Market News

Prediction: 2 Stocks That Will Be Worth More Than AMD 2 Years From Now

Advanced Micro Devices(NASDAQ: AMD) stock surged 3,240% over the past 10 years. The underdog chipmaker once struggled against Intel and Nvidia, respectively, in the x86 CPU and discrete GPU markets, but it turned around its business under Lisa Su, who took the helm as its CEO in 2014.

Su drove AMD to redesign its PC CPUs, sell more custom accelerated processing units for gaming consoles, and keep pace with Nvidia with cheaper GPUs. It also rolled out high-end CPUs and GPUs for AI-oriented data centers.

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 »

An illustration of a semiconductor.

Image source: Getty Images.

From 2014 to 2024, AMD’s revenue rose at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17%. It turned profitable again in 2018 and its earnings per share (EPS) grew at a CAGR of 21% over the following six years. That robust growth was driven by its development of new chips, its manufacturing partnership with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and its market share gains against Intel — which struggled with ongoing shortages and delays — in the x86 CPU market.

From 2024 to 2027, analysts expect AMD’s revenue and EPS to grow at a CAGR of 20% and 73%, respectively. That robust growth should be fueled by the stabilization of the PC market and its rising sales of data center CPUs and GPUs. Assuming it trades at a reasonable 30 times trailing earnings by the end of 2027, its stock price could rise nearly 50% and lift its market cap from $175 billion to $260 billion. That would be an impressive rally, but two other chipmakers — which are slightly less valuable than AMD today — might generate even bigger gains and eclipse its market cap by the end of 2027.

1. Arm Holdings

The first candidate is the U.K. chip designer Arm Holdings (NASDAQ: ARM), which currently has a market cap of $144 billion. Arm designs power-efficient chips for mobile devices, vehicles, Internet of Things (IoT) gadgets, and other electronics. Its mobile chip designs, which it licenses to other chipmakers, are used to produce about 99% of the world’s premium smartphones.

Arm generates most of its revenue from patent royalties and licensing fees, and most of its recent growth has been driven by the market’s robust demand for its AI-optimized Armv9 chip designs across the smartphone, cloud, and auto markets.

Arm also plans to launch its own first-party data center CPUs, which will be manufactured by a third-party foundry like TSMC, this year. It’s already secured Meta Platforms as its first customer, and it could eventually pull other tech giants away from other data center CPU makers like AMD and Intel.

From fiscal 2024 (which ended in March 2024) to fiscal 2027, analysts expect Arm’s revenue and EPS to grow at a CAGR of 23% and 83%, respectively. Arm’s stock might look incredibly expensive today at 469 times its fiscal 2024 earnings and 45 times its trailing sales. But if it maintains those hypergrowth valuations, it could eclipse AMD’s market cap.

Assuming it matches analysts’ expectations for generating $6 billion in revenue in fiscal 2027 and it maintains the same trailing price-to-sales ratio, its market cap could hit $270 billion over the next two years. If the market’s demand for its AI-optimized chip designs and first-party AI chips exceeds Wall Street’s expectations, analysts could hastily raise their long-term estimates — and its stock could fetch an even higher valuation.

See also  MercadoLibre: Unpacking Impressive Growth and Market StandingMercadoLibre’s Resilient Growth Trajectory

Latin America's digital landscape has found its Amazon parallel in MercadoLibre. This tech powerhouse, spearheaded by visionary CEO Marcos Galperin, has weathered competitive storms with a blend of e-commerce prowess and fintech finesse. Triumphant in the Latin American theater, MercadoLibre's success echoes bold strides taken by e-commerce giants. Birthed in Argentina, MercadoLibre's saga began humbly, evolving into a multifaceted ecosystem where buyers and sellers intersect.

An unwavering commitment to logistics excellence has been MercadoLibre's North Star. This vigilance bore fruit, solidifying its Amazonian status amidst the Latin American quagmire. By 2023, MercadoLibre's triumphant e-commerce reign claimed a commendable 21.6% chunk of Latin America's online retail domain.

However, attributing MercadoLibre to a mere e-commerce heavyweight would be reductive. Imagine Amazon and PayPal's love child, tailored exclusively for Latin America. MercadoPago, MercadoLibre's fintech arm, revolutionized online transactions. Introducing credit paradigms for both consumers and vendors turbocharged its growth engine, propelling revenues from $2.3 billion in 2019 to a staggering $14.47 billion by 2023.

The Present-Day Dominance of MercadoLibre

Glancing at MercadoLibre's fiscal bedrock reveals a company transcending past bravado. Resilient profitability and cash flows, once nascent, have now ripened to fruition. A testament to this evolution is MercadoLibre's amplified investment in logistics and infrastructure. CapEx surged from $136.8 million in 2019 to $573 million by 2021, holding firm at $509 million by 2023.

This strategic pivot equips MercadoLibre to harness the e-commerce and fintech frenzy post-pandemic. Bolstered by a robust user base—53.5 million active buyers and 49 million fintech monthly users—the company posted annual growth rates of 16% and 37.6%, respectively, by Q1 2024.

The revenue echelons depict MercadoLibre's coronation as an e-commerce magnate. The last quarter alone witnessed a 36% revenue surge, maintaining a steadfast 12.4% operating margin. A lion's share of $344 million net income, up by 7.9% annually, attests to MercadoLibre's prosperity.

Innovative forays into Mexico and Brazil have offset Argentina's economic turbulence, fueling MercadoLibre's revenue juggernaut. Notably, the fintech domain has seen a meteoric rise. Credit portfolios burgeoned by 46%, AUM skyrocketed by 90%, with hothouse growth in Brazil and Mexico stoking the flames of success.

Amid Argentina's economic duress, MercadoLibre's financial mettle remained unscathed. A robust operational cash flow of $1.5 billion in Q1 underscores financial dexterity. The resplendent CFO-to-sales ratio, now peaking at 36.7%, mirrors exceptional operational prowess. This financial symphony is a canto to MercadoLibre's enduring triumph amidst fiscal turbulence.

MercadoLibre: Navigating the Financial Landscape MercadoLibre: Navigating the Financial Landscape

2. Micron Technologies

The second candidate is Micron Technologies (NASDAQ: MU), one of the world’s top memory chip makers with a market cap of $104 billion. It isn’t the biggest memory chipmaker, but it produces denser chips than most of its larger competitors.

Micron’s growth mirrors the memory chip market’s boom-and-bust cycles. Its last bust happened in 2023 as the PC market stalled out, the 5G upgrade cycle for smartphones cooled off, and companies prioritized their purchases of AI-oriented GPUs over new memory chips. That’s why its revenue plummeted 49% in fiscal 2023 (which ended in August 2023) and it posted a net loss.

But in fiscal 2024, its revenue surged 62% and it turned profitable again. That recovery was driven by the stabilization of the PC and smartphone markets, as well as robust sales of solid-state drives and high-bandwidth memory chips for data centers to support the demands of new AI applications.

From fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2027, analysts expect its revenue and EPS to grow at a CAGR of 21% and 150%, respectively, as that boom continues. Micron currently trades at just 15 times this year’s earnings.

If Micron matches analysts’ expectations and still trades at 15 times earnings by the end of fiscal 2027, its stock price could rise nearly 80% to $165 and boost its market cap to about $185 billion. But if it’s valued at a more generous 25 times earnings, its stock price could nearly triple to $275 and boost its market cap to more than $300 billion.

All three chipmakers could still be great investments

It’s interesting to see if Arm and Micron surpass AMD’s market cap, but investors shouldn’t fret too much over those valuations. All three chipmakers still have plenty of irons in the fire, and they could be sound investments over the next two years.

Should you invest $1,000 in Arm Holdings right now?

Before you buy stock in Arm Holdings, 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 Arm Holdings wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $804,553!*

Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*.

Learn more »

*Stock Advisor returns as of February 24, 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. Leo Sun has positions in Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, Meta Platforms, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short February 2025 $27 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

5 Stocks Our Experts Predict Could Double In the Next Year

By submitting your email, you'll also get a free pivot & flow membership. A free daily market overview. You can unsubscribe at any time.