There is a lot of instability in the stock market right now. The conflict in Europe, soaring inflation, supply chain constraints and the potential for upcoming interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve have all put investors on edge.
And yet, the stock market is still a great place to build long-term wealth. Investors looking for a great place to invest $10,000 right now should look no further than these five unstoppable trends and the companies right in the middle of them.
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1. AI-based lending platforms: $739 billion TAM
For years, artificial intelligence (AI) has been used by companies to improve their own businesses, but consumers haven’t reaped the same rewards – until now. Thank you to the companies whose Assets received ( UPST -2.87% )AI lending platforms make it easier for people to get loans without additional risks for lending companies.
Upstart’s platform uses AI to help assess potential borrowers by analyzing data points beyond the traditional credit score. The result is that more borrowers are getting loans – at better interest rates – and the percentage of borrowers who default on those loans is lower than at traditional banks. It’s a win-win for borrowers and lenders.
Upstart focuses on both the personal loan and automotive markets, representing a combined total addressable market (TAM) of $739 billion.
To top it off, Upstart’s fantastic opportunity in this space is the fact that it makes money by charging fees to banks and lending institutions, not borrowers, which means the company takes few risks in the process.
2. Telehealth: an $18.5 billion market opportunity
The US Department of Health and Human Services estimates that there has been a more than 63-fold increase in demand for telehealth since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. And a company that’s been in this space for over a decade is Doximity (DOCS -0.21% ).
The company operates a HIPAA-compliant app that allows doctors to easily set up virtual calls and other communications with their patients. Already, more than 150 hospitals and health systems in the United States have physicians using the Doximity app.
The company is already showing impressive numbers, with more than 80% of US physicians using Doximity, as well as 50% of nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
Doximity stands out in the booming telemedicine market – which it estimates holds an $18.5 billion market opportunity – by also offering medical workers a social networking tool to help them advance their careers and keep abreast of medical research and news.
3. Fintech: fast growing and far-reaching
Financial technology, or fintech, is a fast-growing trend that all kinds of companies, from banks to tech start-ups, are focusing on. Fintech is the general term for almost anything that involves the use of technology for financial transactions. That means Apple getting into fintech with Apple Pay, as well as fintech-specific companies including To block ( BECAUSE -5.14% ).
One of the biggest ways Block, formerly called Square, is tapping into the fintech space is with its Cash app. The app makes it easy for people to pay each other monthly rent, split checks at dinner, or even pay merchants with their phone while in a store.
Block’s Cash app generates around half of the company’s gross profit and has more than 44 million transaction accounts. Additionally, users can use Cash App to buy and sell Bitcoinwhich helped Block gain access to the cryptocurrency market.
The company is also working on several projects that will help it move forward in the cryptocurrency and blockchain spaces in the coming years, which will help it not only benefit from the growth of fintech, but also help it transition to new trends, such as decentralized finance.
4. The Metaverse: A Potential $800 Million Market Opportunity
The metaverse – where people spend their time in digital environments using avatars – is still in its infancy, but interest here is already skyrocketing. Indeed, some estimates predict that the metaverse could potentially grow into a massive $800 billion market in just a few years.
Some of the biggest tech companies in the world are already positioning themselves to benefit when the metaverse becomes a reality. A company with tons of potential in this space is Nvidia (NVDA 1.41% ).
The Metaverse will need plenty of high-end GPUs to help users explore their virtual worlds on their computers and VR headsets. This is great news for Nvidia as this company’s GPUs are generally considered the best graphics processors for gaming.
Not only could Nvidia’s CPUs become the go-to GPUs for many Metaverse users, but the company is also developing its own Omniverse platform that could help developers create their Metaverse experiences. Interest in the company’s metaverse building platform is growing rapidly, with more than 70,000 users already registered.
5. Cybersecurity: a TAM of 116 billion dollars by 2025
Cybersecurity is a trend we would all probably prefer do not to be unstoppable as its growth stems from the growing need to protect our devices. But as long as criminals try to steal people’s data — and there always will be — then it’s good that companies like CrowdStrike Holdings ( CRWD -2.28% ) to exist.
CrowdStrike says there was an 82% increase in ransomware-related data breaches in 2021 and it’s stats like these that have helped fuel the company’s meteoric growth.
In the last quarter (reported on Dec. 1), CrowdStrike’s customer base jumped 75% and revenue soared 63%. Equally important is the fact that CrowdStrike customers continue to add more services, with 68% of the company’s subscribed customers using at least four of the company’s cybersecurity modules.
CrowdStrike helps businesses combat ongoing cybersecurity threats and estimates its total addressable market will grow from $55 billion this year to $116 billion by 2025.
This article represents the opinion of the author, who may disagree with the “official” recommendation position of a high-end advice service Motley Fool. We are heterogeneous! Challenging an investing thesis — even one of our own — helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and wealthier.
