Getting to a $1 trillion market cap is such a challenging milestone that only a handful of corporations have done it. The list includes several tech giants, such as Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), Meta Platforms(NASDAQ: META), Apple(NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon(NASDAQ: AMZN), and Microsoft(NASDAQ: MSFT). Though this elite club is highly exclusive, more companies will eventually join it. Stocks that are headed that way might be worth serious consideration. Let's look at two: Visa(NYSE: V) and Novo Nordisk(NYSE: NVO). These companies could be trillion-dollar stocks by 2030.
1. Visa
Visa runs one of the largest payment networks in the world, helping facilitate millions of daily credit card transactions. The company has delivered excellent returns during the past decade as cash transactions continue to be replaced by other payment forms. Visa's market cap is just under $550 billion as of this writing -- so it needs a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 10.5% to become a trillion-dollar company by the end of 2030. That's well within the company's powers. For one, Visa has performed much better than that during the past decade.
Of course, that doesn't guarantee the company will deliver the same returns in the future, but some of the underlying factors that led to such solid performances in the past for the business are still in place. Visa remains a leader in its industry, with its only true noteworthy competitor being Mastercard(NYSE: MA). Visa still benefits from network effects: The more people carry credit cards that bear its logo, the more attractive its ecosystem becomes to merchants, and vice versa. That helps ensure that it will remain a major player in this industry for a while.
Visa also still has plenty of room to grow. Credit card penetration is relatively high in many developed countries, but not so in others. In developing countries, there is even more potential. Visa sees a $20 trillion opportunity across a range of payments it can capture. The company's revenue of about $35 billion in the trailing 12-month period is a tiny percentage of that total. If Visa can make headway in its addressable market, the company's revenue, earnings, and stock price should move in the same direction they have during the past 10 years.
The company is well-equipped to deliver a CAGR of more than 10.5% through 2030.
2. Novo Nordisk
As of this writing, Novo Nordisk's market cap is about $400 billion. To hit $1 trillion, it would need a CAGR of about 16.5%. That would be an impressive average to maintain for six years, but Novo Nordisk has been more than impressive recently. Brand names like Wegovy and Ozempic have become famous. Both are GLP-1 medicines that treat obesity and diabetes, respectively. Novo Nordisk has been one of the pioneers in the GLP-1 weight loss market, which is now attracting pharmaceutical companies left and right.
Some analysts estimate that the weight loss drug market will hit $150 billion by the early 2030s -- it was worth just $24 billion last year. And although there will be plenty of challengers, Novo Nordisk's pipeline in this field is second to none. The company's most promising programs include an oral medicine called amycretin, and CagriSema, which some have estimated could generate as much as $20.2 billion in revenue by 2030.
That barely scratches the surface of Novo Nordisk's pipeline, though. Semaglutide (the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic) is being tested in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, two areas with high unmet needs. The company is developing several other diabetes and obesity medicines, and a range of treatments for various rare diseases. Novo Nordisk's revenue has grown rapidly during the past five years, as have its stock price and market cap.
The drugmaker should earn important approvals during the next few years, which will help it continue generating excellent financial results through the end of the decade. Becoming a trillion-dollar stock by 2030 is well within Novo Nordisk's reach, and it should continue beating the market beyond that.
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John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Prosper Junior Bakiny has positions in Amazon and Meta Platforms. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Apple, Mastercard, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Visa. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk and recommends the following options: long January 2025 $370 calls on Mastercard, long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, short January 2025 $380 calls on Mastercard, and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.