Nvidia is a manufacturer of specific computer chips called Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). GPUs act as the 'brain' of many AI technologies including computers, robots and self-driving cars.

Intel is actually a larger maker of graphic chips than NVDA because most of its CPUs ship with the company’s own integrated graphics silicon. But this goes to show that NVDA’s GPUs are very important to the world. Another client is OpenAI, which is behind Chat-GPT technology. Granted, some of these technologies are at early stages, but since NVDA has such a foothold in many of these markets, there is huge opportunity ahead.

The stock is trading around $130 post-split, making it somewhat more accessible to individual investors even though it is capped at over US$3tn. Analysts are expecting the company's revenue to grow from US$60.9bn in FY24 to US$213.8bn in FY28, and its profit from US$29.9bn to $126bn in FY28.

Amazon is a diverse company, known most particularly for its online eCommerce offerings and AWS Cloud business.

It began as an online intermediary between book readers and wholesalers. Founder Jeff Bezos quit his job working for a New York hedge fund and moved across to Seattle to capitalise on the growth of the Internet.

As the years went on it expanded into more and more products and services, delivering them faster and faster to customers as well as expanding outside North America. We think two should be singled out.

First, its membership service Amazon Prime which boasts 200 million members around the world (a figure twice as high as 5 years ago). There is so much you get for it – expedited delivery (without delivery fees), Prime Video, Prime Music and exclusive access to deals (particularly on Amazon’s annual Prime Day).

Second is Amazon Web Services (AWS), offering Cloud computing services to individuals, companies and governments. This division began as just another idea in 2006, but demand for it exploded during the pandemic. With everyone working from home, you don’t want all your data just sitting on one computer somewhere that is only accessible in person. It now accounts for over $100bn on annualised revenue and over two-thirds of operating income.

Bezos recently stood down and was replaced by CEO Andy Jassy. He’s no newcomer, having been with the company since 1997 and playing a key role in the establishment of AWS.

Amazon shares have endured a solid 12 months due to better than expected revenue growth, and successful cost-cutting efforts, it bought general and administration costs down by 10% and marketing from 5% since late 2022.

Sherwin-Williams is a 157-year-old paint company from Cleveland, Ohio. Theoretically, a paint company should only be growing at GDP. But it has managed to deliver a heck of a lot more for its shareholders and has so many desirable traits.

It sells in 120 countries, has a CEO who's been with the company for 40 years, doubled revenues in less than a decade, raised its dividend for 44 straight years and has huge control over its supply chains.

The US paint industry uses nearly 900m gallons of paint annually, the largest share being DIY painters. You name any generation and their life moves will need paint of some sort. Baby Boomers are downsizing and/or moving to assisted living facilities. Gen X and millennials are upsizing, or perhaps buying homes for the first time. And fresh paint is one of the best ways to add value to it.

Sherwin Williams is well positioned to capture more than its fair share of the new market opportunity with its constant innovation, superior stores and customer service. Investors have been concerned about supply chain issues and cost increases for construction companies, but this company has been unaffected.

Walmart is no ordinary supermarket chain. It is a chain of hypermarkets, operating outlets that offer not just groceries but household items too.

The company was founded in 1962 with the first store opened in Arkansas by Sam Walton. Prior to this, he owned a Ben Franklin store and successfully turned it around by selling products at lower prices to get higher-volume sales at a lower profit margin.

While most discount stores were in big cities and only offered discounts on small items, Walton set up shops in smaller towns. Other unique traits included that the stores were kept open longer hours than competitors, big parking lots that would be free for consumers to park at. Even getting customers to get the goods themselves and pay at the exit was an innovation at the time.

Today, Walmart is the world’s largest company by revenue with over US$611bn generated in FY23, more than Apple or Amazon.

The company employs over 2m people across the world, the bulk of whom are in North America. It has direct outlets or investments in several countries including the UK, China and several countries in Latin America.

Walmart is facing some competitive threats such as the threat of eCommerce (led by Amazon). Walmart has several advantages over its peers including its logistics and store networks, its cash reserves, the fact that it is a ‘one stop shop’ as well as the mix of goods, both essentials that are purchased regularly and bigger ticket items purchased less frequently but are higher margin for the company. And the company is undertaking initiatives such as building a marketplace of third party sellers, opening Market Fulfilment Centres and adding EV charges in the car parks of its stores.

Alphabet is the parent company of Google. The original Google was founded in 1998, but the current parent company only began in 2015 as the company diversified its offerings and sought to restructure. It hosts the famous search engine and apps such as Maps, Drive and YouTube, but has a growing Cloud services business, and even an entire division called 'Other Bets' hosting ideas like driverless cars and drone delivery.

Alphabet listed on the NASDAQ in 2004 being priced at $85, now worth $30 considering the 2014 stock split. If you’d bought US$1,000 back then and held the shares, you’d have over US$30,000 today.

It is our favourite big tech stock for several reasons including its consistent bottom line growth, more reasonable multiples compared to other Big Tech firms and because the trust consumers have in it is unrivalled by any company on earth.

8.5 billion times a day (99,000 times per second) people all over the globe turn to Google to know whatever it is they want or need to. Because they know they will get an answer without a whiff of judgement on who they are, where they are or what they are asking.

Whether you want to know the Prime Minister of some remote country, where to find the best pizza, what to do if you’re coughing so much, what [insert name of your ex here] is doing now…you get the drift. We ask things we wouldn’t ask our best friends, our parents, our doctor or faith leader. Just look at your own recent Google search history. You will get honest answers – although some are paid, those are clearly noted. And the answers are a benediction in themselves: ‘Go, take your newfound knowledge and live a better life’.

As for corporate clients, they have no choice but to go to Google if they want to reach people. As if they’d extract anywhere near the same results from Microsoft’s Bing.

In Australia, we know Colgate (NYSE:CL) primarily as a toothpaste brand. But there’s a lot more to this 217-year old company than you may think.

Colgate is a consumer products company, headquartered in Manhattan, New York and present all over the world. Its purpose is ‘Reimagining a healthier future for all people, their pets and our planet’. Named after its co-founder William Colgate, the company sells various products across personal care, home care and pet nutrition. It sells products all over the world and has been immune to inflation.

It is highly diversified in its revenue stream with no geography with over 22% – that title held by Latin America. It has a 55-45 revenue split between developing markets and emerging markets. While inflation has led to many consumer companies’ products falling, it as been the opposite with Colgate, even as it raised prices.

Colgate has been paying dividends to shareholders for 128 years and has raised dividends consistently for the past 60 years. It has returned US$28bn to shareholders, through dividends and stock buybacks, over the last decade. It has one of the best ESG angles of any company as it expands into more countries – reaching children worldwide in countries with poor oral health standards.