Artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly become the most important narrative in the tech industry as companies recognize the massive opportunity it creates, from enterprise productivity to cybersecurity.
Already, a handful of companies have emerged as AI tech leaders, including semiconductor company Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) and cybersecurity leader CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD). Here's why these tech stocks could be worth buying right now.
1. Broadcom
Broadcom has emerged as a leading AI company thanks to the company's semiconductors and AI software. Investors who've followed the company for a while have likely noticed a shift toward AI chips lately -- and it's paying off in big ways.
Broadcom makes custom AI chips used by Alphabet and other tech companies that have become a popular option for companies ramping up their infrastructure needs to compete in the AI market. At the same time, Broadcom's acquisition of VMWare has also boosted the company's AI-related infrastructure software sales, which spiked 200% year over year to $5.8 billion in the third quarter (which ended Aug. 4).
Broadcom's total sales rose 47% in the most recent quarter to $13.1 billion, and non-GAAP net income of $6.1 billion was up about 33% year over year.
The company's recent growth and its emergence as a top AI tech stock have pushed up demand for its shares, which now trade at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 27. While that's not cheap, it's still relatively inexpensive compared to tech rival Nvidia, which has a forward P/E of 42.
Investors may be wondering if there's room for Broadcom's AI chip sales to keep growing; management certainly thinks there is, because they estimate revenue from AI will be $12 billion for fiscal 2024. With demand for AI chips just ramping up, picking up shares of the company could be a great long-term move.
2. CrowdStrike
CrowdStrike is a leader in cybersecurity, earning a top position because its Falcon platform offers companies comprehensive security solutions that are difficult to match.
One reason CrowdStrike has been able to fend off rivals is that it has imbued its security platform with artificial intelligence. Falcon has had AI capabilities for years, and the platform continues to get smarter as it is trained on over 2 trillion security events daily.
The company's commitment to create a leading cybersecurity platform has resulted in robust growth. Revenue in the second quarter (which ended July 31) rose 32% year over year to $963.9 million, and non-GAAP net income increased nearly 46% to $226.8 million. Growth in the quarter helped push CrowdStrike's free cash flow up 44% from the year-ago quarter to $272 million.
Customers continue to expand their use of CrowdStrike's platform, with 65% of customers in the second quarter adopting five or more security modules on Falcon and 45% having six or more.
If there's one drawback to CrowdStrike, it's that the company's shares trade at a premium. The stock's forward P/E ratio is 75, which is far above the cybersecurity industry average of about 22. But with CrowdStrike's leading position in security and its Falcon platform continually improving through AI, I think picking up some of the company's shares after their 16% dip over the past three months could be a smart decision.
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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, CrowdStrike, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
2 Tech Stocks to Buy Hand Over Fist in September was originally published by The Motley Fool