Prediction: This Will Be the First Non-Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology Company to Reach a $1 Trillion Valuation

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Reaching a trillion-dollar valuation is a milestone that only a small cohort of companies have ever achieved. Right now, there are seven public companies with a market cap in excess of $1 trillion. Those companies are:

  1. Apple: $3.5 trillion

  2. Nvidia: $3.4 trillion

  3. Microsoft: $3.2 trillion

  4. Alphabet: $2 trillion

  5. Amazon: $1.9 trillion

  6. Meta Platforms: $1.4 trillion

  7. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing: $1 trillion

In addition to the companies above, electric vehicle company Tesla and Warren Buffett's financial juggernaut, Berkshire Hathaway, have also had fleeting memberships in the trillion-dollar club in prior periods.

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With the exception of Berkshire, all of the other companies that have managed to reach a trillion-dollar valuation share two things in common: Each is a technology company, and all of them are fueling the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. While I suspect other AI opportunities may one day become a trillion-dollar stock, I see another company as a more likely candidate in the near term.

Below, I'm going to break down why Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is my top pick for the first non-AI technology company to reach a trillion-dollar valuation.

The king of the streaming realm

Over the last several years, the streaming landscape has become increasingly crowded. As viewers continue cutting the cord with legacy cable providers, networks are becoming pressed to source growth from other opportunities. One of the more widely adopted strategies has become for networks to move original content to their own streaming platforms.

While such an approach gives viewers added optionality when it comes to consuming content, I think people have become overwhelmed (and perhaps irritated) by all of these new services. Said in a different way, I would not be surprised if the average television enthusiast has at least signed up for and tried out newer services such as Peacock and Paramount+, for example. My question is how long do these new users generally stay? My guess is not long.

According to a research study published by Big Four accounting firm EY, the "average streaming household" subscribes to five platforms. But with that said, two-thirds of subscribers have cancelled some of their services within the last year -- with 37% of respondents saying some of these services weren't being used.

Yet despite the intense competition for viewership and attention, one platform stands out among the pack. With 283 million subscribers around the world, Netflix has built formidable scale well ahead of any competing service.