Nvidia’s chips are still the best picks and shovels for the AI gold rush.
TSMC manufactures Nvidia’s chips with its best-in-breed foundries.
ASML’s lithography systems enable TSMC to produce those chips.
The artificial intelligence (AI) market has expanded rapidly over the past decade as more powerful chips and generative AI platforms have entered the market. Those AI services became practical tools that could quickly crunch, analyze, and predict trends for businesses and mainstream users.
The AI market could grow at a CAGR of 30.6% from 2026 to 2033, according to Grand View Research, as more organizations use AI to automate, accelerate, and optimize their operations. To capitalize on this expansion, investors should consider buying and holding these three top tech stocks for the next decade and beyond: Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), TSMC (NYSE: TSM), and ASML (NASDAQ: ASML).
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Nvidia is the world's top producer of discrete GPUs for data centers, which are used to process complex AI tasks. Most of the top AI companies -- including OpenAI, Meta, and Microsoft -- use its GPUs. It also locks in those clients with CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture), a proprietary programming platform for its own chips.
As the producer of the best picks and shovels for the AI gold rush, Nvidia still has plenty of room to grow. It might face tougher competition from AMD's cheaper GPUs, first-party AI chips from some of its top customers, and other types of AI accelerators -- but its first-mover edge, best-in-breed reputation, and sticky ecosystem will fuel its long-term growth. Tighter export curbs could throttle its shipments to China over the next few years, but it can offset that pressure with its growth in the U.S., Europe, and other Asian markets.
From fiscal 2025 (which ended in January) to fiscal 2028, analysts expect Nvidia's revenue and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to grow at a CAGR of 46% and 29%, respectively. Even though its stock has already soared nearly 23,000% over the past decade, it still looks reasonably valued at 25 times next year's earnings. Therefore, Nvidia should remain one of the simplest ways to profit from the AI boom over the next decade.
Nvidia outsources the production of its top-tier GPUs to TSMC, the world's largest and most advanced contract chipmaker. TSMC is the only foundry capable of manufacturing Nvidia's smallest, densest, and most power-efficient chips.
TSMC also produces chips for other leading fabless chipmakers like AMD, Apple, and Qualcomm. It manufactures its most advanced chips in Taiwan, which is exposed to potential trade and military conflicts with China; however, it has been mitigating this risk by building more plants in the U.S., Europe, and Japan.
In its latest quarter, TSMC generated 57% of its revenue from the high-performance computing (HPC) market, which includes Nvidia's data center GPUs. That segment is driving its near-term growth and reducing its dependence on the cyclical PC, smartphone, and automotive markets.
From 2024 to 2027, analysts expect TSMC's revenue and EPS to grow at a CAGR of 24% and 27%, respectively, as the AI market expands and its more cyclical markets stabilize. Those are strong growth rates for a stock that trades at 19 times next year's earnings, and it will remain a linchpin of the expanding semiconductor sector for the foreseeable future.
TSMC couldn't manufacture its chips without the Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML. ASML is the world's leading producer of lithography systems, which optically etch circuit patterns onto silicon wafers. It's also the only supplier of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems, which produce the smallest and most densely packed chips.
ASML perfected its EUV technology over the past two decades, and the high costs of producing those massive systems prevented its potential competitors from gaining any ground. Its EUV systems currently cost $200-$400 million, require multiple planes and trucks to ship, and must be reassembled at the foundries by its own teams.
ASML's monopolization of that market makes it another linchpin of the semiconductor sector, and the world's most advanced AI chips couldn't exist without its cutting-edge technology. The export curbs against China (where it's barred from selling its higher-end systems) are throttling its near-term sales, but its growth across other regions should offset that pressure.
From 2024 to 2027, analysts expect its revenue and EPS to grow at a CAGR of 11% and 18%, respectively, as it ramps up its shipments of its latest "high-NA" EUV systems for manufacturing even smaller and denser chips. Its stock isn't a bargain at 35 times next year's earnings, but its scale, guaranteed long-term growth, and pricing power justify that higher valuation.
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Leo Sun has positions in ASML, Apple, and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends ASML, Advanced Micro Devices, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. 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.