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Investors can often simplify their investment choices by buying stock in established, wealth-building companies. Such stocks tend to offer investors more safety, and this approach is especially beneficial when a stock has not approached the end of its high-growth years.
Fortunately, the market offers numerous stocks that fit this description, and many of them have achieved their growth through success in artificial intelligence (AI).
With that, three analysts from The Motley Fool have recommended stocks that fit such a description. These large-cap stocks have not only stayed at the top of industries they helped transform but have also focused on plans that can keep them on a growth trajectory for years to come.
Image source: Getty Images.
Jake Lerch (Amazon): My choice is Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). When I think about which stocks have the potential to drive wealth over the long term, I look for companies with multiple pathways to success. In other words, diversification is key. Amazon, with its multiple business segments, is a perfect candidate.
Obviously, the company is most well-known for its sprawling e-commerce empire, but there's far more to Amazon than just online sales. The Amazon Web Services (AWS) unit is the world's largest cloud services provider. That segment now generates over $100 billion in revenue annually and is poised to grow even larger as AI drives further data center spending by organizations around the globe.
Moreover, Amazon also has a lucrative advertising business that generated over $56 billion in annual revenue in 2024. That's nothing to sneeze at, and it makes Amazon one of the largest players in the rapidly growing field of digital advertising.
Finally, some areas currently generate comparatively little revenue but have big potential going forward. Here, I'm thinking about Amazon's robotics and AI businesses. The company already utilizes nearly 1 million robots supporting its warehouse and logistics operations. As the company scales up its use of robots, Amazon should realize increased profits as its margins expand.
What's more, the company is surely learning lessons from its vast fleet of robots, which could make Amazon a leader in AI-powered robotics. In the future, Amazon could parlay this expertise into another lucrative business segment, serving organizations that lack their own fleet of AI robotics by loaning or selling robots trained to perform any variety of tasks.
To sum up, Amazon's stable of diverse business segments is one of its greatest assets. Investors looking for a long-term buy-and-hold candidate shouldn't overlook Amazon stock.
Will Healy (Taiwan Semiconductor): When it comes to stocks driving the AI revolution, some believe the most critical of these stocks is Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM), or TSMC. The Taiwan-based semiconductor giant jumped to a technical lead in the last decade as more chip design companies turned to outside fabs.
Grand View Research forecasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8% for the semiconductor industry through 2030. That includes a 29% CAGR in the AI chip market, a benefit likely to accrue to TSMC.
With that, it has become a favored fab for companies such as Apple, Nvidia, and Qualcomm. So advanced is its technology that Intel, which manufactures most of its own chips, had to turn to TSMC for its most advanced manufacturing. Unsurprisingly, its market share in the foundry business has risen to 67% as of the end of 2024.
Additionally, it is not resting on its laurels. The company plans to spend approximately $40 billion in capital expenditures (capex) in 2025 as it seeks to add capacity to meet the insatiable demand for advanced chips. This includes plans to build additional fabs in Arizona, diversifying its manufacturing away from its politically contentious home base in Taiwan.
Due to the heavy chip demand, TSMC generated almost $26 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2025, a 42% yearly increase. That led to comprehensive income of nearly $12 billion in Q1, rising 47% over the same period as its operating expenses grew more slowly than revenue.
Furthermore, TSMC's rapid growth appears all the more appealing as its stock trades at a 25 price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. While geopolitical tension may have pressured the stock, it is arguably at a low valuation, considering TSMC's rapid revenue growth. Such conditions should serve investors well, especially as advanced chip production charges ahead.
Justin Pope (Alphabet): Technology giant Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG), Google's parent company, seems like a no-brainer to buy and hold for the long term.
ChatGPT is garnering much attention, as some fear it will make Google's lucrative search engine obsolete with its ability to gather, summarize, and present information to queries. Despite ChatGPT racking up 5.1 billion web and mobile visits last month alone, Alphabet reported 10% year-over-year growth in Google Search ad revenue in Q1 2025. It's always wise to monitor potential threats, but Google Search is still doing just fine.
Investors focusing too much on Google Search risk missing all the other great things happening at Alphabet:
Ad revenue from Search has long been Alphabet's cash cow, but over time, other aspects of the company could offset any deterioration due to AI competitors, and then some. Analysts estimate Alphabet will grow its earnings by an average of 14.9% annually over the long term, down from over 17% a year ago. In other words, lower expectations mean the market believes growth will slow.
But Alphabet's current share price values the stock at a P/E ratio of under 19, a bargain for a global technology leader, even at this slower growth rate. It seems the market has grown overly pessimistic toward Alphabet at this point. That could be a fantastic opportunity that pays off for long-term investors over the coming years.
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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. Jake Lerch has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, and Nvidia. Justin Pope has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Will Healy has positions in Intel and Qualcomm. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Intel, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: short May 2025 $30 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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