The U.S. presidential election is right around the corner, and many investors would be wondering which stocks could benefit most, based on who will become the next president.
But basing your investment decisions on election results isn't a surefire recipe for success. And if you're investing for the long haul, even a four-year presidential term could conceivably be considered short-term in the grand scheme of things.
Supercharged growth stocks Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ: SMCI), MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR), and Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX) have all outperformed artificial intelligence (AI) giant Nvidia since the last election. The three stocks have returned 1,940%, 1,160%, and 1,040%, respectively, since Nov. 3, 2020, dwarfing the semiconductor giant's not-too-shabby 960% stock return.
And undoubtedly, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to forecast at the time that they would have soared as much as they have.
Tech company Super Micro Computer, which also goes by just Supermicro, didn't show up on many growth investors' radars until the past couple of years. It makes servers and provides businesses with IT infrastructure that can be critical in helping companies develop AI models.
While its business has been booming in recent years, that wasn't because of Biden's election win. The growth had more to do with the surge in AI-related spending, due to the emergence of ChatGPT and all the hype that came with the chatbot. Although the business was growing prior to that, Supermicro's top line took off at a much more rapid pace in just the past two years.
SMCI Revenue (Annual) data by YCharts.
Today, Supermicro still potentially makes for a good AI stock to own, but the big question mark I have about the business relates to its thin margins. If it can strengthen its gross profits, then combined with the fantastic growth prospects it possesses, Supermicro can remain a hot buy, and prove its short-sellers wrong in the process.
Another stock that's benefiting from AI-fueled hype is MicroStrategy. The company provides companies with business intelligence solutions and utilizes AI. But it started rallying earlier than the stocks on this list, and that's due to its exposure to Bitcoin. MicroStrategy prides itself on being the largest corporate holder of Bitcoins, which means as the price of Bitcoin rose, so too did MicroStrategy's valuation.
In 2021, meme stocks and crypto were hot investing themes, and unsurprisingly, MicroStrategy's stock also soared. But while Bitcoin has rallied significantly since the last election, MicroStrategy has generated superior gains, and that could be due to the added excitement AI has injected into the tech stock recently.