An analysis of the S&P 500 index's performance over the past ten years has revealed a striking pattern: nine of the ten best-performing stocks of this period are in some way tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure. The undisputed leader is Nvidia, whose market capitalization soared 137-fold amid the AI boom.
Nvidia shares delivered investors nearly 13,589% returns over the decade. That is more than double the result of its closest rival, AMD, which posted about 6,000%. The top ten included chip manufacturers and networking equipment makers, as well as one heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) contractor.
The artificial intelligence theme
The top 10 best-performing stocks of the last decade:
- 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 used to manufacture them. These components form the foundation of servers for data centers, which underpin the development of artificial intelligence.
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 amassed nearly $12 billion in orders: companies are massively building and cooling new data centers, and Comfort Systems profits from this boom without selling a single chip.
Tesla is an exception in this list. Its shares rose primarily on surging demand for electric vehicles, not AI infrastructure. However, Elon Musk's autopilot and robotics projects do still give the company a connection to artificial intelligence.
The last two years brought the most gains
The bulk of the growth came in recent years rather than being spread evenly across the decade. 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 also surged sharply: over the past two years, hyperscalers have begun spending far more on AI.
Further growth depends on whether they maintain their current pace of construction. My estimates show that about 60% of data centers slated for 2027 have not even started construction yet. Such a backlog could keep investor interest in these stocks elevated well into the second half of the decade.
My conclusion: the market is clearly signaling that AI is not just hype but a fundamental growth driver. However, current valuations of Nvidia and other leaders already price in aggressive scenarios. Investors should closely monitor the pace of data center construction — if it slows, the correction in these securities could be just as rapid as their rise.