When AI Meets Cryptocurrency: US Tech Stocks Continue to "Soar," These Stocks Are Winning Big

According to Zhitong Finance APP, since the beginning of this year, the Nasdaq index, primarily composed of technology stocks, has risen by 33%, and other major U.S. stock indices have also achieved double-digit gains.

The artificial intelligence (AI) boom is the theme of the technology market in 2024 and is a catalyst behind the significant rise of some stocks. Cryptocurrency is another important driving force, especially after Donald Trump, who supports cryptocurrency, won the U.S. election in November.

Here are the five best-performing U.S. tech stocks in 2024 among companies with a market capitalization of $5 billion or more:

Applovin (APP.US)

AppLovin is known for investing in a range of mobile game studios that produce games such as "Block Puzzle," "Clockmaker," and "Bingo Story."

By the end of this year, AppLovin's valuation skyrocketed from about $13 billion at the beginning of the year to over $110 billion, surpassing Starbucks (SBUX.US), Intel (INTC.US), and Airbnb (ABNB.US). As of Wednesday's close, AppLovin's stock price has risen 758% year-to-date, far exceeding all other tech companies.

AppLovin went public in 2021, coinciding with the online gaming boom during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the company's business focus has now shifted to online advertising and the development of AI technology.

Last year, AppLovin launched the AXON 2.0 version of its advertising search engine, which helps deliver more targeted ads on the games it owns, and studios that have obtained technology licenses are also using the engine.

AppLovin's software platform revenue grew by 66% in the third quarter, reaching $835 million, driving total revenue growth of 39%; net profit soared by 300%, with profit margins increasing from 12.6% the previous year to 36.3%.

AppLovin's CEO Adam Foroughi is optimistic about the outlook. In the company's earnings call in November, Foroughi praised a test e-commerce project that allows businesses to place targeted ads within games.

He stated, "In my years of working here, this is the best product we've released, the fastest-growing, but it is still in the experimental stage."

MicroStrategy (MSTR.US)

After climbing 346% in 2023, "Bitcoin whale" MicroStrategy has risen 467% this year.

The company announced in mid-2020 that it would begin purchasing Bitcoin. Prior to this, MicroStrategy was just a mid-sized business intelligence software provider, but since then, the company has purchased over 444,000 Bitcoins, using its rising stock price to sell shares, raise funds, and buy more Bitcoin.

Currently, MicroStrategy has become the fourth-largest holder of Bitcoin globally, with its Bitcoin holdings valued at nearly $44 billion, second only to Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust, and cryptocurrency exchange Binance. MicroStrategy's market capitalization has soared from $1.1 billion during its software company days to $80 billion now Last month, Trump's victory in the U.S. election fueled the rise of MicroStrategy. Since then, the stock has increased by 57%, while Bitcoin has risen by about 44%. Trump had previously called Bitcoin a "scam," but during this election, he received strong support from major cryptocurrency players like Coinbase (COIN.US).

MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor stated shortly after the election, "With Trump's overwhelming victory, Bitcoin will soar, and other digital assets will also begin to surge." He noted that Bitcoin remains a "safe trade" in the cryptocurrency space, but with the implementation of a "digital asset framework" for the broader cryptocurrency market, "the entire digital asset industry will experience a surge."

Palantir (PLTR.US)

Palantir's stock price has risen 380% this year, experiencing several significant increases along the way. Last month was one of the company's best-performing periods, as the software company raised its revenue guidance the day before the U.S. presidential election.

The company, which sells data analytics tools to defense agencies, raised its targets for 2024, and its fourth-quarter guidance exceeded analysts' expectations. Palantir's third-quarter performance also surpassed market expectations, with CEO Alex Karp stating in the earnings report, "We performed exceptionally well this quarter, thanks to the ongoing demand for AI, and this demand will not slow down."

After the earnings report was released, the company's stock price rose by 23%, and it increased by another 8.6% the day after Trump's victory. Palantir co-founder and board member Peter Thiel was a strong supporter of Trump during the 2016 campaign.

However, Karp publicly supports the Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, in the 2024 election.

Despite this, Wall Street continues to support Palantir after the U.S. election, as they optimistically believe that more military spending will flow into the company.

Karp's comments in the earnings report released before the election indicated that the company's performance would be strong regardless.

Karp stated, "Our business growth is accelerating, and financial performance is exceeding expectations as we meet the steadfast demand from the U.S. government and commercial clients for cutting-edge AI technology."

According to LSEG data, analysts expect the company's revenue to grow by about 24% to $3.5 billion in 2025.

Robinhood (HOOD.US)

Robinhood's stock price has more than doubled this year, despite a 17% drop on October 31 due to disappointing earnings.

However, a few days after the earnings report, investors shifted their focus away from those numbers. With Trump's election victory boosting cryptocurrencies, Robinhood's stock price rose by 20%. Cryptocurrencies are one of Robinhood's biggest growth engines, allowing retail investors to easily purchase cryptocurrencies and stocks on its app Data shows that Robinhood's revenue from cryptocurrency trading in the third quarter increased by 165% year-on-year, reaching $61 million, accounting for 10% of total revenue.

In addition to Bitcoin, Robinhood users can easily purchase about 20 other cryptocurrencies, ranging from popular digital assets like Ethereum to altcoins like Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and Bonk. Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev stated at the investor day event in November that cryptocurrency is not just an investment but a "disruptive technology that will change the underlying infrastructure of payments, loans, and various tradable assets."

According to LSEG data, analysts expect Robinhood's revenue in the fourth quarter to grow by more than 70%, reaching $805.7 million, which would be the fastest quarterly growth for the company since its IPO in 2021.

Robinhood's stock price has risen more than that of Coinbase this year, which increased by 61%. However, Coinbase has a market capitalization of $70 billion, still double that of Robinhood.

NVIDIA (NVDA.US)

NVIDIA's astonishing momentum continues.

Fueled by the generative artificial intelligence boom, NVIDIA's stock price rose by 239% last year and surged by 183% this year, adding $2.2 trillion to its market capitalization.

This year, NVIDIA has twice claimed the title of the world's most valuable publicly traded company. Apple (AAPL.US) has reclaimed the top spot with a market capitalization close to $4 trillion, while NVIDIA stands at $3.4 trillion and Microsoft at $3.3 trillion.

NVIDIA remains the biggest beneficiary of the AI boom, as major cloud providers and internet companies continue to scramble for graphics processing units. Over the past six quarters, NVIDIA's revenue has grown by at least 94% year-on-year, with three quarters exceeding 200% growth.

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang stated in the latest earnings report that the next-generation AI chip Blackwell has "fully entered production." CFO Colette Kress indicated that the company expects "billions of dollars" in Blackwell revenue in the fourth quarter.

While growth is expected to remain strong for a company of NVIDIA's scale, an inevitable slowdown is on the horizon. Analysts predict that NVIDIA's year-on-year growth rate will slow in the coming quarters, dropping to around 45% by the second half of next year.

NVIDIA's revenue relies on a few tech giants, so any economic fluctuations pose significant risks for investors.

This helps explain why NVIDIA has told Wall Street that many companies are developing new AI services and "are racing to accelerate the development of these applications, potentially deploying billions of agents in the coming years."