Two Stocks, A Decade, So It Goes

AI and Smartphones

The world keeps spinning, mostly because of electricity. And a lot of that electricity now powers tech companies. Some of them, the really big ones, make money. A lot of it. Shareholders get a piece, if they’re lucky. It’s a strange system, really. So it goes.

Here are two stocks. They might do okay for the next ten years. Maybe.

1. Alphabet

Alphabet (GOOGL +1.43%) (GOOG +1.39%). It’s a big one. A market cap of $3.8 trillion. Numbers. They mean something, I suppose. The stock’s gone up 767% in the last decade. That’s… a lot. Like winning the lottery, but for people who already have a lot of money. So it goes.

They keep growing, even at this size. Revenue was up 15% last year, to $403 billion. YouTube made over $60 billion. People watch a lot of videos. It’s a distraction, mostly. But it pays the bills.

They have a 32% operating margin. That means they keep a good chunk of the money. They use it to buy back stock and, occasionally, pay a dividend. Dividends are nice. They’re a little bit of peace in a chaotic world.

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Net income has been increasing at 23.4% a year. That’s… sustainable. For now. They’re investing in artificial intelligence, of course. Everyone is. It’s the new religion.

They have the resources to build data centers and all that. AI needs power. A lot of it. It’s a bit like building a cathedral to a god you’re not even sure exists. But it keeps people employed.

The stock isn’t ridiculously expensive, considering it’s up 73% in the last year. A P/E ratio of 28.8. It’s not a steal, but it’s not highway robbery either.

2. Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms (META 1.34%). Another big one. A market cap of $1.6 trillion. The stock is up 506% over ten years. More numbers. They accumulate.

Revenue went from $165 billion to $201 billion last year. That’s a 22% gain. More ads. People are endlessly fascinated by other people’s lives, or at least, the curated versions of them.

3.58 billion daily active users. That’s… a lot of people staring at screens. It’s a bit like a global hypnosis session. But it works. They keep coming back.

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A 41% operating margin. And net income increasing at 32.2% a year. They’re in good shape. For now. They have $82 billion in cash. That’s enough to build a small country.

Mark Zuckerberg wants to build “personal superintelligence.” That sounds… ambitious. And a little bit terrifying. But he has the money to try.

They plan to spend $125 billion this year on capital expenditures, and $600 billion by 2028. Just in the U.S. That’s… a lot of servers. It’s like building a monument to human ambition, or perhaps, to human folly.

Meta is cheaper than Alphabet, with a P/E ratio of 27.2. It’s still not cheap, mind you. But it’s a little less expensive. It’s a decent buy-and-hold candidate. If you have ten years to spare.

Of course, everything could change tomorrow. A meteor could hit. The internet could collapse. But that’s life. So it goes.

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2026-03-01 17:02