From Nasdaq:

2023 has left the stock market’s tech sector buzzing with the promise of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The Motley Fool’s top tech experts shared their most affordable AI plays: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT). Analysts believe these stocks are poised for a comeback in 2024 and beyond, making them solid investment opportunities. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has been through a lot in the past few years but shows tremendous growth prospects as the world economy recovers from the inflation-tinted straitjacket of 2021.

Amazon remains almost 20% down from its all-time highs set in late 2021, but 2024 could be the year it achieves those peaks again. The e-commerce and cloud computing leader is in the midst of a multiyear process of right-sizing its operations to boost profitability. Amazon currently trades for about 28 times Wall Street analysts’ expectations for 2024 free cash flow, implying this profit metric could skyrocket about 50% this year as Amazon’s optimization work starts to pay off.

Applied Materials is only about 10% below its late 2021 highs, but look for this all-star semiconductor leader to break that resistance level and eventually move higher. Applied’s business has a terrific combination of growth, profitability, and shareholder returns that should allow it to compound earnings well into the future. The company is forward-thinking, perpetually looking for new growth avenues and the next major technology breakthrough. The company is currently looking to apply its atomic-level manufacturing talents to augmented reality. Applied’s profitability allows it to invest in new ventures like these, somewhat future-proofing its business, all while returning capital to shareholders via buybacks and a rising dividend. It shouldn’t stay below its all-time high much longer.



Read more: 3 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy Today, Still Below Their 2021 Highs