By Will Healy
Publication Date: 2026-01-20 06:00:00
Nvidia’s massive size could lead investors to seek gains in these comparatively smaller stocks.
At first glance, contemplating stocks that could do better than Nvidia may seem at odds with current trends in tech. Nvidia is the undisputed leader of the lucrative artificial intelligence (AI) accelerator market. With the AI chip market expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 29% through 2030, Nvidia is likely to continue outperforming the market.
Unfortunately for Nvidia, at a $4.6 trillion market cap, doubling the stock price once would take the market cap to $9.2 trillion. This is significant, as Nvidia is the only company whose market cap ever exceeded $5 trillion.
Thus, investors may want to consider smaller companies that can more easily achieve higher-percentage growth, and to that end, these companies could outperform Nvidia. Here are two to watch.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Micron
Micron (MU +7.76%) develops high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and this product is heavily in demand due to the boom in AI-capable data centers.
Admittedly, the stock often struggled in past years, as the memory industry is objectively more cyclical than the tech industry at large.
However, the aforementioned CAGR in AI chips should blunt the impact of industry cycles. Moreover, Micron is one of the “big three” companies manufacturing HBM, giving it a competitive advantage.
Consequently, in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 (ended Nov. 27), revenue of $13.6 billion rose…