Want $1 Million in Retirement? Invest $100,000 in These 3 Stocks and Wait a Decade.

For a stock to achieve a tenfold gain in just 10 years is a rare feat. In general, to do so, a company must either start at an unusually low valuation and then rake in enough profits to convince the market to reevaluate it, or sustain huge growth rates for several years -- or both.

Still, companies like Nvidia and Tesla have in recent times demonstrated that such rapid gains are possible. Although no one can guarantee that any specific stock will grow to that extent, I believe that investing $100,000 in these three stocks could lead to such returns.

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AMD

Although Nvidia is the clear leader in the fast-growing AI accelerator market, it faces growing competition from Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD). In the second half of 2026, AMD will release its MI450 series GPUs, an AI accelerator that's expected to outperform Nvidia's upcoming Vera Rubin platform in many respects.

Last year, Grand View Research forecast that the AI chip market will grow at a compound annual rate of 29% in through 2030. In 2025, at least, AMD's top-line growth outpaced that, rising by 34%. That led to a 164% increase in net income.

Indeed, its 77 P/E ratio may seem high, but based on analysts' expectations of further rapid growth, its forward P/E ratio is only 30, just above the S&P 500's average trailing P/E of 29. Considering that AMD expects to maintain its revenue growth rate over the next three years, that valuation will likely not deter investors.

As of the time of this writing, investors can buy 165 AMD shares for $33,495. As AMD increases its market share in the fast-growing AI accelerator space, AMD stock could conceivably surge tenfold in 10 years.

Upstart

The AI-powered loan evaluation company Upstart (NASDAQ: UPST) has the potential to 10x from here. Indeed, all that would take is for it to regain the levels that it traded at back in 2021. It fell because volatility in the loan market and competitive worries weighed on the stock.

Nonetheless, Fair Isaac, the market leader in assessing borrowers' risk levels, has not significantly changed its model since launching it in 1989, leaving the market ripe for AI-driven disruption. Upstart is also continuously updating its model, resulting in lower risks for lenders who use it.

With that, its revenue grew by 64% in 2025, helping it turn a $54 million profit. That gave it a 74 P/E ratio, which is still high, but something investors might overlook given its forward P/E ratio of 14.

As conditions stand now, $33,216 will buy 1,038 shares. That position could grow into a massive holding as more lenders make use of Upstart's AI tool.

CoreWeave

CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV) is leading the way in neoclouds, or cloud computing ecosystems specifically tailored to AI, thanks in part to its partnership with Nvidia.

It claimed a backlog of $55 billion as of the end of the third quarter of 2025. Unfortunately, it has taken on a debt load of over $16 billion. That is a considerable burden for a $3.9 billion company and a factor that likely contributed to the stock's more than 50% pullback from the peak it touched in summer 2025.

However, it had to borrow heavily to build data centers meet the demand for its offerings. Moreover, its price-to-sales (P/S) ratio is 9, a low valuation considering its 205% year-over-year revenue growth in the first nine months of 2025. With that in mind, it could pay to invest $33,304 to buy 368 shares of CoreWeave now, and position yourself to profit as it builds the future of cloud computing.

Will Healy has positions in Advanced Micro Devices, CoreWeave, and Upstart. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Nvidia, Tesla, and Upstart. The Motley Fool recommends Fair Isaac. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.