Salesforce.com, Apple, Microsoft and Intel surged in the second quarter to emerge among the five best Dow Jones stocks of 2023 so far. American Express also made the cut.
Tech stocks powered the stock market rally this year. And upbeat economic data continues to ease recession fears, despite higher interest rates.
Salesforce stock, the No. 1 Dow Jones stock, and Microsoft, at No. 3, stand to gain from the boom in artificial intelligence, or AI, stocks.
Apple stock, Microsoft and Salesforce each have Composite Ratings above 90. The IBD Composite Rating, which ranges from 1 (worst) to 99 (best), gives an instant overview of a stock based on a combination of fundamental and technical metrics.
Salesforce Stock
Shares of Salesforce are up 59.3.7% year to date, making it the best of the best Dow Jones stocks so far this year. In the second quarter, CRM stock rose 6.8%.
Salesforce stock rallied past alternative entries at 194.01 and 200.10 in March and early May, respectively.
This AI play has a 96 Composite Rating. Its EPS Rating is 98. Salesforce stock also belongs to the IBD 50 list of top growth stocks.
On June 12, Salesforce announced AI Cloud to bring generative AI to its enterprise customers.
Salesforce's existing Einstein AI software cloud platform helps salespeople to predict which deals are most likely to close using artificial intelligence.
Apple Stock
Shares of the iPhone maker are up 49.3% so far this year. That includes a 16.7% Q2 leap.
On June 30, AAPL stock notched a record of 194.48, topping a $3 trillion market cap for the first time. It continues to hold sharply above a 157.38 buy point.
Apple stock has a 93 Composite Rating and an 80 EPS Rating.
The tech giant has turned into a software technology leader thanks to a robust app ecosystem, analysts say.
Further, the upcoming iPhone 15 should drive strong demand as many buyers have been holding on to their phones for years.
Microsoft Stock
Shares of Microsoft are up 42% so far this year. That includes an 18.2% gain in Q2.
Microsoft stock has a 97 Composite Rating. Its EPS Rating is 91.
Startup OpenAI's ChatGPT is one of many "generative AI" technologies that could roil a host of industries by creating text, images, video and programming code on their own.
Microsoft continues to leverage its strategic stake in OpenAI.
Generative AI technology already is finding uses in marketing, advertising, drug development, video gaming, customer support, digital art and more.
Intel Stock
Shares of Intel are up 26.5% so far this year. That includes a 2.1% Q2 gain.
Unlike the other stocks on this list, INTC stock is a long way from all-time highs.
Intel stock offers a 33.84 buy point from a bottoming base, MarketSmith charts show.
The company's turnaround plan hinges on becoming a chip foundry similar to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. Investors continue to scrutinize the strategy.
Though it lags peers, Intel has a "material AI opportunity," analysts at Morgan Stanley said in June. They added its Habana Labs/Gaudi specialty silicon could drive "material" revenue inflection next year.
American Express Stock
Shares of American Express are up 17.9% so far this year. AXP stock consolidated for much of Q2, delivering a 5.6% gain.
American Express stock shows a 177.04 buy point from a cup-with-handle base, according to IBD MarketSmith. Shares arguably are actionable from breaking a downtrend in the handle. The pattern formed around the 50-day moving average.
The payment stock holds a Composite Rating of 85 and EPS Rating of 58.
American Express saw a huge burst in travel and entertainment spending by consumers after pandemic lockdowns eased. Now that spending is slowing, a negative for credit card issuers, analysts warn.
Fellow Dow giant Goldman Sachs is in talks with American Express to take over its Apple credit card, bank account and other ventures, according to multiple reports late Friday.
