Artificial intelligence has powered much of the stock market’s growth since late 2022. When ChatGPT launched that November, it proved how useful generative AI could be, and investor excitement exploded. Since then, the six largest tech companies have collectively gained more than $8 trillion in market value.
Two of the biggest beneficiaries have been Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO), whose market caps have soared 681% and 378% over that period.
Nvidia has essentially become the face of the AI boom. Its valuation jumped from $416 billion in late 2022 to more than $3.25 trillion today — an astonishing $2.8 trillion increase on its own.
Broadcom has also seen tremendous growth. The company climbed from a $230 billion market cap to over $1.1 trillion, adding nearly $1 trillion in just two years.
With AI still in its early innings and the growth runway incredibly long, both chipmakers remain compelling investment options. If you have $75,000 to put to work, here’s how to decide which stock is the smarter retirement play.
The bull case for Nvidia
Nvidia has become the face of artificial intelligence and is one of the most valuable stocks on the market
Nvidia’s GPUs power nearly every major AI hyperscaler and data center today. Its H100 accelerators are considered the gold standard for AI processing thanks to their ability to handle enormous computing demands quickly and efficiently.
The company is now preparing to launch its next-generation Blackwell chips, which will be even faster and more powerful. Demand is so strong that Blackwell supply is already sold out through the end of 2025, and Nvidia is already developing its follow-up architecture, code-named Ruben.
To understand Nvidia’s explosive growth, look at its most recent results: in the third quarter alone, its data center division — the core of its AI business — generated $30.2 billion in revenue. That single segment produced more in one quarter than Nvidia made in all of 2022 ($26.9 billion).
The bear case for Nvidia
Yet Nvidia faces headwinds. Competition is ratcheting up with Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) developing semiconductors that can match the performance of Nvidia’s, but are priced lower.
That’s important because Chinese AI lab DeepSeek just released a large language model that was built using cheap, underpowered accelerators, which could change the dynamic of how AI advances in the future. It threatens to undercut Nvidia’s pricing power, if not its sales.
Its current customers are also all developing their own AI chips. Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG)(NASDAQ:GOOGL) have built AI accelerators to break away from their reliance upon Nvidia. They will still use NVDA chips, but the volumes may decline going forward.
Trade tensions between the U.S. and China could also impede Nvidia’s growth. Tit-for-tat tariffs would likely hurt the sales of Nvidia’s equipment sales.
The bull case for Broadcom
Broadcom’s transition for solely being a mobile chip supplier to AI has accelerated its growth trajectory
Broadcom is argubaly best known as one of the the premier provider of mobile device chipsets. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) accounts for accounted for 20% of its total revenue. Smartphones continue to represent a large percentage of the Broadcom’s operations, but the chipmaker transitioned to focus more on data center infrastructure, such as Ethernet switching and routing silicon.
Broadcom’s growth is being powered by its AI-focused chips, including custom accelerators and high-performance networking hardware built for hyperscalers. In the third quarter, AI networking revenue made up 76% of its total networking business and surged 158% year over year. The company expects its data center addressable market to reach $90 billion by 2027.
AI accounted for just 15% of Broadcom’s total revenue last year, but the company says that figure will climb to 35% by the end of its current fiscal year (with earnings due on Mar. 6).
Broadcom may never match Nvidia’s scale, but it’s rapidly expanding and positioning itself as a major force in the AI hardware market.
The bear case for Broadcom
Like its rival, Broadcom stock plunged 17% when DeepSeek released its R1 model. It could also be impacted by trade tensions. TikTok owner ByteDance, for example, is a big customer of the chipmaker’s products. While President Trump wants to keep TikTok active, there remains a big cloud surrounding its ultimate end.
One of the biggest arguments against Broadcom is valuation. With Wall Street predicting revenue growth of 19% this year, well below the 44% growth it enjoyed recently, investors might fear the coming slowdown and selloff the stock.
Where Nvidia’s climb has been meteoric, Much of Broadcom’s growth has come in just the last six months and it added some $200 billion in market cap in just the last two months.
The verdict
While an investor could buy both stocks with their $75,000, splitting it evenly between the two, I find Broadcom the better play here.
Its valuation is lower than Nvidia’s, though still expensive, but it is in the sort of growth phase Nvidia was in at the start of this new I revolution. It is growing at triple digit rates where its rival is seeing its growth rates decline. No company can continue growing at such a pace, but the current situation suggests AVGO stock has the better opportunity to see further price appreciation than Nvidia.
However, no one should bet the farm on any one stock. That becomes gambling, not investing. All your money could blow up if one thing goes wrong with a single stock so building a diversified portfolio of stocks still remains the best option when wanting to retire early.
The New Report Shaking Up Retirement Plans
You may think retirement is about picking the best stocks or ETFs, but you’d be wrong. See even great investments can be a liability in retirement. The difference comes down to a simple: accumulation vs distribution. The difference is causing millions to rethink their plans.
The good news? After answering three quick questions many Americans are finding they can retire earlier than expected. If you’re thinking about retiring or know someone who is, take 5 minutes to learn more here.