Global stock markets performed strongly in the first quarter, driven by technology stocks. The Nasdaq index surged by 9.11%, while the S&amp;P 500 index rose by 10.16%.
Among technology stocks, AI stocks saw the most astonishing gains, with the US semiconductor ETF (SMH) rising by 28.5%, making it one of the top-performing ETFs.
Within this semiconductor ETF, Nvidia saw the largest increase of 82%, with a market value growth of nearly $1 trillion. Micron Technology rose by 39.6%, TSMC by 31.4%, and ASML by 28.7%...
But AI stocks are not limited to these. One of the most well-known is the US AI newcomer SMCI, which saw a massive 253.8% surge in the first quarter (246% in 2023) due to the high demand for AI servers:
<img src="https://pub.pbkrs.com/cms/2024/0/PRuwwfGVnS4UNTaGZtru69nwv6VqWGaF.jpg?x-oss-process=style/lg" alt="SMCI" original-src="https://pub.pbkrs.com/cms/2024/0/PRuwwfGVnS4UNTaGZtru69nwv6VqWGaF.jpg"/>
Similarly benefiting from AI server demand, Hon Hai Precision (HNHPF) surged by 50% in the past month:
<img src="https://pub.pbkrs.com/cms/2024/0/eAm23UYAZJwpd3gzUdwpvBCkwpDXsBJR.jpg?x-oss-process=style/lg" alt="HNHPF" original-src="https://pub.pbkrs.com/cms/2024/0/eAm23UYAZJwpd3gzUdwpvBCkwpDXsBJR.jpg"/>
In addition to these large-cap companies, some small AI companies also saw remarkable increases. For instance, Airship AI (AISP) surged by 311% in the first quarter, surpassing all other AI stocks, although its market value is relatively small at only $180 million.
<img src="https://pub.pbkrs.com/cms/2024/0/8wkxFJq8e79iUnHfJJrRyUGGDd1eHkpq.jpg?x-oss-process=style/lg" alt="AISP" original-src="https://pub.pbkrs.com/cms/2024/0/8wkxFJq8e79iUnHfJJrRyUGGDd1eHkpq.jpg"/>
Airship AI is an AI-driven video, sensor, and data management monitoring platform that provides predictive analytics before events occur and meaningful intelligence for decision-makers, enhancing public safety and operational efficiency for public sector and commercial clients.
Nvidia's holding SoundHound AI (SOUN) surged by 177.8% in the first quarter (peaking at 385%), mainly due to Nvidia's disclosure of its F13 holdings at the beginning of the year, which included SoundHound AI. The company is primarily engaged in intelligent voice-related businesses and has a certain level of cooperation with Nvidia.
How is the future outlook for AI?
1. Nvidia will impact the entire AI industry
The future outlook for AI largely depends on Nvidia, in fact, the entire US stock market is influenced by Nvidia.
Currently, Nvidia is widely favored by the market for several reasons:
1) Rapid revenue growth, with the potential for doubling income
Analysts predict that Nvidia's data center business revenue could reach $96.9 billion in 2024 (fiscal year 2025, ending in January 2025), representing a 104% year-on-year growth;
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Predicted NVIDIA's data center revenue for 2025 (fiscal year 2026) to be $120.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 24%.
2) NVIDIA's competitive moat is unmatched in the short term
NVIDIA's product technology and AI large model technology still have significant room for improvement.
Specifically: NVIDIA will launch new products H200 and B200 in the 2nd and 4th quarters of this year. In addition, new large model technologies and applications are constantly being updated. For example, Sora can currently only generate content for 60 seconds, indicating room for product upgrades. The demand for computing power will be even greater.
II. The market demand for AI is huge and will continue to be hot
According to the capital expenditure plans of the eight major cloud service giants downstream in 2024, it is estimated that it may reach $161 billion, a year-on-year increase of 25%, with significant investment in AI.
However, despite the strong overall performance of the semiconductor industry, not all semiconductor companies have risen due to AI. Intel fell by 7.3% in the first quarter. There is differentiation among semiconductor companies, so please be aware of the risks

NVDA

SMCI

SOUN

AISP

NVDL

SOXL

AISP surged 311% in the first quarter, surpassing all AI stocks

LB Select

NVIDIA

VanEck Semiconductor ETF

Super Micro Computer

Taiwan Semiconductor

Micron Tech

SoundHound AI

Airship AI

GraniteShares 2x Long NVDA Daily ETF

Direxion Semicon Bull 3X

In the crazy first quarter of AI, these stocks are more bullish than NVIDIA