What's Next for These 3 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks?

• Will Nvidia remain as an AI stock superstar?

• Palantir’s AI-driven gains may not justify its stock price.

• Apple may be experiencing a strong iPhone cycle, with AI opportunities still ahead.

• 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia ›

As tech investors have observed, artificial intelligence (AI) propelled many stocks higher since the release of OpenAI's GPT-4. Thanks to the gains sparked by this technology, several individual stocks and the stock indexes reached record highs in recent trading sessions.

This has to many AI stocks setting new all-time highs. Also, Grand View Research forecasts a 32% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the AI sector through 2033, leading to questions about what comes next, especially for individual stocks in this sector. With that question in mind, three analysts from The Motley Fool share their insights on some of the most critical AI stocks and where they are likely to go from here.

Jake Lerch (Nvidia): My choice is Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). There's no doubt in my mind that Nvidia -- more than any other company -- has been the prime beneficiary of the AI revolution. After all, this is a company that, in just a few years, has risen to become the largest company by market capitalization in the world.

So, what are investors to make of Nvidia? What is the ceiling for the company? Or is there no ceiling at all?

Obviously, the answers to these questions revolve around the AI ecosystem and Nvidia's prime role within it. If the AI revolution continues to roll on, so will Nvidia. If AI investment slows or collapses, Nvidia's stock will tumble. Moreover, what if new competitors challenge Nvidia's enormous lead within the graphics processing unit (GPU) market?

First, there are legitimate concerns about the amount of spending on AI infrastructure -- and what return on investment (ROI) companies will get from it. Meta Platforms, Tesla, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and many others are investing billions in AI infrastructure -- much of it in the form of Nvidia's advanced GPUs. These companies each have their own unique vision for utilizing their AI resources and their own ROI expectations.

For the moment, there is no sign that their ROI isn't measuring up. Indeed, the escalating scale of the investments suggests that ROIs are even better than expected.

Second, it's true that competitors will eventually close the gap on Nvidia. That is the nature of capitalism. However, the question remains how long that process will take to play out. According to estimates compiled by Yahoo! Finance, Nvidia is expected to generate $206 billion in revenue for the fiscal year (the 12 months ending Jan. 27, 2026), and nearly $275 billion in the following 12 months.