Cloud computing remains one of the fastest growing areas of tech. The global cloud computing market is forecast to grow from about $500 billion today to $2.49 trillion by 2032.
As organizations and individuals produce more data, the need for cloud computing data storage will grow in the coming years. Further, artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to supercharge demand for cloud computing moving forward. With so much demand and growth, big opportunity are afoot for investors who want to gain exposure to cloud computing.
Let’s delve into three such millionaire-maker stocks to buy this month.
Salesforce (CRM)
Cloud-computing giant Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) next reports earnings on Feb. 28. Hence, investors are again hoping for an outsized beat from the company.
Last November, CRM stock jumped 10% higher after Salesforce issued financial results that crushed Wall Street forecasts. The company announced earnings per share (EPS) of $2.11, ahead of the $2.05 that was expected amongst analysts. Salesforce reported revenue of $8.72 billion, up 11% from a year earlier and ahead of forecasts of $8.70 billion.
For its upcoming Q4 2023 print, CRM has forecast full-year revenue of $34.75 billion to $34.80 billion and profits of $8.18 to $8.19 a share. Also, the company expects full-year operating cash flow growth of 30% to 33%, above an earlier forecast of 22% to 23%. Further, Salesforce repurchased $1.90 billion of common stock in Q3 2023. And, it has about $10 billion remaining on its current stock buyback program. CRM stock is up 80% over the last 12 months, including a 13% gain this year.
Microsoft (MSFT)
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) continues to have its hands in a lot of pots. One of the biggest is cloud-computing.
Recently, the tech behemoth reported its exceptionally strong latest earnings for Q4 2023. MSFT attributed the solid print to its cloud-computing segment, with Intelligent Cloud posting $25.88 billion in revenue, up 20% from a year ago. Within the cloud segment, revenue from Azure and other cloud services grew 30%. Analysts had expected 27% growth.
Now, Microsoft has 53,000 Azure artificial intelligence (AI) customers, and one-third of them are new to Azure in the past year, said the company. The number of commitments to spend more than $1 billion on Azure cloud services in the year ahead increased during the quarter. Also, MSFT announced custom cloud microchips and started selling a $30 monthly Copilot AI add-on to its Microsoft 365 productivity software bundles. It all adds up to Microsoft being a powerhouse in cloud-computing.
MSFT stock has increased 60% over the past 12 months, including a 9% gain so far this year.
Cisco Systems (CSCO)
Currently, a buy-the-dip opportunity in Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) is a boon for investors.
After the company announced that it will cut 5% of its workforce while inking weaker-than-expected forward guidance. Year to date (YTD), CSCO stock is down 4%. Through 12 months, the company’s share price has fallen 3%. While the decline is disappointing, a big catalyst looms on the horizon, and it’s related to cloud computing.
By this summer, Cisco is expected to close its $28 billion acquisition of cloud computing and security software maker Splunk (NASDAQ:SPLK). That should give CSCO’s cloud computing offerings a boost and enable it to better compete against the likes of Salesforce and Microsoft, among others. Plus, the current dip in CSCO stock is due to cautious guidance provided by the company. Actually, Cisco’s Q4 2023 print was better than Wall Street expectations.
On the date of publication, Joel Baglole held a long position in MSFT. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.