As 2025 approaches, investors may start to think about how they want to approach the second half of the decade. Given technological trends, stocks driven by artificial intelligence (AI) will likely continue to prosper.
The emergence of ChatGPT helped make Nvidia the AI stock of the decade's first half. But with its red-hot growth beginning to cool, many investors moved on to other stocks.
While it is nearly impossible to predict the best performer for the rest of the decade, investors can expect that several stocks will probably deliver strong returns. Knowing that, three contributors at Fool.com have ideas as to which stocks might deliver those sought-after gains.
Meta hits a new all-time high, but the party is just getting started
Justin Pope (Meta Platforms): It's hard to overstate how remarkable a business Meta Platforms (META -0.59%) is. The company has a stranglehold on the world's social media landscape, with 3.29 billion people logging on to Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, or Threads daily. Social media apps are a fantastic distribution mechanism to serve digital ads, primarily how Meta generates more than $156 billion in (very profitable) annual revenue.
Meta has leaned hard into artificial intelligence. The company has invested billions of dollars into data centers for computing capacity, developed a proprietary AI model (Llama), and woven AI technology into its digital ads business to make them more effective for customers.
The stock's appeal is twofold. First, the company's digital ads business makes Meta a juggernaut in its present form. Analysts estimate Meta will grow earnings by 20% annually over the next three to five years.
Yet, the stock's PEG ratio of 1.3 signals that Meta is still very reasonably priced for that growth -- even at all-time highs. In other words, Meta's growth outlook for the remainder of the 2020s looks strong, and you aren't overpaying for it.
Second, Meta continually invests tons of money into Reality Labs, its AI and augmented reality segment. Reality Labs posted an operating loss of $11.4 billion through the first nine months in 2024. CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes it will turn profitable over time; otherwise, the company wouldn't invest the money and effort.
Does that guarantee Mark Zuckerberg is right? Of course not. Still, Meta has proven its foresight and ability to position itself for success in years past (Instagram and Reels). The stock's strong existing ads business and hefty AI investments could make Meta a continued winner, especially if Reality Labs starts bearing fruit later this decade.
SoundHound AI is a leader within the growing field of voice AI
Jake Lerch (SoundHound AI): My pick is SoundHound AI (SOUN -1.16%).
First, a little background. SoundHound is a leader in the field of voice AI solutions. Its products help bridge the gap between human voices and AI models. For example, SoundHound has partnered with automakers like Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, and others to power their in-car voice-activated chat.
In addition to its automotive partnerships, SoundHound has made inroads in the casual-dining sector. As of this writing, its list of restaurant clients has grown to more than a dozen well-known brands, including Papa John's, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and Jersey Mike's.
There are at least two big reasons why these high-profile companies are seeking out SoundHound:
- Many companies are focused on cutting costs through the use of AI tools.
- SoundHound's voice AI tools have a leg up on the competition.
So, what is SoundHound's competitive advantage? In short, it has what's called a first-mover advantage. The company was founded in 2005, and its proprietary tech helps its tools deliver best-in-class speed and accuracy -- mimicking human-to-human conversation.
Moreover, since SoundHound isn't a major tech conglomerate, some clients may feel more comfortable partnering with the company. In other words, SoundHound AI offers its clients an alternative to big-tech voice AI provided by Amazon, Apple, or Google (Alphabet).
Finally, the company's position within the ongoing AI boom bodes well for the future. As noted, it seems every business is eagerly chasing down opportunities to utilize AI tools to drive higher profitability. As the public becomes more and more familiar with AI voice interactions, more industries will roll out voice-powered AI for customer interactions.
SoundHound AI is an up-and-coming AI stock that still has plenty of room to grow -- and it's a name that investors should remember.
This cybersecurity stock should strike a chord with investors
Will Healy (CrowdStrike): When it comes to cybersecurity stocks, CrowdStrike (CRWD -2.76%) may look closer to a stock to avoid. The company continues to deal with the fallout from its July 19 outage, and with the stock having recovered most of its lost value, it may appear to have little upside left.
Indeed, the stock has risen more than 50% over the last year, even when accounting for the summer outage. Moreover, its price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 24 makes it is a more expensive stock than its most direct competitors.
Nonetheless, the outage may have strangely increased trust in the company. CrowdStrike quickly admitted fault when the incident occurred and promptly issued a fix. Such a move shows CrowdStrike cares more about its long-term reputation than its short-term performance.
Furthermore, CrowdStrike has positioned itself to capitalize on the growing need for cybersecurity. Fortune Business Insights forecasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% through 2032 amid a growing need to protect cloud and AI workloads.
CrowdStrike plans to capture more of this increasing demand with the company's Falcon platform, an AI-native cybersecurity ecosystem. Also, its Charlotte AI security product can use plain language questions to discover hidden threats, speed up decision-making, and automate error-prone tasks that can lead to security breaches.
Additionally, CrowdStrike's numerous offerings help it capture more business from new and current customers. According to the company, 66% of customers subscribe to five or more modules. In the first nine months of fiscal 2025 (ended Oct. 31), this increased adoption led to $2.9 billion in revenue, 31% more than the same period in fiscal 2024.
Admittedly, investors may not want to buy the stock as long as it maintains an elevated valuation. However, five years of sales growth will make that multiple less significant over time, and as the company moves on from the outage, its continuing growth should mean stock gains over the second half of the decade.
