Investing in AI: A Long-Term Opportunity

Building significant wealth over a decade often hinges on investing in companies that benefit from enduring trends. Right now, one of the most prominent trends is in artificial intelligence (AI) spending. According to research firm Gartner, global AI expenditure is projected to soar to approximately $2.7 trillion by 2026, with further increases to around $3.6 trillion in 2027.

Companies like CrowdStrike, Snowflake, and Dell Technologies are well-positioned to take advantage of this trend. While the S&P 500 has seen a 13% return so far this year, these stocks have outperformed significantly. Here’s a look at why they might be worth holding for a decade.

CrowdStrike

CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform is essential for businesses to safeguard against cyber threats across their cloud infrastructures. The rising demand for AI-enhanced security solutions has driven the company’s growth. This year, the stock has doubled as management highlighted the second quarter as their “best quarter” ever, boasting a 51% year-over-year growth in annual recurring revenue for fiscal Q2 of 2027.

The true strength of CrowdStrike lies in its data handling. The platform processes about 7 trillion events daily, and they’ve been cataloging this data for a decade, which gives them a competitive edge absent in other companies. This advantage is reflected in an impressive subscription-adjusted gross profit margin of 81%.

Looking ahead, management anticipates ongoing growth. They reached $5.2 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in fiscal 2026 and project that ARR will rise to between $6.3 billion and $6.6 billion for fiscal 2027. They now believe they’ll achieve long-term goals, including $10 billion in ARR by fiscal 2030 and $20 billion by fiscal 2035, a year ahead of schedule.

Though the stock is trading at about 40 times this year’s expected revenue, this premium might be justified given its profitability and the potential to tripling its ARR over the next decade.

Snowflake

Snowflake operates a cloud-based platform where businesses can store, analyze data, and build AI applications. This year, its stock has increased by approximately 46%, with product revenue growth accelerating for three consecutive quarters to reach 37% year over year in the latest quarter ending July 31.

Through Snowflake, companies can centralize their data, controlling access and thereby simplifying the development and operation of AI functionalities. The complexity of building such a platform supports its profitability, resulting in an impressive adjusted gross profit margin of 75%.

Even with this year’s stock price increase, significant upsides could be on the horizon. Management estimates their addressable market may grow from $225 billion to $460 billion by fiscal 2031, and they’ve raised the full-year revenue growth forecast from 31% to 36%.

Currently, shares are valued at about 18 times the expected product revenue for the fiscal year, a reasonable price for a company growing over 30% annually in a large market.

Dell Technologies

Dell continues to lead in server technology, and the demand for AI-optimized servers in data centers has surged. The stock has soared about 285% this year as revenue from AI servers doubled in the quarter that ended July 31, 2026.

What sets Dell apart is its robust technology and expertise, which competitors find hard to replicate. Customers benefit from purchasing integrated computing, storage, and networking solutions—all in one place, which becomes increasingly valuable as the company scales. This growth is seen in its server segment, where the operating margin rose to 15% from about 9% last year.

The increasing need for AI computational power could drive stock prices higher. Dell reported a record AI backlog of $95 billion by the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2027, prompting management to raise its revenue outlook for fiscal 2027 from $167 billion to $192 billion.

With the stock trading at about 18 times this year’s expected earnings, it seems reasonably priced relative to projected earnings growth of 38% annually in the coming years.