Profitability has become increasingly concentrated among companies controlling the infrastructure, software, and platforms supporting the digital economy, and investors are increasingly looking towards the most profitable stocks of the past five years to make sense of the ongoing market trends. Artificial intelligence has accelerated this trend, creating enormous demand for advanced semiconductors, memory chips, and cloud computing capacity. Meanwhile, digital advertising, enterprise software, consumer technology, and financial services continue to generate substantial earnings through established customer relationships and recurring revenue.
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The semiconductor industry has emerged as a particularly significant beneficiary. Companies such as NVIDIA, Micron, and SK hynix are capitalizing on demand for AI computing and memory, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company profits from manufacturing the advanced chips used across the industry. However, these businesses are exposed to different risks. Memory manufacturers depend heavily on supply and pricing conditions, while chip designers must sustain demand for increasingly expensive computing systems. Check out our list of the 10 Oversold AI Stocks: Where Wall Street Analysts Are Spotting 50%+ Upside.
Cloud computing presents a different financial equation. Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet are generating substantial revenue from businesses purchasing digital infrastructure, but expanding their computing capacity requires enormous investment. According to Reuters, second-quarter S&P 500 earnings were on track to increase 52% year over year in 2026, supported by a 74% profit jump in the technology sector. This is compared with 33% when substantial investment-related gains were excluded, according to Tajinder Dhillon, head of earnings research at LSEG. The difference illustrates why reported net income does not always reflect recurring operating profitability. Also take a look at the 10 Stocks You Are Selling and Insiders Are Buying.
For investors, high earnings also do not necessarily make a stock attractive. A company can continue increasing profits while delivering disappointing shareholder returns if its valuation already assumes even faster growth. Conversely, companies with more modest earnings growth may offer attractive opportunities when expectations are sufficiently restrained.
Against this backdrop, we examine ten highly profitable stocks, focusing on the sources of their earnings, the sustainability of their profitability, and the evidence for continued income growth.
Our Methodology
For this list, we shortlisted stocks listed on US exchanges and calculated their cumulative net income over five years using Yahoo Finance’s Net Income figures. We added annual net income for fiscal 2022 through 2026 where available, using trailing twelve-month (TTM) net income as an approximation for 2026. Since TTM periods can overlap with previously reported annual results, these totals are estimates.
For foreign companies, we converted earnings into US dollars using Yahoo Finance exchange rates. The stocks are also popular among analysts and elite hedge funds, according to Insider Monkey’s Q2 2026 database, and are arranged in ascending order of their cumulative net income.
Why do we care about what hedge funds do? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 612.3% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 375 percentage points (see more details here).
10 Most Profitable Stocks of the Past 5 Years
10. ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation (NYSE:XOM)
5-Year Net Income: $187.03 billion
Number of Hedge Funds: 96
ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation (NYSE:XOM) earned $55.74 billion in 2022, nearly twice its $28.84 billion profit in 2025. The difference highlights how heavily the company’s historical profitability has depended on favorable commodity markets, with annual earnings declining despite continued investment in production capacity.
However, Exxon has made measurable progress in strengthening its underlying operations. Record Permian production in the second quarter of 2026 and continued expansion in Guyana have increased its production capacity, while cumulative structural cost savings reached $16.3 billion. These improvements are significant because higher production efficiency and lower operating costs can support profitability without requiring a corresponding increase in oil prices. Read more about Exxon’s dividend here.
Nevertheless, Exxon’s earnings remain sensitive to commodity prices and refining margins. Its second-quarter performance benefited from unusually strong refining conditions, illustrating how external market developments can substantially influence reported profits. The significant factors to note for investors are earnings growth supported by improvements in production efficiency and profitability driven by favorable market conditions, particularly when assessing whether Exxon’s historical earnings are sustainable.
9. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM)
5-Year Net Income: 7.23 trillion TWD (≈$221.92 billion)
Number of Hedge Funds: 249
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM) benefits from its position as the world’s largest contract chipmaker, manufacturing advanced semiconductors for customers including NVIDIA and Apple. Unlike chip designers, TSMC earns its revenue through manufacturing, allowing it to benefit from demand across multiple technology companies.
Its profitability has strengthened considerably as AI processors require increasingly sophisticated manufacturing processes. The company’s third-quarter 2026 net income and diluted EPS both increased 68.7%, supported by demand for advanced chips. Revenue for the quarter also rose 50.9% year-over-year, and reached $46.72 billion in US dollar terms, up 41.2% year-over-year.
Continued demand for advanced semiconductor manufacturing provides a foundation for further earnings growth. However, TSMC faces significant investment requirements as it expands advanced production technologies and manufacturing capacity internationally. Moving into fiscal Q4 2026, management expects the company to be supported by a continued strong demand for its process technologies, which includes a ramp-up of its 2-nanometer technology. So is TSM a good stock to buy, and is its valuation justified? Read the verdict here.
TSMC’s earnings trajectory, however, depends not only on AI-related orders but also on manufacturing efficiency, capacity utilization, and whether demand remains strong enough to absorb the costs of expansion. It expects revenue for fiscal Q4 2026 to be between US$52.3 billion and US$54.3 billion.
8. Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
5-Year Net Income: $236.82 billion
Number of Hedge Funds: 285
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) has become one of the largest beneficiaries of global AI infrastructure spending, with its processors and networking products forming an essential component of advanced computing systems. Its exceptional profitability reflects both accelerating demand and strong product margins. In the second quarter of fiscal 2027, NVIDIA generated $89 billion in data center revenue, an increase of 117% year over year and beating estimates of $85.08 billion, according to Reuters.
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Unlike companies building data centers, NVIDIA generates revenue by supplying the computing technology required for those investments. This has enabled the company to capture substantial earnings as cloud providers and AI developers expand infrastructure. The outlook remains strong. According to Reuters, NVIDIA forecast approximately 70% revenue growth for fiscal year 2028. Nvidia and AWS also plan to deploy 2 million additional GPUs in 2027 and 2028.
Nevertheless, sustaining its margins will require continued demand for premium computing products as competition and component costs evolve. NVIDIA’s earnings growth has been exceptional, but that performance alone does not establish whether its shares offer attractive returns at prevailing valuations, particularly if the price already reflects substantial future growth.
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7. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)
5-Year Net Income: $260.37 billion
Number of Hedge Funds: 254
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) has built an exceptionally profitable advertising business around Facebook and Instagram, where extensive user engagement enables advertisers to reach targeted audiences. Its profitability depends heavily on advertising effectiveness, with improvements in recommendations and targeting supporting revenue without requiring equivalent increases in users.
Meta’s advertising business has continued expanding, while artificial intelligence increasingly supports engagement and monetization. However, the cost of developing AI infrastructure is beginning to alter its financial profile. In the third quarter of 2026, revenue increased 26% year-over-year to $64.60 billion, but free cash flow turned to negative $2.12 billion as infrastructure investments accelerated. Meta also recognized a substantial legal settlement charge that affected reported profitability.
Management expects strong overall revenue growth throughout 2027, supported by the benefits of its AI investments to core business, as well as model advances and product launches. Nevertheless, the company now anticipates $135 billion to $145 billion in capital expenditure during 2026, narrowed from its prior outlook of $130-145 billion. One of the most popular comparisons among investors is between Meta and Alphabet. So how does Meta compare to GOOGL’s AI growth, and which stock is the better pick? Access the full comparison here.
Meta’s advertising operations remain highly profitable, but future earnings growth increasingly depends on whether its AI investments generate sufficient additional revenue to justify their substantial costs. That has become particularly important for shareholders evaluating its long-term returns.
6. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)
5-Year Net Income: $268.73 billion
Number of Hedge Funds: 133
JPMorgan Chase & Co. has maintained substantial profitability through a diversified banking model, which has been particularly valuable amid changing interest rates and financial market volatility, allowing stronger performance in certain businesses to offset pressure elsewhere.
Investment banking and trading have recently provided meaningful support. JPMorgan reported that its third-quarter 2026 investment banking fees increased 14% year over year, while markets revenue rose 15%. The results reflect its ability to capitalize on corporate financing activity and demand for trading services. Read more extensively about JPM’s bull and bear case here.
The bank’s future profitability will depend partly on whether this momentum continues alongside growth in its lending business. However, earnings remain sensitive to interest rates, credit deterioration, and borrowing demand, and financial market activity can also fluctuate considerably between reporting periods. JPMorgan’s diversified operations provide several potential sources of earnings growth, but sustaining its profitability requires maintaining credit quality and managing expenses as market conditions change.
5. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
5-Year Net Income: $299.91 billion
Number of Hedge Funds: 369
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) generates income across e-commerce, advertising, and cloud computing, but Amazon Web Services (AWS) plays a disproportionately important role in operating profitability.
In the second quarter of 2026, AWS generated $16.6 billion of Amazon’s $27.5 billion in operating income, illustrating how its cloud business contributes more to earnings than its revenue share might suggest. AWS segment sales increased 37% to $42.2 billion, supported by demand for computing capacity and AI infrastructure.
However, Amazon’s reported net income requires an important qualification. Second-quarter earnings included $53.4 billion in non-operating pretax income, primarily associated with its investment in Anthropic. Such gains do not necessarily represent recurring business profitability.
AWS offers opportunities for continued operating income growth. Reuters reported that its contracted backlog had reached $496 billion, providing visibility into future demand. Factors like these place Amazon first among our list of the best big name stocks according to financial media.
Nevertheless, expanding AI infrastructure has pushed Amazon’s free cash flow into negative territory. The company burned $7.6 billion of cash on a trailing 12-month basis in fiscal Q2, compared to $18.2 billion in free cash flow a year earlier. Future profitability will depend on turning its substantial infrastructure commitments into sustainable operating returns and not just on investment revaluations.
4. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-B)
5-Year Net Income: $315.20 billion
Number of Hedge Funds: 135
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-B) more than doubled its net earnings in the second quarter of 2026, but the increase was not matched by comparable growth in its operating businesses. Nearly half of its reported profit came from investment gains, while operating earnings rose to $12.983 billion, supported by stronger performance outside insurance. Its cumulative net income reflects both business earnings and investment gains, including changes in the market value of its equity holdings.
However, insurance underwriting earnings declined to $1.731 billion from $1.992 billion, illustrating how profitability can face pressure even when overall operating results improve. Berkshire’s investment portfolio also introduces an important distinction for shareholders. Unrealized gains can substantially increase reported net income without generating corresponding operating cash flow, while market declines can reduce earnings even when its underlying businesses remain profitable.
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For shareholders, the more meaningful measure of Berkshire’s performance is whether growth across its operating businesses can offset weakness in insurance while its accumulated capital is deployed productively.
3. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
5-Year Net Income: $468.78 billion
Number of Hedge Funds: 273
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has maintained strong profitability through its combination of enterprise software subscriptions and expanding cloud infrastructure. While Microsoft 365 provides recurring revenue, Azure has become a major source of growth as businesses increase spending on cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
The company’s latest results demonstrate that this demand is translating into operating profits. Azure revenue increased 48% to $33.17 billion in the September 2026 quarter, while operating income rose 21%. Microsoft also generated $18.6 billion in free cash flow despite substantial infrastructure investments, exceeding analyst expectations by around $10 billion, according to Reuters.
Microsoft’s $677 billion in commercial remaining performance obligations provides visibility into future revenue, although these contracts will be recognized over different periods. Management also expects Azure revenue growth of 49%–50% in the following quarter, which exceeds analyst estimates of 47.6%, according to Reuters.
However, the company’s $45.2 billion in quarterly capital expenditure highlights the growing costs of supporting AI demand. Furthermore, reported net income growth of 32% partly reflected investment-related accounting effects, compared with 18% growth on an adjusted basis.
Continued profitability growth for the company therefore will depend on whether cloud revenue expansion can sufficiently offset rising infrastructure and depreciation costs. Read more extensively about whether Microsoft is a good stock to buy right now here.
2. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
5-Year Net Income: $531.48 billion
Number of Hedge Funds: 169
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) continues to generate substantial earnings from its iPhone business, supported by an expanding services ecosystem that generates revenue beyond the initial hardware purchase. The combination enables Apple to benefit from both device sales and recurring spending across its installed customer base.
Services have become particularly important to Apple’s profitability as the company balances hardware demand with higher-margin digital offerings. In its fiscal third quarter of 2026, services revenue increased 12.1% to $30.74 billion, while iPhone sales rose 21.7% to $54.25 billion, exceeding the $53.86 billion estimate.
Nevertheless, Apple’s earnings growth faces constraints beyond consumer demand. Management has warned that shortages related to high-end processors and memory components are limiting its ability to meet demand, and that these shortages may affect both sales volumes and production costs.
Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh told analysts on a call that the company forecast revenue growth of 9% to 11% for its September quarter, below analysts’ expectations of 12% at the time. Factors like these place AAPL among our list of the best big name stocks according to financial media.
Continued services expansion and hardware demand provide opportunities for higher income, but Apple’s ability to convert that demand into earnings will depend partly on supply availability and maintaining profitability across its product portfolio.
1. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
5-Year Net Income: $601.75 billion
Number of Hedge Funds: 275
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) leads this ranking, supported by Google’s highly profitable advertising operations and rapidly expanding cloud business. Search and YouTube continue generating substantial earnings, while demand for AI infrastructure is strengthening Google Cloud’s contribution to operating income.
Google Cloud’s operating income more than tripled to $11.12 billion in the September 2026 quarter, as revenue increased by a record 103% to $30.71 billion, supported by solid growth in Google Cloud Platform across enterprise AI solutions and enterprise AI infrastructure, along with core GCP services.
However, Alphabet’s exceptionally high reported profitability requires qualification. Its latest quarter included an $8.66 billion loss on equity securities, contrasting with substantial investment gains earlier in 2026. These fluctuations make reported net income less representative of recurring operating performance.
According to Reuters, Alphabet’s quarterly free cash flow was negative $9.07 billion, with an increase in capital spending and a slowdown in core ad business growth. For more comparative insight on how Alphabet compares with other popular stocks, read our insightful article on Microsoft vs. Alphabet: Is GOOGL’s Cloud Growth Worth More Than Investors Think?
The company’s $561 billion cloud backlog provides visibility into future demand, but does not guarantee equivalent earnings growth. Sustaining profitability will depend on converting cloud contracts into operating income while managing infrastructure costs and maintaining advertising growth amid competition in AI-powered search.
While we acknowledge the risk and potential of GOOGL as an investment, we believe certain AI infrastructure stocks offer far stronger long-term potential at a much more attractive entry point. If you are looking for an AI stock more promising than GOOGL that operates as a critical AI tollbooth and stands as the most important company in the world, check out our report about this must-own AI stock.
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This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
