So here’s a fun holiday experiment: Business Insider asked 10 professional investors what single stock they’d stuff in someone’s stocking this Christmas. And in a rare moment of Wall Street consensus that doesn’t involve arguing about Fed policy, one name kept popping up like that relative who shows up to every family gathering.
The Winner: Alphabet (GOOGL)
Three separate pros picked Google’s parent company, which is basically like three different people independently deciding pineapple belongs on pizza – statistically improbable but somehow it happened.
Ross Gerber from Gerber Kawasaki (yes, that’s a real firm name) called it his top pick, mainly because Google has its fingers in more pies than a bakery intern. We’re talking search, cloud, YouTube, Android, self-driving cars, and probably your smart toaster by now. His hot take? Google’s Waymo is going to eat Tesla’s lunch in the robotaxi game. Shots fired, Elon.
Daniel Newman from Futurum Group doubled down, saying Alphabet gives you “significant upside with deep moats” – which is finance speak for “they’re so entrenched, competitors would need a miracle and a time machine.”
Michael Ashley Schulman got poetic, calling it “part megacorp, part mad scientist, and somehow, still your homepage.” He’s not wrong – Google is that friend who’s simultaneously running a lemonade stand and launching rockets.
The Rest of the Wish List
NVIDIA got a shout-out from Louis Navellier, who called it “a monopoly and a safe hold till at least the end of the decade.” Subtle as a brick, but probably accurate.
Amazon made the list too, with one analyst noting it’s now cheaper than Walmart on valuation. Let that sink in – the everything store is trading at a discount to the place that sells everything in bulk.
Then there were the curveballs: Warby Parker (because apparently we’re all going blind from staring at screens), some gold ETFs (for when you want to feel like a pirate), and Oracle (the ultimate contrarian play – “it’s dead now but check back in 12 months”).
The Real Talk
Here’s what’s actually interesting: in a year where AI has been the hottest topic since sliced bread learned to code, the pros aren’t just throwing darts at anything with “artificial intelligence” in the name. They’re picking companies with actual moats, real revenue, and business models that don’t require a PhD to understand.
Alphabet fits that bill perfectly. It’s not just riding the AI wave – it’s been building the surfboard for years. Plus, when was the last time you went a day without using a Google product? Exactly.
So if you’re looking for a last-minute gift that doesn’t involve fighting crowds at the mall, maybe consider gifting some GOOGL shares. Just don’t blame us if your nephew asks why you didn’t buy him the latest gaming console instead.
Disclaimer: This is not financial advice. We’re just here for the entertainment value of watching finance pros try to pick winners while the market does whatever it wants anyway.