2 Monster Stocks in the Making to Buy and Hold

Source The Motley Fool

Key Points

  • Advanced Micro Devices' product roadmap in the AI chip market could drive significant growth.

  • CleanSpark, a leading Bitcoin miner, is well-positioned to capitalize on the increasing power demands of data centers.

  • 10 stocks we like better than Advanced Micro Devices ›

Investing in companies that are about to experience accelerating growth can set you up for monster returns in the stock market. It's even better when you can buy these stocks at reasonable valuations relative to their earnings growth potential.

With that in mind, here are two stocks that could deliver exceptional returns over the next five years.

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 »

A computer chip labeled with the letters "AI" sitting in server rack.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Advanced Micro Devices

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) surged 49% over the last six months and are sitting close to new highs. There could be further gains for investors as AMD targets a $1 trillion artificial intelligence (AI) compute market.

AMD hasn't grown as fast as Nvidia in the graphics processing unit (GPU) market, but it doesn't have to catch its rival for investors to do well with the stock. Demand for AMD's Instinct data center GPUs is accelerating, contributing to 22% year-over-year growth in its data center segment in the third quarter.

AMD expects its revenue growth to continue accelerating over the next few years. A catalyst in 2026 is its Helios rack system. Helios aims to narrow the gap with Nvidia's system solutions for data centers. It weighs 7,000 pounds and features multiple chips, including AMD's MI455 GPUs and EPYC central processing units (CPUs). It offers robust memory bandwidth, which is ideal for AI inferencing, where models learn to make predictions from fresh data without human input.

AMD's MI350 GPUs have driven much of its growth in 2025, while OpenAI and Oracle are lining up to deploy the upcoming MI450 GPUs in 2026. These top customers for AMD provide visibility into near-term revenue growth.

However, AMD will need to demonstrate its ability to be a default AI compute supplier for other hyperscalers to get the stock moving. On that score, it has already unveiled plans to launch its MI500 GPUs in 2027, delivering a 1,000-fold increase in AI performance. This signals to investors that the company has a pipeline of products that it expects to drive long-term growth.

The consensus analyst estimate calls for AMD's earnings to increase at an annualized rate of 45% over the next several years, which is consistent with management's long-term outlook for 35% annualized revenue growth. Strong demand for data center chips is expected to drive higher margins and fuel stellar growth in earnings.

With AMD shares trading at 33 times this year's estimate, investors are getting solid value and could earn monster returns on their investment in the years to come.

2. CleanSpark

New chips from Nvidia and AMD will require a step up in power to run, yet data centers already face a power shortage. This shortfall is expected to widen in the years to come. This is an opportunity for CleanSpark (NASDAQ: CLSK), a leading Bitcoin miner that owns a portfolio of more than 1.3 gigawatts worth of power, land, and data center assets to meet this demand.

CleanSpark's mining business is cranking out solid results. The company holds more than 13,000 Bitcoins generated from its mining operations. It is a profitable business, generating earnings per share of $1.25 in fiscal 2025, which will prove valuable as it invests to tackle the AI opportunity.

Management wants to adapt its portfolio of data centers to serve the need for more high-performance compute. Although it is late to this opportunity compared to other miners, the massive shortfall in available power for data centers should leave ample opportunities for CleanSpark.

CleanSpark has secured a 285 megawatt site in Texas, where it will build an AI data center for hyperscalers. It also has a 250-megawatt site in Sandersville, Georgia, and other sites around Atlanta, totaling more than 100 megawatts of capacity.

These megawatts are very valuable. For example, CoreWeave signed a 15-year deal worth $11 billion with Applied Digital last year. This was for 400 megawatts of data center capacity. In December, Hut 8 signed a 15-year, $7 billion agreement with Anthropic for an initial 245 megawatts worth of capacity.

The primary risk for CleanSpark is execution for construction timelines, where being on schedule in bringing these facilities online is crucial. Offsetting this risk is its profitable Bitcoin mining business, not to mention that the stock is cheap, trading at just 12 times earnings.

Investors are essentially paying a fair price for the mining business, while getting the upside from the AI infrastructure opportunity for almost no premium. Over the next five years, investors could see substantial returns if management successfully secures multiple deals with hyperscalers for its data center pipeline.

Should you buy stock in Advanced Micro Devices right now?

Before you buy stock in Advanced Micro Devices, consider this:

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*Stock Advisor returns as of January 17, 2026.

John Ballard has positions in Advanced Micro Devices, Bitcoin, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Bitcoin, Nvidia, and Oracle. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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