Enormous Eight’s exceptional returns in 2023
Artificial intelligence (AI) mania caused a resurgence in big tech, with eight mega-cap shares – Nvidia, Meta, Tesla, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Microsoft, and Google – generating exceptional returns.
Charlie Bilello, director of research at Pension Partners, said no one was talking about ChatGPT last year.
However, things changed quickly when the service became the fastest ever to reach 100 million users earlier this year.
Nvidia benefitted from the AI hype as the company’s graphics processing units (GPUs) dominate the AI chip market.
Nvidia’s share price increased by 221% in 2023, which pushed the company’s market cap beyond the $1 trillion mark in May.
Microsoft, closely linked to ChatGPT, also received a huge boost from the prevailing hype around AI.
Daniel Ives, managing director and senior equity research analyst at Wedbush Securities, said ChatGPT will fuel growth at Microsoft.
He added that integrating ChatGPT into its products is worth $20 per share to Microsoft in a sum-of-the-parts valuation.
It helped Microsoft to experience 43% share price growth in 2023, significantly higher than the S&P 500.
Apple also had a strong year, with its market cap topping $3 trillion and achieving a 7.6% weighting in the S&P 500. It is the largest ever for a single stock.
Meta, which had a bruising 2022, bounced back strongly this year and increased its share price by 151% year-to-date.
The company also benefitted from the launch of its Twitter competitor Threads, which smashed ChatGPT’s record by gaining 100 million users in less than five days.
Other market favourites, like Tesla, Amazon, Netflix, and Google, also benefitted from the hype around AI and tech.
The table below shows the stock price performance of the popular US tech giants in 2023.
| Company | Share price growth 2023 YTD |
| Nvidia | 221% |
| Meta | 151% |
| Tesla | 157% |
| Amazon | 56% |
| Netflix | 53% |
| Apple | 52% |
| Microsoft | 43% |
| 40% |
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