Is the Vanguard Mega Cap ETF the Simplest Way to Invest in the Top S&P 500 Stocks?

Motley Fool

Key Points

The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that closely track it, like the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO), have historically been effective tools for compounding wealth over time. However, in today's day and age of low-cost ETFs, investors can find products that better suit their interests and investment objectives without racking up high fees.

The Vanguard Mega Cap ETF (NYSEMKT: MGC) has an expense ratio of 0.07% compared to 0.03% for the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. That's just a $4 difference for every $10,000 invested.

Here's why the Vanguard Mega Cap ETF may be a better fit than the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF for investors looking to get exposure to top S&P 500 stocks.

The biggest of the big

The Vanguard Mega Cap ETF concentrates its holdings in mega-cap growth, dividend, and value stocks. Other well-known Vanguard funds, like the Vanguard Growth ETF (NYSEMKT: VUG) filters out value stocks, and Vanguard Value ETF (NYSEMKT: VTV) excludes growth stocks.

In this vein, the Mega Cap ETF is essentially a bet that the biggest companies will outperform the smaller S&P 500 components. The Mega Cap ETF has just 185 holdings compared to 504 for the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. The concentration shows up in the list of the top 20 holdings.

Company	Vanguard Mega Cap ETF Weighting	Vanguard S&P 500 ETF Weighting
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA)	9.2%	8.1%
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)	8.8%	7.4%
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)	6.9%	5.8%
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN)	5%	4.1%
Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL)(NASDAQ: GOOG)	4.5%	3.8%
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META)	3.7%	3.1%
Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO)	3.1%	2.6%
Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA)	1.9%	1.6%
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM)	1.8%	1.5%
Berkshire Hathaway Class B (NYSE: BRK.B)	1.8%	1.6%
Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY)	1.4%	1.1%
Visa (NYSE: V)	1.3%	1.1%
Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX)	1.1%	0.9%
ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM)	1.1%	0.9%
Mastercard (NYSE: MA)	1%	0.9%
Walmart (NYSE: WMT)	1%	0.8%
Oracle (NYSE: ORCL)	1%	0.8%
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST)	0.9%	0.8%
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)	0.9%	0.7%
Home Depot (NYSE: HD)	0.8%	0.7%
Total	57.2%	48.3%

Data source: Vanguard.

As you can see in the table, the largest 20 holdings in the Vanguard Mega Cap ETF make up well over half of the total fund, whereas the top 20 holdings in the S&P 500 make up just under half of the index.

The S&P is already much more concentrated than in years past, as mega-cap growth stocks like the "Ten Titans" alone make up 38% of the index. But the Mega Cap ETF takes that concentration as a step further by allocating the weighting that was going to the bottom 315 holdings into the 185 largest.

A growth-driven ETF

The Mega Cap ETF is inherently more growth-focused than the S&P 500 because many growth-focused sectors are centered around just a handful of mega cap stocks. For example, the five top holdings in the Vanguard Information Technology ETF (NYSEMKT: VGT) -- which are Ten Titan stocks Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Broadcom, and Oracle -- make up a staggering 53.2% of the ETF. Similarly, Amazon and Tesla dominate the consumer discretionary sector -- which has a 14.2% weighting in the Mega Cap ETF versus 10.4% in the S&P 500 ETF.

The difference has made a subtle impact over time, as the Mega Cap ETF has a 308.1% total return over the last decade, outperforming the S&P 500 ETF's 284.2% total return.

The emphasis on mega cap growth shows up in the fund's valuation, as the Mega Cap ETF sports a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 28 and a dividend yield of 1% compared to a 27 P/E for the S&P 500 ETF and a 1.2% yield.

Using the Vanguard Mega Cap ETF in a diversified portfolio

The Vanguard Mega Cap ETF is a good fit if you're looking to get low-cost, diversified exposure to the largest U.S. companies. An especially effective way to use this particular ETF could be to pair it with individual holdings in companies that don't have massive market caps.

Since the market cap of the S&P 500 is around $53.6 trillion, it takes a stock with a $536 billion market cap just to have a 1% weight in the index. By pairing a fund like the Mega Cap ETF with a portfolio of companies that aren't well represented in the S&P 500, you can maintain diversification while still participating in the companies that are moving the broader indexes.

All told, the Vanguard Mega Cap ETF is a simple way to invest in the largest S&P 500 stocks and may be a better choice for certain investors than the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF.

Should you invest $1,000 in Vanguard World Fund - Vanguard Mega Cap ETF right now?

Before you buy stock in Vanguard World Fund - Vanguard Mega Cap ETF, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Vanguard World Fund - Vanguard Mega Cap ETF wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $649,657!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,090,993!*

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JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Daniel Foelber has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, Costco Wholesale, Home Depot, JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, Oracle, Tesla, Vanguard Index Funds-Vanguard Growth ETF, Vanguard Index Funds-Vanguard Value ETF, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, Visa, and Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and Johnson & Johnson and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Is the Vanguard Mega Cap ETF the Simplest Way to Invest in the Top S&P 500 Stocks? was originally published by The Motley Fool

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Prediction: This Quantum Computing Stock Will Still Be Worth More Than Berkshire Hathaway, Palantir, and Tesla Combined in 2030

Motley Fool

NVIDIA

+1.41%

Key Points

At the moment, just 11 publicly traded companies can claim a market capitalization above $1 trillion.

That elite trillion-dollar club includes tech juggernauts such as Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Broadcom, Taiwan Semiconductor, Tesla, along with Warren Buffett's diversified conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway and oil giant Saudi Aramco.

Among them, Nvidia reigns supreme. With a market cap of roughly $4.4 trillion, it's the most valuable company in the world.

Not only do I think Nvidia is positioned to maintain that crown, I also expect it to remain worth more than Tesla, Berkshire Hathaway, and ambitious AI player Palantir Technologies combined over the next five years, thanks in no small part to the transformative potential of its quantum computing business.

Quantum computing is the next frontier of AI

Quantum computing is widely regarded as the natural successor to classical computing. Traditional computers store and process information in binary formats -- 0s and 1s. Quantum machines use qubits -- units that can have values of 1 or 0, but also can exist in complex linear states that are combinations of 1 and 0 through a phenomenon known as superposition.

In theory, this gives quantum computers the ability to rapidly tackle problems that would take today's most advanced supercomputers prohibitive amounts of time to solve -- from cracking high-level cryptography to drug discovery to climate modeling.

Although the quantum computing industry remains in its infancy, expectations are sky-high. Global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company projects that breakthroughs in quantum applications could generate trillions in economic value over the coming decades.

How Nvidia is playing a critical role in the quantum era

A wave of smaller innovators is attempting to make headway in the quantum computing landscape, exploring avenues such as trapped-ion technology, annealing, and photonic qubits in a race to unlock the next generational breakthrough.

Nvidia, by contrast, isn't positioning itself as a singular hardware architecture. What investors may not fully appreciate is that the company is already deeply embedded in the quantum ecosystem. Its graphics processing units (GPUs) are increasingly being used to run advanced simulations, particularly in hybrid systems that bridge quantum and classical computing.

Yet Nvidia's true differentiator lies not in hardware but in software. The company's CUDA computing platform, long the backbone of AI infrastructure, is now being adapted into CUDA-Q -- a platform designed to support quantum applications on the next generation of processors.

By building this bridge between hardware and software, Nvidia is positioning itself as an indispensable layer for scaling quantum development, regardless of which architectures and approaches succeed and reach critical scale. This strategy gives the company asymmetric exposure to AI's next trillion-dollar opportunity, reinforcing its potential for continued valuation expansion over the long term.

Why Berkshire, Tesla, and Palantir could lag through 2030

Against this backdrop, it's worth examining the valuation profiles of the three companies that I don't expect even combined to surpass Nvidia in the next five years.

Berkshire Hathaway: As a mature and diversified conglomerate, Berkshire is now widely regarded as a steady compounding machine rather than a disruptive, growth-oriented force reshaping industries. Investors typically refrain from assigning premium multiples to businesses of this type. While it certainly has upside potential and the opportunity to generate respectable returns over the next five years, Berkshire's valuation profile lacks the explosive appeal of Nvidia.
Tesla: Tesla already carries a frothy valuation fueled by investor enthusiasm for its AI-driven ambitions -- most notably its plans for a robotaxi fleet and its humanoid robot, Optimus. The challenge, however, is that the scalability of these initiatives remains unproven. Both the autonomous vehicle and robotics markets are highly competitive, and Tesla risks a sharp valuation reset if investors begin to lose patience with the company's execution or management's ability to deliver on its aggressive timelines.
Palantir: Palantir has successfully branded itself as a mission-critical enterprise software provider, uniquely positioned to capture the flow of AI investment as it moves downstream from infrastructure to applications. Still, challenges remain. The company faces formidable competition from Microsoft, fast-growing unicorn Databricks, and specialized players like BigBear.ai and C3.ai. Palantir's investment profile over the next several years looks vulnerable. With its valuations already stretching beyond their historical norms, any news that shows a misalignment between investors' lofty expectations and the reality of Palantir's growth fundamentals could send the stock plummeting.

In 2030, Berkshire will likely remain a durable pillar of investment stability. Meanwhile, Tesla and Palantir may dazzle intermittently, but if they cannot keep pace with the dynamics of their respective competitive landscapes, investors' enthusiasm for them could wane.

On the other hand, by the start of the next decade, Nvidia could occupy a key position at the intersection of AI and quantum computing. With the potential to become a core player in that hardware and software ecosystem, Nvidia represents the ultimate technology stack of the quantum era. If it succeeds there, that would allow it to justify a valuation that could easily eclipse many of today's industry leaders combined.

Should you buy stock in Nvidia right now?

Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 18, 2025

Adam Spatacco has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Palantir Technologies, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Palantir Technologies, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and C3.ai and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Prediction: This Quantum Computing Stock Will Still Be Worth More Than Berkshire Hathaway, Palantir, and Tesla Combined in 2030 was originally published by The Motley Fool

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Better EV Stock: Rivian vs. Tesla

Motley Fool

Key Points

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has dominated the electric vehicle (EV) market for over a decade, but the company's core business has begun to struggle. Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ: RIVN), meanwhile, is still in the early innings as an automaker, but is starting to hit important milestones.

Both stocks come with risk, but one has a much better setup for investors right now.

Rivian's R2 opportunity

Rivian slipped back into negative gross margins in Q2 after two straight positive quarters, with higher material costs due to supply constraints and new tariffs taking their toll. The loss of the federal $7,500 EV tax credit this fall will be another drag. Those are real headwinds, but they don't take away from the progress that Rivian has been making.

Building out a profitable EV business is not easy, with even major automakers often struggling to sell their EV models for a profit. However, Rivian took a big step in this direction when it switched to a zonal architecture. This slashed the number of electronic control units and wiring in its vehicles, making its SUVs cheaper to build. It also helped the company secure a major partnership with Volkswagen, which opened up its checkbook to gain access to the technology and form a joint venture.

The next big step for Rivian will be launching its new, smaller R2 SUV next year. At a starting price of around $45,000, it will target a much broader audience than the R1 luxury line, which costs over $100,000 for some versions. Importantly, Rivian has locked in costs through supplier contracts and expects the R2 to deliver stronger margins through lower material costs, higher volumes, and shared fixed expenses with its R1 and electric delivery van lines.

On the financial front, Rivian is backed by Amazon, which uses its delivery vans, and it still has more cash coming from Volkswagen if and when certain milestones are reached. It has also secured a $6.6 billion loan from the Department of Energy to help build a second U.S. plant. With $7.5 billion in cash and short-term investments, the company has plenty of capital to support the R2 launch. Management is targeting earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) breakeven by 2027, which seems like a realistic timeline if the R2 is successful.

Rivian is still a high-risk name, but it has the balance sheet, the partners, and the right vehicle strategy to grow into a profitable business.

Tesla is losing momentum

Tesla's core auto business has been heading in the wrong direction. Deliveries dropped double digits in each of the past two quarters, while auto revenue slid 16% in Q2. Profitability and cash flow have also taken a hit. Adjusted EPS dropped 23% last quarter, while operating cash flow fell 30% and free cash flow collapsed to just $146 million.

Meanwhile, its high gross margin regulatory credit sales were cut by more than half during the quarter. Musk has already warned investors that things could get worse once the EV tax credit disappears later this year.

Rather than focusing on improving its ailing auto business, Musk has instead continued to try to sell investors on Tesla's autonomous driving and robotics ambitions. The company has launched a small pilot robotaxi program in Austin, Texas, but the service is limited to a geofenced area and requires a Tesla employee as a safety driver. It's also already drawn scrutiny from local officials after several safety incidents.

Tesla is promising a rapid rollout of robotaxis across half the U.S. by year-end pending regulatory approvals, but the technology does not appear ready. Its decision to eschew lidar technology and use a camera-only approach remains controversial. This design saves costs, but the technology has struggled in some complex driving conditions, leading to questions around the safety of its approach. By comparison, Alphabet's Waymo robotaxi is far ahead, with years of experience operating paid, driverless rides in multiple cities.

Which EV stock wins?

Both Tesla and Rivian stocks carry their fair share of risk. Rivian is still unprofitable and faces near-term headwinds from tariffs and the loss of EV tax credits. Tesla, however, has a weakening auto business, a valuation that assumes big success in robotaxis and robotics, and a CEO whose actions have hurt the brand with many consumers.

Between the two, Rivian looks like the better investment. The company is improving its cost structure, expanding its market with the R2 SUV, and has the support of well-financed partners to help fund its growth. Tesla's stock, by contrast, is still priced as if its autonomous driving and robotics bets will pay off, even though it has yet to prove they can.

For investors willing to take on risk, Rivian is the better EV stock to own in my view.

Should you buy stock in Rivian Automotive right now?

Before you buy stock in Rivian Automotive, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Rivian Automotive wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 18, 2025

Geoffrey Seiler has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends Volkswagen Ag. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Better EV Stock: Rivian vs. Tesla was originally published by The Motley Fool

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Warren Buffett Is Selling Apple and Bank of America and Piling Into This Beaten Down Value Stock Instead

Motley Fool

Key Points

As Warren Buffett approaches his 95th birthday, he remains one of the most well-respected investment managers in the world. That's readily evident in how Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) shares reacted to the news that he would step down as CEO of the company starting Jan. 1 next year.

The stock has dropped about 10% since then, due almost entirely to its contracting valuation multiple. Seemingly, investors aren't willing to pay as much for Berkshire's operations and balance sheet without Buffett at the helm.

But investors still have a few months left to follow Buffett's moves in Berkshire's publicly traded investment portfolio. The conglomerate continued to sell more stock than it bought in the second quarter, making it 11 straight quarters of net selling. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) were once again on the chopping block, but Buffett piled an estimated $2 billion into a beaten down value stock, making it one of his biggest purchases of the past year.

Trimming the big winners

Berkshire's investments in Apple and Bank of America have produced significant profits for Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett joked that "Tim Cook has made Berkshire a lot more money than I've ever made" at the company's annual meeting in May. But those profits aren't quite real until Berkshire sells the investments, and Buffett is taking a good portion of Berkshire's gains off the table.

Buffett sold 20 million shares of Apple and 26 million shares of Bank of America in the second quarter. That was a big portion of the $6.9 billion in total stock sales for the second quarter. Overall, Buffett has disposed of 69% of Berkshire's stake in Apple since mid-2023 and 41% of its stake in Bank of America.

There are a couple of explanations for Buffett's recent selling.

First, Buffett sees the current tax environment as particularly friendly for corporations. Berkshire pays just 21% in taxes on its earnings. That's the lowest corporate tax rate since the 1930s. Buffett doesn't think that's sustainable, and he's taking advantage of the opportunity while he can. He even bragged about the size of Berkshire's tax bill in his 2024 letter to shareholders.

But it makes little sense to sell a stock just to (potentially) save on taxes in the long run. Buffett's selling is also likely motivated by the valuation of both stocks. The forward PE ratio of Apple stock sat between 27 and 29 for most of the quarter. That's well above the single-digit multiple Buffett paid for Apple in 2016.

Likewise, Bank of America stock looks expensive as well. The stock's price to tangible book value climbed above 1.7 at one point in the second quarter. Bank of America holds more long-duration bonds than the average bank, which was a hindrance amid rate hikes, but it's a boon during rate cuts. Unfortunately for shareholders, rate cuts have come more slowly than anticipated, which has weighed on the outsized benefit of holding long-duration bonds. As such, Bank of America stock has mostly traded sideways since last fall.

Valuation is a big reason Buffett has been struggling to find a lot to buy in the current market. Several valuation indicators suggest the current market is overbought. But the Oracle of Omaha was able to find one beaten-down value stock to sink a significant amount of Berkshire's cash into during the second quarter.

The contrarian value stock Buffett's buying

By far the worst performing sector of the market over the past year has been healthcare. Stocks across the industry are down, but one of the biggest companies in the sector presented a big opportunity for Buffett to put a lot of money to work: UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH).

United has gone through a lot over the past year. Consumer and investor sentiment has turned against the company. That's been exacerbated by high utilization rates and increasing cost of care weighing on its financial results. United's net margin fell to 3.1% in the second quarter, down from 4.3% in the same period a year ago. Management also revised its full-year earnings outlook after withdrawing its guidance in May. It now expects "at least" $16 in earnings per share, down from $27.66 in 2024.

On top of all that, the company is being investigated by the DOJ over its Medicare Advantage program. As the largest Medicare Advantage provider in the country, the investigation could result in billions in fines and clawed back revenue.

The stock has been absolutely punished, with shares down more than 60% from their late 2024 at the end of July and early August. But that may be a bigger drop in share price than is warranted, especially considering United's competitive moats remain intact.

UnitedHealth is still one of the largest managed care organizations in the country, and its scale gives it significant advantages. Greater scale gives it negotiating leverage, helping it keep prices from rising too much. As costs have climbed, United finds itself in a much better position than smaller companies in the space.

Its pharmacy benefits management segment, Optum Rx, also benefits from scale and network effects. Optum is able to negotiate better drug pricing than smaller competitors, which attracts more customers to its PBM, which in turn gives it even more negotiating leverage.

United also sports a solid balance sheet with a growing cash buffer ($32 billion), which should help shield it from any negative consequences that arise from the DOJ investigation. It also has the flexibility to pause its share repurchases if it wants to further build up with war chest . Debt at $79 billion looks manageable, given its predictable revenue from premiums producing growing cash flows.

The stock now trades at about 16-times 2026 earnings per share estimates. With management's expectations for annual EPS growth in the 13% to 16% range, that looks like a great value now. There are significant risks facing the business, as the DOJ investigation hangs over its head, regulations present some revenue headwinds, and medical utilization remains high. But right now, it looks like an opportunity to be greedy while others are fearful.

Should you buy stock in Berkshire Hathaway right now?

Before you buy stock in Berkshire Hathaway, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Berkshire Hathaway wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

*Stock Advisor returns as of August 18, 2025

Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Adam Levy has positions in Apple and UnitedHealth Group. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple and Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool recommends UnitedHealth Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Warren Buffett Is Selling Apple and Bank of America and Piling Into This Beaten Down Value Stock Instead was originally published by The Motley Fool

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Dj Trump's New Car-Loan Tax Break Might Break Your Brain

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We Asked ChatGPT Which Stocks Will Make You Rich by 2030

GOBankingRates

The well-known artificial intelligence bot ChatGPT can be an extremely useful tool for certain applications, such as compiling information from across the internet and presenting it in an easily accessible fashion. Fortunately, the AI bot also seems to know its limits, especially when presenting personal finance information. Although still a good guide and first step in your research, ChatGPT tends to offer caveats and hedges when it gives direct financial advice, particularly when it comes to picking stocks.

Trending Now: I Asked ChatGPT What the Stock Market Will Look Like in 100 Days — Here’s What It Said

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When asked which stocks will make you rich by 2030, for example, the bot came up with a list of popular, well-known stocks that it compiled from various analysts and internet message boards like Reddit. This makes it more of a compendium of stocks that are in the news or that are being pushed by average investors. While a good starting point, if you’re going to invest in any of these stocks, you’ll still have to do your own due diligence regarding their risk and reward characteristics and whether or not they fit with your personal financial objectives.

With all of this in mind, here’s the list of stocks ChatGPT provided when asked which ones will make you rich by 2030, along with a summary of the basic stock advice the bot provided in the same answer.

Analyst Picks

These are the stocks listed by ChatGPT as being highly recommended by analysts, along with their individual details. They cover a range of different industries and investment themes, from AI infrastructure and utilities to big tech, healthcare, global payments technology and even two spinoffs from GE.

Check Out: Self-Made Millionaires Suggest 5 Stocks You Should Never Sell

Nvidia (NVDA)

Stock price as of July 23, 2025: $170.78
YTD performance: 27.19%
Analysts’ one-year target price: $173.92

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)

Stock price as of July 23, 2025: $158.65
YTD performance: 31.34%
Analysts’ one-year target price: $131.95

Duke Energy (DUK)

Stock price as of July 23, 2025: $119.51
YTD performance: 12.97%
Analysts’ one-year target price: $127.48

NextEra Energy (NEE)

Stock price as of July 23, 2025: $72.82
YTD performance: 3.24%
Analysts’ one-year target price: $80.76

Constellation Energy (CEG)

Stock price as of July 23, 2025: $323.70
YTD performance: 45.17%
Analysts’ one-year target price: $315.12

Eli Lilly (LLY)

Stock price as of July 23, 2025: $798.89
YTD performance: 3.87%
Analysts’ one-year target price: $952.27

Visa (V)

Stock price as of July 23, 2025: $355.29
YTD performance: 12.80%
Analysts’ one-year target price: $384.34

Palantir (PLTR)

Stock price as of July 23, 2025: $154.63
YTD performance: 104.46%
Analysts’ one-year target price: $107.68

Axon Enterprises (AXON)

Stock price as of July 23, 2025: $705.22
YTD performance: 18.66%
Analysts’ one-year target price: $762.71

GE Aerospace (GE)

Stock price as of July 23, 2025: $263.18
YTD performance: $58.32%
Analysts’ one-year target price: $278.54

GE Vernova (GEV)

Stock price as of July 23, 2025: $629.03
YTD performance: 91.46%
Analysts’ one-year target price: $548.89

Reddit Picks

In addition to PLTR and NVDA, which are also endorsed by analysts, here are the stocks that ChatGPT lists as being recommended by Reddit investor message boards.

Microsoft (MSFT)

Stock price as of July 23, 2025: $505.87
YTD performance: 20.48%
Analysts’ one-year target price: $543.08

Rocket Lab Corporation (RKLB)

Stock price as of July 23, 2025: $49.15
YTD performance: 92.97%
Analysts’ one-year target price: $30.21

Intuitive Machines (LUNR)

Stock price as of July 23, 2025: $13.37
YTD performance: -26.38%
Analysts’ one-year target price: $15.11

Tesla (TSLA)

Stock price as of July 23, 2025: $332.56
YTD performance: -17.65%
Analysts’ one-year target price: $305.05

Investment Considerations

After its list of stocks, ChatGPT followed with a fairly generic, overarching investment recommendation to “diversify across trends,” “adopt a value-growth framework” and “stay themes-focused.” While there’s nothing to argue about in terms of those sweeping generalizations, they aren’t the kind of in-depth analysis that will lead you to specific winning stocks. You’ll still need to do your own research and/or consult with a licensed financial advisor.

“No list is foolproof — market dynamics change. But if you’re looking to ride the biggest long-term trends through 2030, these names are frequently at the center of analysts’ and investors’ radar screens,” ChatGPT wrote.

Although it’s all but certain that some of the stocks on this list will indeed prove to be winners through 2030, nothing is guaranteed. Some of the higher-growth, higher-risk stocks on the list may actually lose value, either over the full five-year period or in any given year. Investors should have an all-weather plan that allows them to adapt to both boom and bust periods with both their individual stocks and the overall stock market.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: We Asked ChatGPT Which Stocks Will Make You Rich by 2030

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