But if you don't fancy stock-picking, don't worry. That's because ETFs make things simple.

In one trade you gain exposure to lots of dividend-paying shares and in some cases, access to unique sources of income that you won't find in traditional Australian portfolios.

As we head into December, here are three ASX ETFs that stand out for income-focused investors.

Betashares Global Royalties ETF (ASX: ROYL)

The Betashares Global Royalties ETF could be worth considering. Rather than relying on banks, miners, or property trusts, this ASX ETF targets shares that generate revenue from royalties. This is a model that often provides stable, recurring cash flows.

This includes businesses like ARM Holdings (NASDAQ: ARM), with its licensing-based chip architecture, Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE: WPM), which receives royalties from global mining operations, and Universal Music Group (AMS: UMG), which earns from music catalogues and streaming rights.

At present, this fund trades with a trailing dividend yield of 5.2%. Betashares recently highlighted it as an attractive option for income-seeking investors.

Betashares S&P Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX: HYLD)

The Betashares S&P Australian Shares High Yield ETF focuses on 50 high-yielding ASX shares that are selected using dividend forecasts rather than backward-looking payouts. This helps avoid some of the classic dividend traps and keeps the portfolio geared toward sustainable income.

Among its largest holdings are the likes of big four banks Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), miner BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), and retail powerhouse Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES). These companies form the backbone of Australia's dividend landscape.

The Betashares S&P Australian Shares High Yield ETF currently offers a forward yield of approximately 4.7%, making it an appealing option for investors who want diversified income without overcomplicating their portfolio.

Betashares also recently flagged this ASX ETF as a top choice for income-focused investors this month.

Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX: VHY)

Finally, the Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF could be a top ASX ETF for income investors.

It tracks a basket of shares with the highest forecast dividend yields based on broker expectations, giving investors exposure to some of Australia's best dividend payers.

Its top holdings currently include BHP, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), and Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS). These blue-chip names have long histories of delivering fully franked dividends, even during challenging market conditions.

This fund currently trades with a 4.2% dividend yield.

The post 3 excellent ASX ETFs for income investors to buy in December appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The first full month of 2025 is in the books, and the stock market is off to a decent start. The major indexes -- the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and Dow Jones Industrial Average -- were up 2.7%, 1.6%, and 4.7%, respectively.

In a change of pace from previous months, the Nasdaq took a back seat to the Dow, as sectors like financial services, energy, and industrials outperformed tech. Nevertheless, there were plenty of big winners in the Nasdaq-100. Here are the top five performers during the month of January. 18%

The top five

Below are the top five stocks in the Nasdaq-100 based on price performance between Jan. 1 and Feb. 1, 2025:

1. Constellation Energy (NASDAQ: CEG), up 34%
2. Arm Holdings (NASDAQ: ARM), up 29%
3. Atlassian (NASDAQ: TEAM), up 26%
4. Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), up 18%
5. Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), up 18%

Two themes emerge from this list: artificial intelligence (AI) and better-than-expected earnings reports.

First off, artificial intelligence remained a winning theme. Constellation Energy, Arm Holdings, and Meta Platforms are tied to the AI sector through rising data centre energy demand, semiconductor design licensing, and AI implementation, respectively.

Meanwhile, shares of Atlassian surged after the company's fourth-quarter earnings release topped expectations, both in terms of results and forward guidance.

Finally, Starbucks also reported an upbeat earnings report. The company's new CEO, Brian Niccol, is working to turn around this iconic American brand, whose stock has underperformed the market for several years.

Are any of these stocks buys right now?

In short, yes, all of them are worth considering. That's because the catalysts that pushed these stocks higher in January remain in place. So, while they may not be suitable for every portfolio, growth-seeking investors would be wise to keep these stocks near the top of their watch list.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post These were the 5 top-performing stocks in the Nasdaq-100 in January 2025 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The ETF seeks to track the performance of the NASDAQ-100 Index (NASDAQ: NDX) before fees. This index represents the 100 largest stocks on the NASDAQ by market capitalisation.

When people think of the NASDAQ 100, they think US tech shares.

That's fair enough, particularly given the dominant presence of the Magnificent Seven, which are either tech developers themselves or use high tech in their businesses.

But in reality, only about half (49.7%) of the NASDAQ 100 is tech stocks. The rest are communications shares (16.4%), consumer discretionary (13.4%), consumer staples (5.9%), health care (5.9%), and others.

Over the past 12 months, the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF has risen by an impressive 30.19%. The NDQ ETF was trading at $47.68 per unit on Thursday, down 0.68% for the day.

So, which stocks have contributed most to another year of exceptional capital gains for the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)?

12 stocks pumping up the NDQ ETF

Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA)

Shares in chip maker Nvidia have ripped 180.6% higher to US$135.34 over the past year.

It's no surprise that Nvidia is the fastest-growing stock within the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF.

Arm Holdings PLC-ADR (NASDAQ: ARM)

The Arm Holdings share price has shot 118.6% higher to US$133.37 over the past year.

Arm is a British semiconductor and software design company based in England.

Constellation Energy Corp (NASDAQ: CEG)

Stock in Constellation Energy has risen 102.6% to US$253.39 over the past 12 months.

Constellation is one of the largest energy suppliers in the United States.

Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX)

Shares in streaming company Netflix have also contributed strongly to the growth of the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF over the past year.

Netflix shares are up 83.1% to US$877.34.

Fortinet Inc (NASDAQ: FTNT)

Stock in cybersecurity services provider, Fortinet has risen 75% to US$94.06 per share.

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISRG)

The Intuitive Surgical share price is up 71% to US$535.55 per share.

Intuitive Surgical is a US biotech that develops and manufacturers clinical and surgical robotics.

Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META)

Stock in social media empire Meta has risen 70.1% to US$569.20 per share over the past 12 months.

Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ: AVGO)

Shares in Broadcom have ascended 68% to US$159.67 over the past year.

Broadcom is a US developer and manufacturer of semiconductor and infrastructure software products.

Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG)

Stock in Booking Holdings has lifted 66.8% to US$5,223.15 per share.

Booking is a US travel technology company and one of the priciest stocks, in dollar terms, within the NDQ ETF.

Crowdstrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: CRWD)

Stock in US cybersecurity company, Crowdstrike has risen by 65.5% to US$347.59 over the year.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST)

The CostCo share price has ascended 61.6% to US$961.55 over the past year.

CostCo is a membership warehouse retailer that sells goods at wholesale prices.

Marvell Technology Inc (NASDAQ: MRVL)

Stock in Marvell Technology has risen 61.2% to US$90.10 per share over the past 12 months.

Marvell is a US semiconductor developer.

Price history snapshot: Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF

The Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF has risen by 125.4% over the past five years.

This compares to a 23.7% increase in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

The post Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (NDQ) is up 30% in a year. Which stocks have turbocharged its rise? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

2024 has been a great year for investors. For example, the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 market index has seen a year-to-date total return of 26%, as of Nov. 13.

Six stocks in that index have gained more than 70% this year. Here are the top performers on the Nasdaq 100 in 2024:

Data source: Finviz and YCharts on 11/13/2024. Table by author.

These market-beating stocks took very different paths to the top in 2024:

• Nvidia and Arm Holdings benefit from the ongoing frenzy for high-powered artificial intelligence (AI) systems.
• The Trade Desk soars as the online advertising market swings back from a multiyear downturn.
• Netflix and DoorDash are reaping the benefits of revamped service portfolios and refreshed consumer spending habits -- in very different industries.
• Constellation Energy enjoys broad demand for clean energy and a refreshed interest in nuclear power.

Where will these Nasdaq-100 winners go next?

Only time will tell where these soaring stocks might go from here. That being said, Wall Street analysts expect all of them to continue climbing for a while. Every stock on this list has earned an average analyst recommendation of "buy" or better, despite soaring charts and lofty valuation ratios.

Therefore, if the Street projections are correct, this bull market should continue in 2025.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post These are the 6 top-performing stocks in the Nasdaq-100 with 2024 almost over appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

A couple of years ago, semiconductor specialist Nvidia attempted to acquire a little-known company called Arm Holdings (NASDAQ: ARM).

Unfortunately for Nvidia, the company abandoned the deal as long-winded court cases revolving around antitrust concerns seemed to have no end in sight. Following the failed acquisition, Arm pursued an initial public offering (IPO) -- hitting the Nasdaq last September.

Since going public, Arm stock has surged 138% on the backdrop of the artificial intelligence (AI) movement. But even after such a meteoric rise, I see much better days ahead for Arm. In fact, I think Arm stock will handily outperform Nvidia over the next decade.

Below, I'll detail why I'm so bullish on Arm and explain how rising competition in the chip realm could ignite Nvidia's first uphill battle in quite some time.

Why Arm stock might outperform Nvidia

The semiconductor industry has many different components. Not all chip companies make graphics processing units (GPUs) like Nvidia or Advanced Micro Devices. There are far more applications for chips, and Arm dominates a pretty singular pocket of the market.

At its core, Arm designs chip architecture for mobile devices, consumer electronics, networking equipment inside data centers, and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The company makes money from licensing out its intellectual property (IP), and earns a royalty based on its various architectures.

As illustrated in the graphic above, Arm's architecture is deeply embedded across various applications. This provides the company with an enviable level of flexibility regarding new chips hitting the market in the future. In other words, companies running on Arm's architecture are less inclined to develop a new hardware and software system that is incongruent with Arm's architecture.

Furthermore, the slide above shows that Arm's market share has increased across the board over the last two years. With that in mind, I think the company is well-positioned to continue benefiting from new chip-based devices, since Arm's IP is already leveraged across so many devices around the world.

For this reason, I see Arm as less vulnerable to competitive forces in the chip space compared to peers such as Nvidia.

Why Nvidia's best days may be in the rearview mirror

Like Arm, Nvidia has a massive presence in its core end market. The company's A100 and H100 chipsets have helped Nvidia acquire an estimated 88% of the GPU market.

However, I see some obvious risks that could expose Nvidia over the next several years, and I would not be surprised to see the company begin to lose market share.

First, companies including Microsoft, Alphabet, Tesla, Amazon, and Meta Platforms are all investing in their own custom chip designs. Moreover, these companies have been labeled by Wall Street analysts as Nvidia's largest customers -- accounting for nearly half of the company's revenue.

While you could argue that more competition is a good thing for Nvidia, I don't see it that way in this case. These companies will probably remain customers of Nvidia for the next several years, but the introduction of their own hardware could wind up being a bargaining chip in the long run.

What I mean by that is that more GPUs on the market will likely weaken Nvidia's pricing power. In turn, I think Nvidia's revenue and profit growth could have a dramatic slowdown -- a dynamic that growth investors won't want to see.

But rising competition isn't the only risk facing Nvidia. Given the company's near-monopoly position, there is a possibility that the Department of Justice (DOJ) could investigate Nvidia's business practices and force the company to loosen up its ecosystem.

With so many unknowns revolving around Nvidia's future, I'm sceptical that the stock is a no-brainer at this juncture.

Is Arm stock a buy right now?

There have been many periods of expansion and contraction in Arm's trading activity. But with a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 96, it's hard to say the stock is cheap.

The forward P/E of the S&P 500 is about 23, less than one-quarter that of Arm.

ARM PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts.

Here's how I think about it: The market is clearly placing a premium on Arm stock for a reason. I think there are two core themes to unpack.

At a macro level, AI appears to be here for the long run, and technology's biggest companies are committed to spending billions on future artificial intelligence initiatives. While spending will change from year to year, the secular tailwinds presented by AI should bode well for Arm.

At a company-specific level, Arm's unique position in the chip space and its lucrative business model suggest that the company's growth will remain robust over time.

For these reasons, I see Arm as the superior investment over Nvidia in the next decade. While the stock isn't a bargain, I think it still looks like a compelling opportunity for long-term investors.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The launch of an Apple iPhone always garners a lot of attention. After all, the company has sold over 200 million of the devices each year for the past three calendar years.

With the latest generation of the smartphone supporting a number of new artificial intelligence (AI) features, expectations for iPhone 16 sales are high. J.P. Morgan, for example, is expecting iPhone sales to rise more than 12% to 250 million units for Apple's fiscal 2025.

While this should help Apple, some of its suppliers could benefit even more.

Arm Holdings

One of the big winners from strong iPhone 16 sales will likely be Arm Holdings (NASDAQ: ARM). With its technology in 99% of smartphones, Arm benefits from any increase in global smartphone sales.

The iPhone 16's new A18 chip is based on Arm's newest V9 architecture. The iPhone 15 launched last year, meanwhile, was powered by its A16 chips and A17 chips for its Pro models, which were both based on Arm's older V8 architecture. This is important because Arm has said that its V9 architecture carries almost double the royalty rate compared to its V8 architecture.

As such, Arm is set to benefit from not only increased iPhone unit sales, but also from much higher royalties. This makes it one of the biggest iPhone 16 winners.

Broadcom

While investor attention around Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) has mostly been around its data center networking equipment and customized AI ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) chips, the company is also set to benefit from the iPhone 16. This is good news for Broadcom as much of its business outside of AI and its recent VMWare acquisition have struggled.

However, the entire iPhone 16 lineup will incorporate the new Wi-Fi 7 standard, which will be powered by Broadcom's integrated RF modules. Broadcom also provides other wireless components to Apple, so any increase in iPhone sales should benefit Broadcom's sales.

Broadcom will likely remain more of an AI infrastructure story than a smartphone story, but an improvement in some of its other struggling businesses could go a long way in helping its stock as well. Its wireless revenue grew only 1% last quarter to $1.7 billion and is expected to be flat year over year in the current quarter, but the iPhone 16 looks poised to power this part of the business soon.

Qualcomm

Apple and Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) have not always had the best relationship, with the iPhone maker deciding at one point back in 2017 to stop paying it royalties. Meanwhile, there has been speculation of Apple looking to replace some of the Qualcomm's G5 modems next year. The two companies signed an extension to use its modems until 2027, and there have been reports of Apple struggling to produce its own 5G modems, so at this point that is still just speculation.

For now, though, Apple is using Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon X75 modem in its iPhone 16 Pro models and reportedly its X70 modem in its regular models. Tech blogs have already praised the improved download speeds that stem from the new modem. Analysts also believe that the company took some share in providing RF content to the iPhone 16 at the expense of Skyworks Solutions.

It should also be worth noting that while Qualcomm is most associated with smartphones, the company has been making nice strides in other areas, including autos, IoT (Internet of Things), XR (extended reality) glasses, and in the PC (personal computer) market with the launch of Copilot+ PCs. The company is also collaborating with Saudi Arabia's national oil company Aramco on connectivity, AI, and advanced computing solutions for industrial and enterprise use cases.

Cirrus Logic

Perhaps no company is more tied to Apple than Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ: CRUS), which derived 87% of its revenue from its largest customer last fiscal year. The company provides a number of components to the iPhone in the areas of audio, haptics (sense of touch), camera, and battery.

Given its ties to Apple and the iPhone, the more devices Apple sells, the better it is for Cirrus. Meanwhile, analysts believe the company will benefit from a number of new iPhone 16 features, including the new camera control buttons as well as the tetraprism lens now incorporated in its Pro model after only being available on the Pro Max model last year.

While an investment in Cirrus carries a risk given its huge concentration in one single customer, the company has been able to continually get new components into the iPhone, proving itself to be one of Apple's most valuable suppliers.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Apple's semiconductor and component suppliers aren't the only ones set to benefit from potential increased iPhone sales. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM), or TSMC for short, has already been benefiting from the huge buildout of chips being used in the AI infrastructure, but its largest customer remains Apple.

Apple used TSMC's latest 3-nanometer technology to produce chips for its iPhone 15 Pro models, but this year it will use the technology in the production of the chips for all of its iPhone 16 models. While the new technology is initially a negative for margins, TSMC benefits as it scales the process. Meanwhile, the company is already looking to add 2nm production capacity next year.

As TSMC is able to shrink the size of chips, it can help boost the power of the chips while also lowering their power consumption. It can also fit more chips on a wafer, helping increase its capacity. The company remains one of the best-positioned in the chip sector given AI demand, and it should get a further boost from increased iPhone sales as well.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post These 5 US stocks could be the biggest iPhone 16 winners, and none of them is Apple appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.