In late October of 2021, Mark Zuckerberg rebranded his company as Meta and introduced plans to implement his conception of augmented reality (AR) over the popular platform. He coined his AR world, The Metaverse. The Metaverse, which is AR, relies upon semiconductors to augment and enhance perceptions of the existing natural world.
The general AR market is expanding swiftly, as many companies aim to adopt the technology. Research compiled by Markets and Markets indicates that the AR industry, supporting enterprises like Metaverse, will exceed $60 billion before the end of 2022. This figure is up considerably from just $4.2 billion in 2017.
Many investors want to know how to capitalize on phenomena such as Metaverse and the emergent AR market. However, considering how new the concept of the Metaverse is, it would be advisable to learn more about this type of investing. Like computer and automobile manufacturers, augmented reality technology needs chips before it can operate. The supply chain crunch that started to make headwinds in early 2020 has led to a global semiconductor shortage.
As restrictions attributable to the pandemic waned, demand for connected products increased. The supply chain, however, still hasn’t caught up. This sent semiconductor prices skyrocketing, and this ultimately benefits chip manufacturers. Most financial analysts agree that the prices of semiconductor stocks will trend upward in the medium to near term.
Three metaverse stocks to buy right now
According to the experts at Money Morning, “Investing deep in the Metaverse now is a must.” So, if you want to kickstart your investment in Metaverse stocks today, let’s take a look at the top three semiconductors you should pick.
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO)
Broadcom engineers and distributes semiconductors and infrastructure software. In the fall of 2021, the company’s quarterly report revealed a 16 percent revenue increase year-over-year. Perhaps even more impressive, Broadcom’s net income more than doubled during that same time. These were record revenues for the organization that reflects not only the quality of its semiconductors but also the company’s leadership. Owed to its strong partnership with Apple, Broadcom is well-positioned to benefit from the transition to 5G.
Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM)
Qualcomm manufactures chips for iPhones and is the primary supplier to Apple. Their latest quarterly results show that supply chain disruptions cost the company a whopping $6 billion in revenue. The loss is attributable to the global silicon shortage and other pandemic-related issues. Nevertheless, Qualcomm still outpaced its estimated earnings while anticipating a robust performance throughout 2022. Anthony Minopoli of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors explained that Qualcomm “has a leading position in the mobile handset market and should get a boost from the ongoing 5G upgrade cycle.”
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT)
A manufacturer of wafer fabrication equipment, Applied Materials is poised to benefit massively from the semiconductor shortage. Many analysts predict that this upward trend will continue for the company over the long term. With the rollout of 5G, emergent AI and robotics technologies, cloud computing, and augmented reality devices, Applied Material remains very well positioned over the long haul. Several companies deploy their product on chips that go into just about any Internet of Things device. Applied Materials last reported year-over-year gains of more than 40 percent.
The list of the semiconductor industry and augmented reality stocks you can invest in is long. These three are only a starting point for investing seeking to capitalize on recent trends in augmented reality.