While not the top-performing technology stock of 2026, Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has, nonetheless, risen to a record valuation of $5.776 – just $224 billion short of the record-breaking $6 trillion – been one of the most consistent profitable investments of recent years.
Indeed, few companies have benefitted as much from the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) boom and, following years of success, Finbold decided to calculate just how much a $1,000 investment in NVDA shares made at the start of each year would have risen.
Here’s how much $1,000 invested in Nvidia during AI boom would be worth
To begin with, Nvidia stock was changing hands at $188.85 on January 2, 2026 – the first regular session since New Year’s Day – and has risen 26.68% to $239.24.
Given this performance, a trader who purchased $1,000 worth of NVDA at the start of this year would have gained $266.80 as their position grew to $1,266.80.
Meanwhile, the blue-chip chipmaker was trading at $138.31 in the first session of 2025, meaning it had, by the October 6, 2026 close, risen 72.97%. Therefore, $1,000 would have grown by $729.70 and turned to $1,729.70.
As could be expected, the rise since January 2, 2024 – a day on which NVDA stock closed at $48.03 – was even more impressive, and would have led $1,000 to rise 398.11% – by $3,981.10 – to $4,981.10.
Lastly, Nvidia only slowly began its recovery by the start of 2023 – just two months after the original public release of ChatGPT – and was priced at $14.27. Thus, putting $1,000 into NVDA stock just as the AI boom was starting would have led to a 1,576.52% gain and the investment growing by $15,765.20 to $16,765.20.
Nvidia stock bull case
Looking ahead, Nvidia appears confident in its future, meaning that even investors who only buy the equity as late as press time on October 7 can hope for substantial profits in the coming years.
Indeed, the semiconductor giant’s board recently approved a massive, $150 billion expansion to its already record-breaking share buyback program, simultaneously promising an additional upside to its stockholders and signalling confidence that the cash flows will remain healthy.
Similarly, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has remained consistently bullish about the future of AI and dismissive of essentially every concern the public has regarding the technology other than, perhaps, that Chinese companies might overtake their American peers.
Wall Street analysts also remain highly optimistic about NVDA stock’s performance in the next 12 months, and Deutsche Bank, arguably most famous for its extensive exposure to U.S. subprime mortgage-backed securities and for estimating a $1 trillion total addressable market for NFTs, allegedly estimated Agentic AI will have a TAM of up to $5.5 trillion by 2030.
Nvidia stock bear case
Still, there are reasons to be cautious about Nvidia’s future. To begin with, multiple prominent analysts and veteran traders, including ‘Big Short’ Michael Burry, have been warning that the AI ‘boom’ is close to collapsing for months.
Similarly, an equity research firm called Capital Economics warned in late September that 2027 will feature a massive S&P 500 correction. Considering the vast majority of stocks included in the benchmark index have been struggling of late, such a pullback is all but guaranteed to see NVDA shares crash if the prediction proves correct.
Lastly, Nvidia could soon find itself struggling to sell its hardware. On the one hand, an investigation by the prominent AI bear Ed Zitron and The Guardian estimated that as much as 50% of all chips sold by the giant remain unused and unplugged, raising the question of why other technology firms would buy products they are unable to use.
On the other hand, CNBC Carl Quintanilla shared a Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) projection that hyperscaler capital expenditures (CapEx) growth will see a massive drop by the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2027 in an October 6 X post.
Hyperscalers remain Nvidia’s key clients for its AI-focused products – the main sales drivers.
Featured image via Shutterstock
