We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Fortune 500 Stocks To Buy Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) stands against the other Fortune 500 stocks.
Should Investors Be Overly Cautious?
The aggregate revenue of the Fortune 500 companies in 2023 reached a record $41 trillion, up 0.1% year-over-year. Profits also rose 2% after declining earlier in 2022. The US took the lead from Greater China with the most companies on the Fortune 500 list for the first time since 2018. It has 139 companies as of August this year, an increase of 3 from 2023, while Greater China has 133 companies, down 9 from last year.
The financial sector, including banks and insurance companies, led all industries with the most Fortune 500 companies. Collectively tech giants brought in $282 billion in net income, up from $233 billion the previous year. Currently, 13 companies are making their Fortune 500 debut, reflecting the world’s fascination with AI and weight-loss drugs.
While the S&P 500 has recovered most of its losses, the rebound is being led by sectors like real estate, utilities, and consumer staples rather than major tech companies. Investors are shifting focus due to concerns over economic growth and expectations of Fed rate cuts.
Still, it seems like investors think that while investment portfolios should be diversified given the current economic conditions, this sentiment does not imply divesting from tech stocks, which of course contribute greatly to the aggregate Fortune 500 revenue. Jason Draho, UBS Global Wealth Management head of Americas Asset Allocation, emphasized this sentiment and we covered this earlier in our article about the 10 Best Tech Stocks To Buy Right Now Under $10:
“…investors should view potential dips in tech stocks as good long-term buying opportunities, as 10% corrections are historically good entry points in tech… He thinks that this market volatility is acyclical. The recent sell-off in the tech sector was not primarily due to economic concerns but rather to sector-specific issues. Despite this, tech giants will continue to benefit from the AI CapEx investment story. While there may be short-term challenges, the long-term outlook for these companies remains positive… Draho also cautioned against over-concentrating portfolios in the sector. He suggested diversifying exposure by investing in sector leaders as well as companies likely to benefit from tech disruption as a way to manage potential downside risks in tech stocks.”
Just last week, Dan Greenhaus, Solus Alternative Asset Management’s chief strategist discussed markets, and the rebound’s staying power, all while suggesting that predicting the Fed’s next move had become more difficult.
He discussed the ongoing recession concerns, particularly after negative comments from financial representatives. Despite these worries, he believes the US consumer is performing well, the economy is stable, and corporate profits are exceeding expectations. This context suggests that the recent sell-off in certain AI stocks was followed by a justified rebound, as issues appear limited to recent trends.
The S&P 500 is currently facing resistance around the 5,600 level, a key point of concern for investors. Dan Greenhaus noted that the recent inversion of the yield curve raised anxiety but the 2-10-year curve is slightly positive. Despite these worries, credit spreads for investment-grade bonds remain stable, and overall cross-asset indicators suggest a stable market environment.
Recently, discussions around potential interest rate changes have gained momentum, particularly following insights from Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon. He indicated a likely 25 basis point cut by the Federal Reserve, although he also acknowledged the possibility of a 50 basis point reduction. Greenhaus believes the Fed will opt for a 25 basis point cut, marking the start of a series of reductions. This perspective is supported by the normalization of inflation and a slowing economy.
According to Greenhaus, the cyclical components of the stock market appear to be performing well, indicating that the overall economic fundamentals remain robust, and there is no concrete case for any specific rate cut scenario. As Fortune 500 companies continue to generate record revenues and profits as well, investor sentiments should not be shifting drastically. With that being said, we’re here with a list of 10 best Fortune 500 stocks to buy now.
Methodology
We first looked at the list of Fortune 500 companies, as of 2024. We then selected 10 stocks from these Fortune 500 companies that were the most popular among elite hedge funds and that analysts were bullish on. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of the number of hedge funds that have stakes in them, as of Q2 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
A user’s hands typing a search query into a Google Search box, emphasizing the company’s search capabilities.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Market Capitalization as of September 14: $1941.84 billion
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 216
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL), the parent company of Google, is one of the world’s largest technology companies. It encompasses a wide range of businesses, including Google Search, Google Maps, YouTube, Google Cloud, and Waymo, and is known for its innovative products and services, and its focus on AI and other cutting-edge technologies.
The company also has a direct presence in the autonomous driving industry through its Waymo business division. More than 700 Waymo cars are present in San Francisco alone, and they have also come under criticism for fires, crashes, and traffic violations. It also offers robotaxi services, and Waymo shared in August that it offers 100,000 robotaxi rides in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, Arizona.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is projected to achieve a $100 billion revenue run rate from YouTube Ads and Google Cloud by the end of 2024. In Q2, Cloud revenue alone increased by 28.8%. Overall revenue grew by 13.59%, totaling $84.74 billion. Google currently holds approximately 91.06% of the search engine market.
Google plans to spend $50 billion on AI initiatives by the end of 2024. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) leverages strong competitive advantages through its algorithms, AI expertise, and valuable data access. Its capabilities suggest a positive outlook for the future. 216 hedge funds are long GOOGL, with the highest stake at $8,856,226,893 by Fisher Asset Management.
Patient Capital Management stated the following regarding Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:
“Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was a top contributor in the second quarter, finally catching up to its peers in the Magnificent 7. The company gained 20.8% in the period following strong first quarter earnings, a new $70B repurchase program (3% of shares outstanding) and the initiation of a cash dividend ($0.20 per share; 0.42% yield). We continue to believe the market underappreciates Google’s exposure to AI with its Gemini model being integrated into search results, YouTube advertising and its cloud offering. We continue to think that the cloud players will be the AI winners in the long-term, with Google being well positioned to take advantage. While the company trades at 24x 2024 earnings, if you remove the money-losing and under-earning businesses, you realize that you are paying below a market multiple for the core Google business. We do not believe there are many other AI winners trading at such an attractive multiple.”
Overall GOOGL ranks 3rd on our list of the best Fortune 500 stocks to buy. While we acknowledge the potential of GOOGL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold great promise for delivering high returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than GOOGL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.