Tech sector enterprises were a significant contributor to the stock market's bull run in 2024. Several factors such as AI advancements, adoption of cloud computing technologies, easing of inflationary pressure, strong focus on innovation, digital transformation across industries supported the upward momentum. The accelerated pace of 5G deployment and network modernization efforts fueled growth in the communications sector.
Flexibility in business models has allowed these enterprises to navigate through the heightened geopolitical volatility the world has witnessed in 2024. Here are four tech stocks that gave solid returns to investors in 2024: NVIDIA Corporation NVDA, Ubiquiti, Inc. UI, Celestica, Inc. CLS and Broadcom, Inc. AVGO.
Key Growth Drivers
AI Integration: Enterprises across industries are placing strong emphasis on digital transformation. AI has become a critical component of such initiatives. Generative AI models have been widely adopted to enhance efficiency and productivity of internal operations, optimize supply chain, improve customer service and enhance manufacturing processes. To bolster competitive edge in the industry, tech giants have made significant investments in incorporating AI capabilities across their product portfolios. Recognizing the immense potential of AI, investors have heavily backed organizations with a strong emphasis on AI advancements.
Network Modernization Initiatives: Wireless equipment makers are benefiting from the growing demand for robust network infrastructure for seamless connectivity across industries. Rising adoption of connected devices by IT companies, emergence of advanced use cases such as retail, warehouse automation, Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything technology are driving demand for IoT devices.
Macroeconomic Factors: Inflationary pressure gradually declined throughout 2024. Relatively low unemployment rate and interest rate cuts, combined with consumer resilience in some end markets, propelled growth in the tech sector.
Improving Supply Chain Resiliency: Rising geopolitical volatility in Europe and the Middle East, combined with ongoing tension between the United States and China, was a major concern for businesses in 2024. Amid this situation, several tech companies have opted to diversify supply chains. This has reduced exposure to regional disruptions while allowing companies to venture into new markets.
Key Picks
NVIDIA Corporation: Headquartered in Santa Clara, CA, NVIDIA is the worldwide leader in visual computing technologies and the inventor of the graphic processing unit (GPU). Over the years, the company’s focus has evolved from PC graphics to artificial intelligence based solutions that now support high-performance computing , gaming and virtual reality platforms.
Datacenter presents a solid growth opportunity for the company. As more and more businesses are shifting toward cloud, the need for datacenters is increasing. To cater to this huge demand, datacenter operators like Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet are expanding their operations across the world, driving demand for GPUs. This bodes well for NVIDIA’s uptrend as well. NVIDIA’s GPUs are rapidly benefiting from the proliferation of AI. By applying its GPUs to AI models, the company is expanding its base in other untapped markets like automotive, healthcare and manufacturing, driving revenue growth.
With an average broker recommendation (ABR) of 1.25, the stock has gained 176.7% over the past year. Earnings estimate for NVDA has improved to $2.94 per share from $2.82 per share for 2025 over the past 60 days. It has long-term earnings growth expectations of 20% and delivered an earnings surprise of 9.79%, on average, in the trailing four quarters. NVDA carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Ubiquiti, Inc.: Headquartered in New York, Ubiquiti Inc., along with its subsidiaries, offers a comprehensive portfolio of networking products and solutions for service providers and enterprises.
It spends significantly on research and development (R&D) activities to develop innovative products and state-of-the-art technology to expand its addressable market and remain at the forefront of networking technology. In 2024, the company introduced a next-generation wireless connectivity solution called UniFi 7. This highly scalable solution is designed to deliver performance, reliability and consistency comparable to wired connections. The growing proliferation of IoT devices across industries in North America, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region has propelled net sales growth in the Enterprise Technology segment.
Ubiquiti boasts a proprietary network communication platform that is well-equipped to meet end-market customer needs. The company has made significant investments in inventory to reduce lead times, meet increasing demand and support the growing number of customers. These efforts have optimized Ubiquiti’s inventory with shifting market trends.
With an ABR of 3.5, the stock has gained 144.2% over the past year. Earnings estimate for UI has improved to $7.3 per share from $7.17 per share for 2025 over the past 60 days. In the last reported quarter, it delivered an earnings surprise of 20.9%. UI sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present.
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Celestica, Inc.: Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Celestica is one of the largest electronics manufacturing services companies in the world, serving the computer and communications sectors. The company provides competitive manufacturing technology and service solutions for printed circuit assembly and system assembly, as well as post-manufacturing support to many of the world's leading original equipment manufacturers.
With a comprehensive and diversified product portfolio, Celestica has been capitalizing on the growing proliferation of AI-based applications and generative AI tools across industries. The company's strong focus on innovation, diversification of its product and customer mix and well-established business relationships with leading manufacturers has improved its growth potential.
Strong demand for AI/ML compute products and networking products, including 400G switches and 800G switches, was a key growth driver in 2024. Strength in commercial aviation and several defense customer wins in the aerospace & defense end market served as a tailwind.
With an ABR of 1.67, the stock has gained 224.8% over the past year. Earnings estimate for CLS has remain unchanged at $4.44 per share for 2025 over the past 60 days. It delivered an earnings surprise of 13.21%, on average, in the trailing four quarters. CLS carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present.
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Broadcom, Inc.: Headquartered in San Jose, CA, Broadcom’s semiconductor solutions are used in end products such as enterprise and data center networking, home connectivity, set-top boxes, broadband access, telecommunication equipment, smartphones and base stations, data center servers and storage systems, factory automation, power generation and alternative energy systems, and electronic displays.
The company benefited from strong demand for Broadcom’s custom AI accelerators and networking. Broadcom experienced four times growth in AI connectivity revenues, driven by global shipments of its Tomahawk and Jericho solutions.
Broadcom’s focus on multiple target markets mitigates operating risks and lessens the exposure to volatility in any single market. Based on its expanding product portfolio, the company is well-positioned to address the needs of rapidly growing technologies like IoT and 5G.
With an ABR of 1.24, the stock has gained 116.6% over the past year. Earnings estimate for AVGO has improved to $6.28 per share from $6.13 per share for 2025 over the past 60 days. It has long-term earnings growth expectations of 17.78% and delivered an earnings surprise of 3.57%, on average, in the trailing four quarters. AVGO carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present.
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NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Celestica, Inc. (CLS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Ubiquiti Inc. (UI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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