In this article, we are going to discuss the 10 best cloud computing stocks to buy now. You can also check out the 10 Best Artificial Intelligence Stocks to Buy Under $10 here.
Cloud computing has changed the way we access and manage computing resources. The industry is poised for significant growth in the coming years. Market estimates suggest a jump from a size of $0.68 trillion in 2024 to a projected $1.44 trillion by 2029, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.4%. This upward trend is expected to continue, with the market reaching a value of almost $2.5 trillion by 2032. These figures point towards a rising adoption and utilization of cloud solutions across various industries.
The growth in the industry is likely to be driven by a number of factors. One key factor is the growing recognition among large enterprises of the impact that cloud computing can have on their operations. In fact, an impressive 94% of companies across the globe have already adopted cloud computing solutions. This high rate of adoption is expected to have a remarkable economic impact, with forecasts showing that it could generate approximately $3 trillion in revenue by the year 2030.
Currently, North America and Europe are leading the way in cloud computing adoption, with Asia Pacific not far behind. North America holds the largest share of the global market at 41%. The region’s early adoption of technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) has played a key role in driving its cloud market growth.
Even with stricter regulations around data privacy and security, the European markets are also displaying consistent growth in cloud adoption. Countries like Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, and Denmark are leading the way in cloud adoption within specific industries. This suggests that European businesses are increasingly recognizing the value of cloud solutions while navigating a regulatory landscape that prioritizes data protection.
The Asia Pacific region is also currently experiencing a rise in cloud computing adoption. The market size rose to an estimated $32.5 billion in 2022 and is projected to be a significant contributor to the global cloud computing market in the coming years. This growth can be attributed to a large-scale shift towards digital business models across various industries in the region. The need for cost-effective solutions has fueled cloud adoption among small and medium businesses (SMBs). Approximately 78% of SMBs are currently using cloud services, with 39% of these businesses spending up to $600,000 per year on public cloud services.
With this context in mind, let’s take a look at the 10 best cloud computing stocks to buy now.
A team of software engineers at desks working on code for a cutting-edge cloud computing solution.
Our Methodology
To shortlist the best cloud computing stocks to buy now, we relied on Insider Monkey’s extensive database of 920 hedge funds as of Q1 2024. We picked the cloud computing stocks with the highest number of hedge fund investors. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
10 Best Cloud Computing Stocks to Buy Now
10. Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 73
Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) founded in 2012, has carved a niche in the cloud computing world by offering a data platform that caters to a global audience. By consolidating information into a single source, Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) allows businesses to develop data-driven applications and facilitate data sharing, all within its user-friendly platform.
Snowflake, Inc. (NYSE: SNOW) delivered a strong first quarter for fiscal year 2025, ending April 30, 2024. Total revenue reached $828.7 million, reflecting a healthy 33% year-over-year growth. This growth was driven by a core business that continues to thrive, with product revenue rising 34% year-over-year to $789.6 million.
Analysts are highly bullish on the company’s future, with a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”. This assessment is based on 33 analyst ratings in the past 3 months. The average 12-month price target for Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) sits at $203.59, indicating a potential upside of 51.59% from the current price.
Here’s what ClearBridge Investments said about Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) in its Q2 2023 investor letter:
“While the ClearBridge Multi Cap Growth Strategy has limited mega cap exposure, which has been a recent headwind to relative performance, we own several companies that stand to benefit from the explosive growth in generative AI. These holdings play key roles in building out the necessary infrastructure and helping customers leverage capabilities enabled by this emerging technology.
Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW), a cloud-based data platform company, is positioned well to help enterprises better leverage their own data to get the most out of AI models. Though it is still early days in terms of adoption, Snowflake saw workloads for data science, machine learning, and AI use cases grow more than 90% year-over-year in its most recent quarter.”
9. Crowdstrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 76
Crowdstrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) founded in 2011, delivers next-generation endpoint protection through a cloud-based solution to customers in different countries. The company’s Falcon platform offers cloud modules via a subscription model (SaaS).
Crowdstrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) announced impressive financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, exceeding expectations and achieving new milestones. It experienced decent revenue growth, with total revenue rising 42% year-over-year to $692.6 million. This increase in revenue was accompanied by a shift to profitability, with earnings turning positive.
The stock is receiving strong positive sentiment from analysts with a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”. This is based on 31 analyst ratings in the past 3 months. The average 12-month price target for Crowdstrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) is $399.96, which represents a potential upside of over 2% from the current price levels. The high price target is $435, while the low-price target stands at $350.
Here’s what TimesSquare Capital Management said about Crowdstrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) in its Q1 2024 investor letter:
“The high demand for cybersecurity systems is unlikely to abate, which benefited CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD). The company’s expansion beyond endpoint security to offering security on all cloud workloads, along with its growing product suite in areas such as identity and security information & event management, is driving strong demand for its platform among customers amidst a very active cyberthreat environment. That lifted its shares by 25% this quarter, and we trimmed our position.”
Of the 920 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Crowdstrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) was held by 76 funds at the end of Q1 2024, making it one of the best cloud computing stocks to buy now.
8. Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 83
Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY) is a global provider of enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, founded in California in 2005. The company’s software serves companies, educational institutions, and government agencies, offering solutions in financial management, human capital management, and analytics.
Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY) announced strong results for its fiscal 2025 first quarter, which ended April 30, 2024. Total revenue reached $1.99 billion, reflecting an impressive 18.1% year-over-year increase. Moreover, Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY) reported earnings per share of $1.74, beating the estimates of $1.58. The company has surpassed the EPS estimates in the last 4 quarters.
Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY) carries a “Moderate Buy” rating based on 31 analyst recommendations in the past 3 months. The average price target for the stock over the next 12 months sits at $288.42, representing a potential upside of 29.52% from the current price levels. Analysts also provided a high forecast of $352 and a low forecast of $240.
Here’s what ClearBridge Investments said about Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY) in its Q1 2024 investor letter:
“We also sold our remaining position in data monitoring software maker Splunk (splk) ahead of its acquisition by Cisco Systems. Part of the proceeds were redeployed into enterprise resource planning and finance software maker Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY), as we believe its products are well-positioned for consistent, robust subscription growth with potentially further upside as new investment initiatives scale.”
Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY) was held by 83 hedge funds at the end of Q1 2024.
7. ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 90
ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE:NOW), a leader in enterprise cloud computing founded in 2004 in California, helps businesses in sectors like healthcare, education, and finance manage digital workflows and streamline operations.
ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE:NOW) delivered a strong first quarter of 2024, exceeding expectations across all key growth and profitability metrics. Subscription revenue surged 25% year-over-year to reach $2.52 billion. Total revenue also experienced healthy growth, reaching $2.60 billion which reflects a 24% year-over-year increase.
Analysts are bullish on ServiceNow Inc.’s (NYSE:NOW) future, with a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”. The average 12-month price target for the stock sits at $865.3, indicating a potential upside of over 11% from the current price levels. Analysts’ forecasts range from a high of $950 to a low of $780.
Here’s what Lakehouse Capital said about ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE:NOW) in its Q1 2024 investor letter:
“US-based software company,ServiceNow, Inc. (NYSE:NOW), provided another strong result, continuing its long and consistent track record of 20%-plus revenue growth combined with healthy profitability. Subscription revenues grew 25% year-on-year to $2.5 billion and free cash flow grew 47% year-on-year to $1.2 billion. The company’s core operating metrics were also impressive with remaining performance obligations growing 26% year-on-year to $17.7 billion (i.e. roughly 2x 2023 revenue) and renewal rates holding steady at 98%. Performance was evenly spread across segments, products, and geographies, with notable strength in the US federal government. The company now boasts 1,933 customers generating in excess of $1 million in Annual Contract Value (ACV), which is pleasing to see as it implies multiple solutions are involved and that the company’s platform model is increasingly resonating with customers. In our view, ServiceNow is one the highest quality software businesses globally as the combination of consistent growth at scale, robust free cash flow generation and a large addressable market make it a compelling opportunity.”
6. Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 96
Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) has become a dominant player in the business IT solutions arena on a global scale. The company ranks highly among the best cloud computing stocks to buy now.
Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of fiscal 2024. Total revenue for Q4 reached $14.3 billion, reflecting a modest 3% year-over-year increase. Cloud services and license support revenue grew by a healthy 9%, reaching $10.2 billion. This indicates strong performance in Oracle’s cloud offerings. Furthermore, the company reported a significant 44% increase in Q4 total remaining performance obligations (RPO) to $98 billion.
Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) has been assigned a “Moderate Buy” rating, based on 27 analyst recommendations in the past 3 months. The average 12-month price target for Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) sits at $149.35, indicating a potential upside of over 6% from the current price.
Here’s what Aristotle Atlantic Partners, LLC, said about Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) in its Q3 2023 investor letter:
“Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) provides products and services that address enterprise information technology (IT) environments. The company’s products and services include enterprise applications and infrastructure offerings that are delivered worldwide through a variety of flexible and interoperable IT deployment models. The company operates in three segments: cloud and license business, hardware, and services.
We believe Oracle’s cloud infrastructure product, OCI 2.0, continues to demonstrate strong revenue growth over several quarters. Additionally, we see the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) computing needs as being a differentiated growth driver for Oracle. We believe that Oracle will continue to drive positive outcomes for the Cerner business through a better margin structure, as well as topline sales synergies.”
5. Adobe, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 108
Beyond its legacy in creative software, Adobe, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) has become a major player in cloud computing. Through strategic acquisitions in recent years, the company has expanded its platform and attracted a wider user base.
Adobe, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) delivered a powerful first quarter of fiscal year 2024, with an 11% year-over-year revenue increase to reach $5.18 billion. This impressive performance was accompanied by strong profitability, reflected in earnings per share of $4.48, higher than the expected $4.40.
The company’s stock carries a “Moderate Buy” analyst rating. The average 12-month price target for Adobe, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) sits at $611.9, suggesting a potential upside of 12.37% from the current price levels. Analysts’ forecasts range from a high of $703 to a low of $450, indicating some variation in expectations but a generally positive outlook.
Here’s what Mar Vista Investment Partners, LLC said about Adobe, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) in its Q1 2024 investor letter:
“Despite underperforming during the quarter, Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) remains a powerful player in the creative professional market. We believe the company is well-positioned to capitalize on two key trends: the ongoing shift towards digital commerce and the rise of generative AI.
Adobe stands out as an early leader in generative AI, offering both standalone solutions like Firefly and integrated features within established products like Photoshop. This puts them ahead of the curve, attracting both creative professionals and marketing teams within corporations. As a result, Adobe is experiencing strong bookings growth in the mid-teens, which translates to healthy revenue, earnings, and cash flow. Based on these factors, we project continued intrinsic value growth for Adobe in the low-to-mid-teens range over our investment horizon.”
4. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 154
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) has established itself as a leading player in cloud computing. As a top provider of both CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software platforms and enterprise collaboration tools, Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) enjoys a prominent position in the modern market.
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE: CRM) reported a strong first quarter of fiscal year 2024. Revenue reached $8.25 billion, reflecting an 11% year-over-year increase. The company maintained a healthy operating margin of 27.6%. Moreover, the current remaining performance obligation grew 12% year-over-year to $24.1 billion, indicating strong future customer commitments.
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) stock has an average “Moderate Buy” rating from analysts, based on 40 recommendations in the past 3 months. The average 12-month price target for Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) sits at $297.11, suggesting a potential upside of 17.19% from the current price.
Here’s what Harding Loevner said about Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in its Q1 2024 investor letter:
“Leading software companies have the advantage of high switching costs and the ability to incorporate new features into products customers already use. For example, Microsoft has added its Copilot chatbot functionality to everything from search (Bing Chat, recently renamed to just Copilot) to coding (GitHub Copilot) and workplace applications (Copilot for Microsoft 365). Software sold by Microsoft and other companies such as Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM), SAP, and ServiceNow are also already deeply integrated into their customers’ operations and workflow.
As large enterprises search for the right balance, Salesforce’s Data Cloud, a flagship offering, is designed to address a critical issue for them so they can make better use of AI tools. After a hectic buildout over the last few years of “data warehouses” and “data lakes”—two types of repositories for storing and processing data—across the various business units of large companies, many companies are left with what feels like islands of trapped data. Data Cloud solves this by creating a single platform to access and leverage all of an enterprise’s data, eliminating the need to constantly duplicate large amounts of information across different platforms. Users are then able to apply generative-AI technology, such as Salesforce’s Einstein tool, to a more comprehensive dataset, which enables them to better glean customers’ intentions, personalize marketing messages, and automate the processing of customer-service requests. As users build these systems, Einstein’s copiloting functionality helps their programmers work more efficiently so that IT departments with limited budgets and manpower can still develop the necessary tools. Salesforce’s management projects that revenue and earnings will climb about 9% and 45%, respectively, in fiscal 2025, citing the company’s operating leverage and cost discipline. We think these figures are achievable given the renewed focus on profitable growth, and so we added to the stock during the quarter.”
At the end of Q1 2024, 154 hedge funds reported owning a stake in Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM), making it one of the best cloud computing stocks to buy now.
3. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 222
Global tech giant Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) offers a wide range of products and platforms across various regions, including the United States, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. The company operates through three main segments one of which is Google Cloud. This segment caters to businesses, offering infrastructure, cybersecurity solutions, databases, analytics tools, and artificial intelligence (AI) services. It also includes Google Workspace, a suite of cloud-based communication and collaboration tools.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) reported strong financial results for the first quarter of 2024, exceeding expectations. Revenue reached $80.54 billion, reflecting a significant 15% year-over-year increase. Profitability also showed marked improvement. Net income rose significantly to $23.66 billion compared to $15.05 billion in Q1 2023. Earnings per share followed the positive trend, reaching $1.89, up from $1.17 in the previous year.
Analysts are positive on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), assigning a “Strong Buy” rating based on 38 recommendations in the past 3 months. The average 12-month price target for Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) stock sits at $198.92, suggesting a potential upside of 8.29% from the current price levels.
Here’s what Weitz Investment Management said about Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its Q1 2024 investor letter:
“Mega-cap titans Meta Platforms, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Amazon generated outsized gains and were the Fund’s top relative contributors for the past 12 months. Following our valuation discipline, we continued to methodically rotate from more fully priced stocks to those trading at healthier discounts to our value estimates. We trimmed more tech-adjacent winners during the quarter, including Alphabet
Alphabet has been the most notable trim over the past two quarters. In effect, we removed the heavy overweight layer of the position size, which had been in the 6% to 8% range for most of the last five years. Part of the decision simply reflected valuation prudence after an exceptional period where the stock price ran well ahead of our estimate of business value growth. Some of it was a reality check that Google’s core search business may be less clearly unassailable than it appeared to be five to seven years ago. Our team also has adopted a healthy “prove it” approach to management/culture, capital allocation and future returns on a robust investment cycle. While Alphabet may no longer warrant standout overweight status, the stock remains one of the Fund’s largest holdings.”
2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 293
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), another major player in the tech industry, focuses on systems software. The company’s Intelligent Cloud segment is responsible for providing its cloud computing offerings, including the well-known platform Microsoft Azure. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) ranks highly among the best cloud computing stocks to buy now.
Microsoft Corporation’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) earnings report revealed a 13% year-over-year increase in revenue, reaching $6.4 billion. This growth stemmed from two key segments: Intelligent Cloud and Productivity and Business Processes. Furthermore, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) reported an EPS of $2.94, higher than the estimated $2.84. The company has successfully beaten EPS estimates in the last 4 quarters.
Analysts are bullish on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), assigning a “Strong Buy” rating based on 35 analyst recommendations in the past 3 months. The average 12-month price target for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) sits at $500.71, suggesting a potential upside of over 10% from the current price levels.
Here’s what Baron Funds said about Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its Q1 2024 investor letter:
“Our second largest purchase during the quarter was the software platform, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), which we continued to add to, after initiating a position in the fourth quarter of 2023. Microsoft continues to report strong quarterly results, with revenue growth of 16% year-over-year in constant currency thanks to better-than-expected demand in its intelligent cloud segment, which saw revenue growth of 19% year-over-year, driven by Azure growth of 28% with AI contributing 6pts to growth compared with 3pts in the prior quarter. While the adoption of GenAI remains in its early stages, Microsoft has disclosed positive initial data points with 53,000 Azure AI customers as of its December quarter up from 18,000 in the prior quarter, 1.3 million paid GitHub Copilot subscribers (up 30% sequentially) and more than 230,000 organizations who have used AI capabilities in the power platform (up 80% sequentially). Management also noted that large cloud optimizations that started a year or so ago have largely finished. Profitability also continues to be strong with 44% non-GAAP operating margins, which was 120bps better than expected.”
1. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 302
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), known for its e-commerce dominance, has expanded far beyond online retail. This multinational technology company has a diverse portfolio that includes cloud computing, online advertising, artificial intelligence, and streaming services.
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) announced a stellar first quarter in 2024, exceeding analyst expectations. Net sales rose 13% year-over-year to $143.3 billion, highlighting strong overall growth. Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company’s cloud computing arm, remained a key driver of this success.
AWS revenue grew an impressive 17% year-over-year, reaching $25 billion. Operating income for AWS also jumped significantly, reaching $9.4 billion compared to $5.1 billion in Q1 2023. Profitability across the entire company improved markedly as well. Operating income grew to $15.3 billion from $4.8 billion in Q1 2023. This strong performance translated to a doubling of net income, reaching $10.4 billion ($0.98 per diluted share) compared to $3.2 billion ($0.31 per diluted share) in Q1 2023.
Analysts are bullish on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), assigning an average “Strong Buy” rating to the stock. The average 12-month price target for Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) sits at $221.55, suggesting a potential upside of over 11% from the current price levels.
Here’s what Mar Vista Investment Partners, LLC said about Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in its Q1 2024 investor letter:
“Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is experiencing a surge in profitability, reflected in significantly higher retail profit margins. Strategic cost reductions in headcount and fulfillment have materialized into financial gains. While the unexpected pandemic-driven demand surge necessitated a rapid expansion of fulfillment infrastructure, this initially impacted operating profits. However, current unit sales growth has effectively reached equilibrium with fulfillment capacity. This balance is leading to positive adjustments to both earnings and intrinsic value estimates. Should the economic climate continue to improve, we believe Amazon’s investment potential aligns with its projected 15-20% intrinsic value growth trajectory.”
While we acknowledge the potential of Amazon.com as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than Amazon but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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