The market rewards those who build the foundation of the future. An analysis of the S&P 500 index's performance over the past decade demonstrates this with unprecedented clarity. Nine out of ten companies that showed the highest market capitalization growth are, in one way or another, connected to artificial intelligence infrastructure. This is not just a trend, but a tectonic shift in the structure of the global economy.

The absolute leader was Nvidia. Over 10 years, its shares brought investors nearly 13,589% returns, more than double the result of its closest pursuer — AMD with its impressive, but modest in comparison, 6,000%. The top ten also included microchip and networking equipment manufacturers, as well as one heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) contractor.

The Artificial Intelligence Theme

Here is the full list of the decade's leaders:

  • 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 the chips themselves or the equipment for creating them. These components are the heart of servers for data centers, on which all AI development rests. Arista Networks supplies network switches for the same data centers. Lumentum creates optical components for data transmission between server racks, and Seagate provides the storage drives needed 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 is profiting from this boom without selling a single chip.

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

The Last Two Years Brought the Most Profit

The key point: the main growth did not come evenly over the decade, but in 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 companies in the top ten have also risen just as sharply: over the past two years, hyperscalers have begun spending much more on AI.

Further growth depends on whether they maintain their current pace of construction. My estimates show that about 60% of data centers planned by 2027 have not even started construction yet. Such a backlog could keep investor interest in these types of stocks high for a long time in the second half of the decade.

My view: This list is not just statistics, but a map of the future. Companies providing the computing power for AI will remain in the spotlight for a long time, but investors should watch for overheating valuations. History teaches us: leaders of past technology cycles do not always remain leaders in the next one.