1 earnings

The provider of artificial intelligence (AI) software reported 26% revenue growth in Q1, and a 124% "net revenue retention rate" -- meaning effectively all existing Snowflake customers renewed their subscriptions, and the company added even more new customers. Remaining performance obligations, or backlog, grew 34%, foreshadowing additional sales growth to come.

That's the good news. The bad news is that despite the $0.26 profit analysts are cheering about, Snowflake's earnings as calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) were negative -- a $1.29-per-share loss that was actually worse than last year.

But the other good news is that free cash flow was positive. The company reported $183.4 million in positive cash profits, calculated as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures.

Is Snowflake stock a buy?

Investors seem happy with that number, but I consider it a yellow flag.

Why? Well basically, because last year in Q1, Snowflake generated $339 million in free cash flow. So this week's number actually represents a 46% decline in FCF. So while sales are surging, and Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy may be doing a good job of convincing customers that "every enterprise [can] achieve its full potential through data and AI," Snowflake itself isn't making nearly as much money on AI now as it did a year ago.

With Snowflake stock costing nearly 79 times FCF today, it may be time to sell.

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

Before you buy stock in Snowflake, 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 Snowflake 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 $644,254!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $807,814!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 962% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 169% 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 May 19, 2025

Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Snowflake. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

In a year of uncertainty for the economy, leading companies in artificial intelligence (AI) are standing out. Wall Street analysts recently made bullish calls on Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) and ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW).

One thing that stands out at first glance with these stocks is their expensive valuations. Both stocks trade at high multiples of their earnings and cash flow that could limit near-term upside. Let's see why these stocks may or may not justify their premiums.

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 »

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1. Broadcom

Broadcom supplies essential networking and other components for data centers. It benefits enormously from the investment pouring into AI infrastructure right now. After falling to a low of $146.29 this year, the stock has rebounded sharply in recent weeks to around $200, with the average Wall Street analyst still rating the stock a buy.

As AI workloads increase in the data center, it puts more stringent requirements on advanced computing hardware, particularly the need for high-speed data transfer. Broadcom is meeting this demand. Its revenue grew 25% year over year last quarter to nearly $15 billion, with AI-related revenue surging 77% to $4.1 billion.

Broadcom also supplies AI chip solutions for data centers, which are in high demand partly due to the short supply and high costs of Nvidia's graphics processing units (GPUs). Broadcom sees AI chip revenue reaching $4.4 billion in fiscal Q2.

It's for this reason that Seaport Research analyst Jay Goldberg recently rated Broadcom shares a buy, while recommending investors sell Nvidia. However, investors shouldn't overlook the stock's high valuation. Broadcom stock trades at 97 times trailing earnings and 30 times this year's earnings estimate. Broadcom's earnings multiple is toward the high end of its previous trading range, suggesting it might be overvalued. Even for a company expected to grow earnings at an annualized rate of 20% in the next few years, Broadcom is priced at a premium.

Most analysts are still bullish on Nvidia due to its recent momentum and competitive position in the GPU market. By comparison, the consensus analyst estimate still has Nvidia's earnings growing at an annual rate of 35% in the coming years, yet its shares trade at a more reasonable 25 times forward earnings.

The chip industry is historically cyclical and can experience periods of slower demand during economic recessions. With a lot of uncertainty for the economy this year, investors should be careful before paying a higher earnings multiple for Broadcom. It could face relatively more downside risk if the chip industry's growth stalls in the near term.

2. ServiceNow

ServiceNow could be a huge beneficiary of future spending on AI-powered software that helps companies speed up workflow. The Wall Street consensus is high on its prospects and rates the stock a buy.

ServiceNow sees the addressable market for its software reaching $275 billion by 2026. Subscription revenue grew 19% year over year in the first quarter, with remaining performance obligations up 25% to $22.1 billion.

Management is seeing strong demand from companies looking to increase efficiency. It sees a growing opportunity in the federal sector, as the U.S. government seeks more cost-efficient solutions in technology. Overall, ServiceNow AI products saw a significant acceleration in demand to start the year, and management's guidance calls for 2025 revenue to increase approximately 19% over last year.

Bank of America analyst Brad Sills noted the company's solid execution and strong demand for its workflow automation platform amid uncertainty in the economy. He rates the shares a buy and recently raised the firm's price target to $1,085.

ServiceNow stock is trading at a high valuation of 59 times forward earnings. But companies that generate recurring revenue from subscriptions generally trade at higher earnings multiples. On a free-cash-flow basis, ServiceNow shares trade at a multiple of 56, which is close to the middle of its previous five-year trading range.

This leading AI software provider seems to offer a more reasonable value for long-term investors. There's still downside risk if a soft economy leads to lower software spending. But analysts expect the company's earnings to grow nearly 30% annually in the coming years.

The recurring revenue business model along with a large market opportunity for its products is likely going to provide support for ServiceNow stock in the near term and set the stage for more returns in the coming years.

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

Before you buy stock in Broadcom, 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 Broadcom 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 $623,685!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $701,781!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 906% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 164% 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

Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. John Ballard has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bank of America, Nvidia, and ServiceNow. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Wall Street has seen significant volatility in 2025, triggered by fears of a potential recession and new rounds of tariff wars. However, this market turmoil can also offer an opportunity to quietly compound your long-term wealth.

If you look beyond the daily panic, you will notice a few companies that are demonstrating healthy top-line growth while maintaining substantial competitive moats in their respective markets. Here's why Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ: SMCI), and ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) are worth buying and holding for the long 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 »

1. Nvidia

At the time of this writing, shares of Nvidia are down nearly 31% from their January peak. Yet the business has not weakened. It is still going strong.

The company's recently launched Blackwell chips represent a dramatic leap in artificial intelligence (AI) computing capabilities. Compared to previous Hopper architecture chips, they deliver impressive performance at a much lower cost when handling large inferencing AI workloads. This means faster results and lower client costs, translating into high enterprise demand. Blackwell has already generated over $11 billion in revenue during the most recent quarter.

Nvidia has also evolved from a gaming-focused chip player to a full-stack AI infrastructure giant, with a robust software ecosystem and networking infrastructure. The company is also focusing on upcoming AI opportunities in areas like agentic AI, physical AI, and autonomous driving. Not surprisingly, Bank of America analysts see the company's addressable AI infrastructure market reach at around $2 trillion. Nvidia is still in the early stages of capitalizing on this tremendous opportunity.

2. Microsoft

Microsoft has also emerged as a dominant AI player and is already monetizing its AI assets.

Microsoft's primary profit driver, the Azure cloud computing platform, continues to be a major growth catalyst. Recently, however, Azure AI infrastructure services have been pivotal in attracting developers, businesses, and enterprises to the Azure ecosystem.

The company's AI-powered Copilot assistant, integrated across several of its flagship offerings, is also a very promising AI initiative. Copilot is helping attract new customers and increase usage frequency among large enterprises. The company is also at the forefront of the next-generation quantum computing technology, with initiatives such as the Majorana 1 chip and advances in quantum virtualization software.

Microsoft also differentiates itself from several of its peers based on its robust financial structure. The company's mostly subscription-based diversified business model is a significant strength in the current volatile environment.

And here's where it gets interesting: Even with all this momentum, the company is trading at 25.9 times forward earnings -- below its five-year average of 33 times. That disconnect may not last long. But it offers a smart opportunity to pick up this stock now.

3. Super Micro Computer

Super Micro Computer's leading position in the AI server market and its dominance in liquid cooling technology have made it a significant beneficiary of the explosive demand in the global AI infrastructure market, estimated to be over $200 billion by 2028.

Super Micro Computer lowered its guidance for fiscal 2025 but remains confident about reaching $40 billion in revenues in fiscal 2026, implying around 65% year-over-year growth from its current-year forecasts. The company expects strong demand for air-cooled and liquid-cooled AI configurations, equipped with Nvidia's Blackwell GPUs. Super Micro Computer is also working on increasing manufacturing capacity at its U.S., Taiwan, and Malaysia sites. Since utilization is just 55% in the U.S., 60% in Taiwan, and only 1% in Malaysia, there is a lot of room to grow.

Although the company faces multiple challenges, including margin pressures, intensifying competition, and damaged investor trust due to historical compliance and governance issues, there is still much to like about this stock.

4. ServiceNow

ServiceNow's cloud-based digital workflow automation platform, known as the Now platform, has positioned the company as a key beneficiary of the growing adoption of digitization across enterprises. The company's software solutions are used to automate and streamline technology, CRM, industry, core business, and creator workflows across industry verticals such as healthcare, manufacturing, and the U.S. public sector. Thanks to the diversified business model, the company is not overtly reliant on any particular industry or workflow.

ServiceNow has delivered impressive financial performance, with subscription revenues rising 20% year over year and current remaining performance obligations (the current portion of future revenue backlog) growing 22% year over year in the recent quarter (first quarter fiscal 2025 ending March 31, 2025).

The company's AI initiatives are also gaining momentum. This is evident since the number of ServiceNow Pro Plus deals (which offer advanced generative AI capabilities integrated into the Now Assist suite) more than quadrupled year over year in the first quarter. The company's next-generation AI-optimized database, RaptorDB, also gained traction and won five deals over $1 million. Finally, the company's planned acquisitions, Moveworks and Logik.ai, are further expected to strengthen its AI capabilities.

ServiceNow is trading at a forward P/E of 47.8, which is not cheap. However, the stock seems a worthwhile buy now considering its robust fundamentals and the valuation, which is dramatically lower than its five-year average of 235.2 times.

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 $287,877!*
• Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you’d have $39,678!*
• Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you’d have $594,046!*

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 April 28, 2025

Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Manali Pradhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bank of America, Microsoft, Nvidia, and ServiceNow. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

It's hard to watch the value of your investments falter in a short period, but everyone is in the same boat. The good news is that market declines are historically excellent buying opportunities. Markets can fall but they inevitably hit bottom and skyrocket back to new highs over time, providing handsome gains for investors who ride through the volatility.

If you've got $3,000 you don't need for other life priorities like reducing debt, this is a great opportunity to invest in competitively positioned companies at better prices. The technology sector will continue to churn out monster winners over the long term. Spending on artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to reach $1.1 trillion by 2031, according to Statista. Here are two stocks to profit off this trend over the long term.

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 »

1. Nvidia

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is enabling the rapid adoption of AI. Its graphics processing units (GPUs) are used in everything from playing video games to powering the largest data centers, where the AI magic happens. It has led the GPU market for many years and continues to dominate, making it one of the best AI stocks to consider holding for the long term.

CEO Jensen Huang will go down as one of the great business leaders of the 21st century. He started Nvidia over 30 years ago and instilled a corporate culture that constantly looks for new opportunities. This is how Nvidia adapted its GPU technology from running video games to powering entire computing systems for training large language AI models.

Nvidia's share of the AI chip market is estimated to be over 80%. It is seeing growing demand from several markets. Leading cloud service providers make up about half of its data center revenue. Nvidia also expects revenue for its autonomous vehicle solutions to reach $5 billion this year. Leaders in healthcare like Mayo Clinic and Illumina are using Nvidia's technology to speed up drug development and AI-powered health services.

Competition will intensify, as other semiconductor companies and cloud leaders are making their own custom AI chips. But Nvidia is a good bet for the long term based on its pace of innovation. In addition to chip hardware, Nvidia also offers software tools like CUDA and TensorRT, which help customers get the most out of Nvidia's GPUs for a given task. Nvidia offers everything needed to build a data center for the AI era.

Nvidia is strong financially. It earned $73 billion in net income on $130 billion of revenue last year. The company has $35 billion of net cash sitting in the bank. These resources are enabling it to continue innovating to meet growing demand for advanced computing systems.

With Nvidia seeing demand across multiple markets like healthcare and automotive, the stock is a good buy on the dip and should continue to reward long-term investors.

2. Snowflake

Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) is a leading cloud-based platform that helps companies gather valuable insights from their data. Its data management services are offered through the leading cloud services, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Alphabet's Google Cloud, and it is starting to see strong adoption for AI offerings.

Its cloud-agnostic position is an advantage. Companies can use Snowflake's data services across multiple clouds, which enables more collaboration and positions the business to capture market share as demand for AI software increases. Over 4,000 customers are now using Snowflake's AI and machine learning tools on a weekly basis.

The stock's recent decline sets up a great buying opportunity. Snowflake continues to report strong revenue growth and sees existing customers spending more on its services. This is noted by a 28% year-over-year increase in product revenue last quarter, with a 126% net revenue retention rate. Snowflake now has 580 customers generating more than $1 million in product revenue, up from 461 a year ago.

Competition is tight in the cloud market, but a key sales pitch for Snowflake's services is cost savings. Management said on its last earnings call that it is seeing more customers save over 50% by moving their data from other providers to Snowflake.

AI adoption is pushing more companies to find cost-effective ways to use AI with their data so they don't get left behind. This is a huge opportunity for Snowflake. The market for enterprise infrastructure software is expected to double from 2023 levels to reach $342 billion by 2028, according to Gartner.

Snowflake is not profitable on a net income basis, but it generated $884 million of free cash flow on $3.4 billion of product revenue last year. The company's growth on top of a lower share price has brought its price-to-sales multiple down to 12, which is reasonable for a fast-growing cloud leader and should set the stage for attractive long-term gains.

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 $244,570!*
• Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you’d have $35,715!*
• Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you’d have $461,558!*

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

Continue »

*Stock Advisor returns as of April 5, 2025

John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. John Ballard has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Snowflake. The Motley Fool recommends Gartner and Illumina and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.