Artificial intelligence (AI) stocks represented a gold mine for investors over the past three years. Companies developing or selling AI products and services saw their share prices take off as investors aimed to get in early on this game-changing technology. In the initial stages of the AI boom, these players were the first to monetize their investments. For example, chip designers’ revenue soared as customers rushed to buy chips to power the training of large language models — these are the workhorses of AI.

But, over the past few months, the path hasn’t been so smooth for AI stocks or their shareholders. In fact, an AI stock sell-off unfolded, with investors rotating out of many AI giants in favor of stocks in other industries. This happened amid various uncertainties — from concerns about the economy to worries about the war in Iran — that damaged investor appetite for growth assets.

This doesn’t mean the AI story is over, though. Buying opportunities remain, so after the recent AI stock sell-off, here’s how to find the long-term winners.

Today’s AI environment

First, it’s important to talk about the AI environment today and what’s likely to unfold in the coming years. Over the past several quarters, cloud companies have invested billions of dollars to build out infrastructure — this is to serve demand as it’s exploded higher. And the work is far from over. In fact, major cloud players aim to spend nearly $700 billion this year alone to support this build-out.

Though some investors have worried about the pace of spending, demand for this infrastructure hasn’t relented — and at the same time, the actual use of AI, which will drive the AI market of tomorrow, requires compute. This means capacity is needed today, and it likely will be necessary well into the future, too.

To find AI stocks that will benefit from the AI boom over the long term, it’s important to look for the following four elements — and ideally, each AI stock you buy will have all of these.

1. An AI growth track record

The company has demonstrated its AI strengths and generated revenue growth during the early stages of the AI boom. It’s developed a spot in this exciting market and has shown that its products or services can generate significant revenue.

A great example of this is Palantir Technologies (PLTR 1.86%), which has clearly won over government and commercial customers with its AI-driven software, a platform that helps them make better use of their data. Palantir has been around for more than 20 years, progressively building out its technology, and all of that effort is now generating great returns.

Today’s Change

(-1.86%) $-2.43

Current Price

$128.06

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$306B

Day’s Range

$122.68 – $129.20

52wk Range

$89.31 – $207.52

Volume

117M

Avg Vol

51M

Gross Margin

82.37%

2. Clear long-term prospects

The AI company has set out logical goals and offers goods or services that should result in growth well into the future. For this, look no further than Nvidia (NVDA +2.59%). The AI chip giant aims to update its chips on an annual basis, which should keep its technology ahead of that of rivals.’

And chips are needed to power the actual use of AI in the real world, meaning it’s very likely that, as long as AI is in use, Nvidia will be at the heart of the story.

3. The company isn’t a one-trick pony

A company highly specialized in one area may win in AI — but it comes with more risk than a player that’s diversified across AI or even into other businesses. Amazon (AMZN +2.05%) is a fantastic choice here as it’s a leader in e-commerce and cloud computing — and through the cloud business, it’s also become an AI powerhouse. Amazon Web Services is the biggest cloud provider globally, and Amazon is seeing high demand from AI and non-AI customers. All of this makes it very likely that Amazon will continue delivering significant growth over time.

4. A solid moat

A strong competitive advantage ensures that today’s leader won’t be unseated further down the road. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM +1.40%), as the world’s biggest chipmaker, has the infrastructure and expertise that should keep it in this position. It would be very difficult for a rival to build out a similar presence and lure big tech customers away from TSMC. The bottom line: A moat may separate the AI winners from the AI losers as the AI story unfolds.

A final thought

Above, I mentioned one company as an example of each strength — but these players actually each have all four strengths that should lead to AI success. And there are many others out there that also check off all of those boxes. It’s also key to consider valuation and select stocks that may be trading in bargain territory right now. By doing all of the above, you could take advantage of the recent sell-off and find the AI stocks that are most likely to emerge as winners over the long haul.

With NASA’s lunar comeback a galactic-sized smash thanks to Artemis II, the world is wondering: What’s next? And how do you top that?

“To people all around the world who look up and dream about what is possible, the long wait is over,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said as he introduced Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen at Saturday’s jubilant homecoming celebration.

Now that the first lunar travelers in more than a half-century are safely back in Houston with their families, NASA has Artemis III in its sights.

“The next mission’s right around the corner,” entry flight director Rick Henfling observed following the crew’s Pacific splashdown on Friday.

In a mission recently added to the docket for next year, Artemis III’s yet-to-be -named astronauts will practice docking their Orion capsule with a lunar lander or two in orbit around Earth. Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin are racing to have their company’s lander ready first.

Musk’s Starship and Bezos’ Blue Moon are vying for the all-important Artemis IV moon landing in 2028. Two astronauts will aim for the south polar region, the preferred location for Isaacman’s envisioned $20 billion to $30 billion moon base. Vast amounts of ice are almost certainly hidden in permanently shadowed craters there — ice that could provide water and rocket fuel.

The docking mechanism for Artemis III’s close-to-home trial run is already at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. The latest model Starship is close to launching on a test flight from South Texas, and a scaled-down version of Blue Moon will attempt a lunar landing later this year.

NASA promises to announce the Artemis III crew “soon.” Like 1969’s Apollo 9, Artemis III aims to reduce risk for the moon landings that follow.

Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty Schweickart loved flying the lunar module in low-Earth orbit — “a test pilot’s dream.” But there’s no question, he noted, that “the real astronauts” at least in the public’s mind were the ones who walked on the moon.

Wiseman and his crew put their passion and feelings on full display as they flew around the moon and back, choking up over lost loved ones as well as those left behind on Earth.

During the their nearly 10-day journey, they tearfully requested that a fresh, bright lunar crater be named after Wiseman’s late wife, Carroll, who died of cancer in 2020. They also openly shared their love for one another and Planet Earth, an exquisite yet delicate oasis in the black void that they said needs better care.

Artemis II included the first woman, the first person of color and the first non-U.S. citizen to fly to the moon.

“Wonderful communicators, almost poets,” Isaacman said from the recovery ship while awaiting their return.

Apollo’s manly, all-business moon crews of the 1960s and 1970s certainly did not do group hugs.

For those old enough to remember Apollo, Artemis — Apollo’s twin sister in Greek mythology — couldn’t come fast enough.

Author Andy Chaikin said he felt like Rip Van Winkle awakening from a nearly 54-year nap. His 1994 biography “A Man on the Moon” led to the HBO miniseries “From the Earth to the Moon.”

“It’s amazing how far we’ve come and how different this experience is from back then,” Chaikin said from Johnson Space Center late last week.

The hardest part, according to NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya, is becoming so close to the crews and their families and then blasting them to the moon. He anxiously monitored Friday’s reentry alongside the astronauts’ spouses and children.

“You know what’s at stake,” Kshatriya confided afterward. “It’s going to take risk to explore, but you have to make sure you find the right line between being paralyzed by it and being able to manage it.”

Calling it “mission complete” only after being reunited with his two daughters, Wiseman issued a rallying cry to the rows of blue-flight-suited astronauts at Saturday’s celebration.

“It is time to go and be ready,” he said, pointing at them, “because it takes courage. It takes determination, and you all are freaking going and we are going to be standing there supporting you every single step of the way in every possible way possible.”