1. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
20-Year Annualized Return: 39.81%
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) tops the list for being one of the most profitable stocks over the past 20 years, delivering exceptional returns to investors. Bullish analysts are highly optimistic about NVIDIA’s future prospects. NVIDIA has recently achieved significant milestones across various sectors, particularly in AI and cloud computing. GeForce NOW, its cloud gaming platform, has reached over 30 million users and added popular games like “Resident Evil Village.” In AI, NVIDIA AI Enterprise has gained traction, helping businesses implement AI solutions. In the automotive sector, NVIDIA’s system-on-a-chip is deployed in NIO’s self-driving cars.
The NVIDIA Partner Network has expanded, recognizing 14 partners for AI achievements across industries. Additionally, NVIDIA leads in generative AI development, and five leaders were honored by the Silicon Valley YWCA for their contributions, underscoring the company’s leadership and diversity commitment.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) recorded revenue of $26.0 billion in Q1 2025, marking an impressive 262% surge year-over-year. The non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $6.12, up 461% year-over-year. The stellar performance was largely driven by the Data Center segment, which reached a record $22.6 billion in revenue, up 23% quarter-over-quarter and 427% year-over-year. This growth was fueled by strong demand for NVIDIA’s Hopper-based GPUs, particularly for generative AI training and inference across cloud providers, consumer internet firms, enterprises, and other sectors. NVIDIA’s upcoming Blackwell platform, designed for trillion-parameter-scale generative AI, is anticipated to further accelerate data center revenue starting in Q4. Additionally, Networking revenue surged over triple digits year-over-year to $3.2 billion which was driven by increasing AI infrastructure needs.
In Q1 2024, there were 186 hedge fund holders in the company, up from 173 in the previous quarter. Citadel Investment Group held the largest position in the company with 207,354,000 shares worth $18,735,678,024.
NVIDIA stock holds a “Strong Buy” rating from 40 analysts. Among the 39 analysts providing 12-month price forecasts, the average target is $125.64, ranging from $62 to $200. This suggests a potential decrease of -2.06% from the current stock price of $128.28.
Overall, NVIDIA Corporation ranks first among the most profitable stocks of the last 20 years. While we acknowledge the potential of consistently profitable companies, 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 NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock
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