An analysis of the S&P 500 index's ten-year dynamics reveals a striking pattern: nine out of the ten growth leaders are directly tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure. The absolute record holder is Nvidia, whose shares have soared more than 137-fold.

Nvidia's returns over the past ten years have reached nearly 13,589%, more than double the result of its closest pursuer—AMD with its impressive 6,000%. The top ten includes microchip and networking equipment manufacturers, as well as one heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) contractor.

The Artificial Intelligence Theme

The full list of the decade's best stocks looks like this:

  • Nvidia (NVDA) — +13,817%
  • AMD (AMD) — +6,099%
  • Micron (MU) — +5,486%
  • Comfort Systems (FIX) — +5,157%
  • Arista Networks (ANET) — +3,762%
  • Lam Research (LRCX) — +3,099%
  • Tesla (TSLA) — +2,545%
  • Lumentum (LITE) — +2,440%
  • KLA Corp (KLAC) — +2,401%
  • Seagate (STX) — +2,346%

Nvidia, AMD, Micron, Lam Research, and KLA Corp either produce chips themselves or manufacture equipment for creating them. These components are the foundation of servers for data centers, on which all AI development rests.

Arista Networks supplies network switches for those same data centers. Lumentum creates optical components that transmit data between server racks. Seagate provides storage drives for AI training.

Comfort Systems has its own niche. This engineering and electrical systems contractor has accumulated orders worth nearly $12 billion: companies are massively building and cooling new data centers, and Comfort Systems profits from this boom without selling a single chip.

Tesla is the only exception in this list. Its shares grew primarily on the sharp demand for electric vehicles, not AI infrastructure. However, Elon Musk's autopilot and robotics projects do give the company a connection to artificial intelligence.

The Last Two Years Brought the Most Gains

The main growth did not come from a steady decade but from recent years. Since the start of the AI boom in November 2022, Nvidia's market capitalization has jumped from $418 billion to over $4.5 trillion.

Other top-10 companies have similarly surged: over the past two years, hyperscalers have begun spending significantly more on AI.

Further growth depends on whether they maintain their current pace of construction. My calculations show that about 60% of data centers planned by 2027 have not even begun construction.

Such a lag could keep investor interest in these stocks high well into the second half of the decade.

My conclusion: the market is experiencing not just hype but a fundamental shift. However, investors should remember—AI infrastructure cycles are cyclical, and current valuations already price in a perfect scenario. Diversification across semiconductors, networking equipment, and contractors remains the key to managing risk in this sector.