Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang Just Called Marvell Technology The Next Trillion-Dollar Company. But Is It the Better Stock to Buy?

Nvidia's (NASDAQ: NVDA) CEO and co-founder, Jensen Huang, has no problem calling out stocks that he thinks will be worthwhile investments. Recently, he made another one of those calls, pinpointing Marvell (NASDAQ: MRVL) as a top stock pick. In fact, he thinks it will be one of the next trillion-dollar companies.

That's high praise from the CEO of the world's largest company, but does that assessment translate to shares of Marvell being a better buy than Nvidia stock? Let's look at these two and see which stock makes the most sense to invest in now.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Marvell's custom chip business is just ramping up

Nvidia makes graphics processing units (GPUs) and various hardware that support its ecosystem. Nvidia's GPUs are the go-to computing options for artificial intelligence (AI) computing and have been the top choice since the AI build-out kicked off in 2023. Although GPUs are still dominant, there has been increased demand for more specialized computing hardware that's purposefully designed to run single types of workloads, which is where Marvell excels.

Marvell's current primary business is communication chips, which help direct information traffic in a data center. However, it's working with several AI hyperscalers to create their own AI chips. These chips are specialized for each company, and Marvell has two major clients it's working with: Microsoft and Amazon. Both of these are major players in the AI realm, and partnering with them is a great move for Marvell.

However, this part of Marvell's business is just ramping up, and it remains to be seen how successful it is. In the meantime, Nvidia is dominating the data center landscape, and I think it has a leg up from a business perspective right now.

Winner: Nvidia.

Nvidia's growth far outpaces Marvell's

From a growth standpoint, Nvidia is running away with it.

NVDA Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts

Marvel's growth isn't bad, but it's certainly not to the level of Nvidia. Looking ahead, Wall Street analysts expect 41% growth for Marvell this year and 45% next year. For Nvidia, they expect 81% growth this year and 41% in the next. So, while next year's outlook appears to be about the same for both companies, Nvidia is dominant in the near term, giving it the edge in this category.

Winner: Nvidia.

Nvidia is cheaper too?

Following Huang's comments on Marvell, the stock skyrocketed, although it has come back down a bit. But even before then, Marvell was trading at a pretty pricey valuation, while Nvidia hasn't garnered the same respect as it has in years past.

NVDA PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts

Nvidia trades for a reasonable 22 times forward earnings, while Marvell tips the scales at nearly 70. That means that for these two to be valued at the same level, Marvell must more than triple its earnings after this year's growth is accounted for. That's a lot of expectations for Marvell stock and, as a result, pushes me toward Nvidia.

Winner: Nvidia.

Nvidia is still the king

Despite many rising stars in the AI world, there hasn't been one company so far that comes close to offering the combination of growth and value that Nvidia does for investors. Although it has been the top AI stock for the past few years, I still think it maintains that title, and I think for most investors, Nvidia is the best AI stock to buy now and hold for the long term.

Famous investor Peter Lynch once said that sometimes the best stock to buy is one that you already own, and I think AI investors should keep that in mind with Nvidia.

Keithen Drury has positions in Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Marvell Technology, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.