We recently published a list of 10 AI News Making Waves on Wall Street. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) stands against other AI news making waves on Wall Street.
Semiconductor Trends Show AI as a Key Driver
Chris Caso, a senior analyst at Wolfe Research, discussed key trends in the semiconductor industry in an interview with CNBC. He highlighted TSMC’s strong performance. While the company’s recent results are largely driven by older chips, it is forecasting 25% revenue growth in 2025, with 60% of that tied to AI. Caso noted that AI is the primary growth driver for the industry, while demand for other segments like PCs, handsets, and traditional servers remains sluggish due to inventory build-ups during the pandemic.
Regarding U.S.-China tensions, Caso mentioned that U.S. export controls have effectively limited China’s access to advanced chip manufacturing and AI technologies. He characterized China’s retaliatory actions as attempts to respond where possible.
Broad Market Growth Opportunities with AI Advancements
Joe Davis, Vanguard’s Global Chief Economist, advised against focusing solely on tech stocks to capitalize on AI-driven growth in an article posted on January 14. Instead, he recommends diversifying across the U.S. equity market to capture productivity gains in sectors like healthcare, finance, and manufacturing. Tech stocks, already highly valued, may not provide the best opportunities for growth.
Davis noted that past technological shifts spurred growth across multiple industries, not just their core sectors. If AI’s impact is slower than expected (30%-40% likelihood), fixed-income or value stocks may offer better returns in a low-growth environment. For a balanced strategy, Davis suggested investing in a broad U.S. stock market index fund or working with skilled managers to identify long-term winners, preparing for both AI’s potential and the possibility of slower adoption.
For this article, we selected AI stocks by reviewing news articles, stock analysis, and press releases. We listed the stocks in ascending order of their hedge fund sentiment taken from Insider Monkey’s database of 900 hedge funds.
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).
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 279
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) focuses on AI through advanced cloud services, AI-based business solutions, and advanced language processing and computing technologies.
On January 14, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Pearson announced a strategic partnership to address the global challenge of preparing workers for the AI-driven economy. The collaboration will combine Pearson’s expertise in learning and assessment with Microsoft’s AI and cloud technologies to help reskill workers. They will provide AI-powered products and services aimed at employers, employees, and learners, focusing on personalized learning and certifications. The partnership will also introduce new AI credentials and tools, expand Microsoft’s certifications, and improve Pearson’s use of Microsoft 365 Copilot for its workforce. This initiative aims to equip people with the skills needed for future careers in an AI-driven world. Microsoft’s executive vice president and chief commercial officer, Judson Althoff commented:
“The speed and scale of today’s AI innovation present an opportunity for organizations across industries to accelerate AI Transformation. As AI investments increase, the demand for training and support to enable effective and responsible use of AI has never been greater. We are thrilled to partner with Pearson to help global enterprises develop learning experiences that empower employees with the AI skills needed to help advance their careers and achieve more.”
Overall, MSFT ranks 2nd on our list of AI news making waves on Wall Street. While we acknowledge the potential of MSFT 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 time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MSFT but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.