Better High-Growth AI Buy: Nvidia vs. CoreWeave
Investors looking for high-growth opportunities have turned to the artificial intelligence (AI) sector in recent years. This is as companies operating in the space have delivered impressive revenue growth -- in the double and triple digits -- and forecast strong long-term prospects. Why is the picture so bright? AI promises to offer users significant advantages, such as efficiency, performance, and lower costs -- and this has prompted companies to jump on board.
Those that are crucial to the AI infrastructure buildout, such as providers of computing power, have been the first to benefit in this AI boom. And two great examples are Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV). The former is the world's No. 1 AI chip designer, and the latter is a company that rents out access to computing power. Nvidia has seen its shares advance nearly 800% over three years, and CoreWeave's stock has surged 268% from its March initial public offering (IPO).
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Both of these players represent compelling AI investments. But which is the better high-growth AI buy right now? Let's find out.
Image source: Getty Images.
The case for Nvidia
Nvidia makes the most sought-after graphics processing units (GPUs), or chips, to power key AI tasks like the processes of training a model and powering its "thinking" so that it can solve problems. Tech giants such as Meta Platforms and Alphabet as well as other companies aiming to win in AI have flocked to Nvidia -- they recognize the importance of using the very best tools out there if they aim to reach their goals.
And interest has been so strong that as Nvidia launched its Blackwell architecture and chip late last year, demand surpassed supply. Still, Nvidia managed to roll out the platform without major glitches, and Blackwell delivered $11 billion in its very first quarter on the market. All of this demonstrates the power of Nvidia's market position.
I would expect this to continue as Nvidia has made innovation its focus, promising to update its GPUs on an annual basis. Considering Nvidia's GPUs already offer the best performance on the market, with this pace of innovation, it will be tough for competitors to push it out of the top spot.
Earlier in the AI boom, Nvidia's sales climbed in the triple digits, but these days, the company is delivering double-digit revenue growth. This has disappointed some investors but it's important to keep in mind that Nvidia is bringing in quarterly revenue of about $44 billion -- making it more difficult for it to register triple-digit gains from that already high level. So, I wouldn't view this as a slowdown, but instead a signal that Nvidia has passed that early stage of establishing its position in the AI market.
The case for CoreWeave
You can't talk about CoreWeave without talking about Nvidia, and that's because this newly public company depends heavily on the AI chip giant. CoreWeave's business, primarily, is renting out access to Nvidia's computing power -- the company runs about 250,000 Nvidia GPUs across more than 30 data centers.
Nvidia has built success thanks to its flexibility, allowing customers to access these GPUs for long periods of time or simply an hour or two. And, unlike other cloud services which offer a broad range of products and services, the renting out and optimizing of compute for AI is CoreWeave's specialty. This business model is working, as CoreWeave's revenue has taken off in recent times. In the latest quarter, revenue soared 420% to $981 million.
Nvidia is a supporter of this young company, as it owns a 7% stake and has helped CoreWeave rapidly ramp up its fleet of GPUs to serve customers -- CoreWeave even was the first to make Blackwell generally available.
It's important to note, though, that Nvidia is able to invest significantly in its platforms and still remain highly profitable. This is because Nvidia, founded more than 30 years ago, already was a well-established, profitable company when the AI boom started.
CoreWeave is at a completely different stage of its development. It must invest heavily in GPUs today to meet demand, and this pushes it farther away from profitability. In the latest quarter, it reported a loss per share of $1.49, deepening from $0.62 in the year-earlier period.
Still, it's clear that if demand remains strong for Nvidia's GPUs, CoreWeave will be one of the first to benefit and eventually this may result in profitability.
So, which is the better high-growth buy?
CoreWeave's growth is impressive, and this rate of growth could continue to surpass that of Nvidia. This means aggressive investors looking for a triple-digit growth player may prefer CoreWeave right now. But it's important to remember that this newly public company already has seen its shares surge this year, while Nvidia's stock has only advanced about 5%.
At the same time, Nvidia is trading at a reasonable valuation these days at only 33 times forward earnings estimates, compared with 50 at the start of the year. This offers Nvidia plenty of room to run and could encourage investors to buy the stock now.
Meanwhile, CoreWeave does depend heavily on Nvidia's GPUs, and if there's any slowdown, the company could suffer. Of course, a slowdown in GPU demand clearly would be tough for Nvidia too, but the company's presence across AI products and services and its business in the gaming sector offer investors a certain level of security.
All of this means that, while CoreWeave might be higher growth, Nvidia's levels still are significant, making it the better buy for most investors.
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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Adria Cimino has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
