Where to invest $10,000 in December: 3 stocks for New Year's Eve shopping
The race for artificial intelligence is turning into the biggest infrastructure cycle of the decade. In 2025, a wave of AI infrastructure investment will drive technology spending worldwide at a pace not seen since the release of Windows 95 in 1995, analysts at IDC have calculated. Record demand for computing power and memory is shaping a new capital architecture and investment direction. We asked Askar Akhmedov, investment director at Atlas Capital, where to invest $10,000 by the end of the year. And two of the three stocks are AI-related.
$4,000 is at the heart of AI
In 2024, the focus was on models: how smart a chatbot is, how it responds, what code it writes, and what pictures it creates. Now, analysts are increasingly looking deeper - at infrastructure: what chips are used, what data centers provide computing power. Not every company can provide computing at an acceptable price and scale.
Alphabet is doing a better job than others, says Askar Akhmedov.
While competitors are only now starting to develop their own ASICs [chips customized for narrow operations that have lower computational costs - Oninvest note], Alphabet has been perfecting its silicon for almost a decade. Microsoft, for example, didn't start building its AI hardware until 2024. This gives Alphabet a huge structural advantage and saves it enormous amounts of money. And on top of that, it is not as dependent on Nvidia as its competitors.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai announced a shift in strategy to "AI-first" back in 2016. Today, this solution defines the entire business vector: AI is being integrated into search, YouTube, Android, and office services; Google Cloud is growing at a rate of about 30% year-on-year; and Waymo remains the leader in unmanned transportation
In addition, Sergey Brin has returned to day-to-day operations at Google and is personally pushing to remove the bureaucracy that hinders the adoption of AI solutions: this is how he lifted the ban on the use of AI in coding (with Gemini, Alphabet's own model, being banned).
Since the beginning of the year, Alphabet stock is showing a robust 66.56% YTD (as of Dec. 11, 2025).
$3,000 - in memory for the AI revolution
"If Alphabet is the engine of AI, Micron is the fuel," Akhmedov says. Micron Technology makes memory for computers and data centers: DRAM - RAM and SSD - long-term data storage.
For the IT industry, memory is a raw material, a commodity, and manufacturers like Micron depend on up and down cycles of demand for their "raw materials" from technology companies. Having survived previous crises, Micron waited for a new cycle to begin. The industry's pivot toward AI, refocusing production on very high bandwidth memory specifically for AI needs, has caused a shortage of conventional memory - and here comes Micron's finest hour. "We are entering a supercycle, a period when a rising tide lifts all boats," Akhmedov emphasizes.
Micron has two competitors, conventional memory manufacturers: SK Hynix and Samsung. But the first one trades only in Korea, and in the case of the second one, you are investing not only in memory production, but in Samsung's entire multifaceted business, where each area has its own dynamics, whether it's display production or chip production.
Micron's only available opportunity to invest exclusively in memory is "pure-play," Akhmedov summarizes. But unlike Alphabet, it's not a "hold forever" idea.
The memory market remains cyclical, and eventually Chinese competitors like ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) will catch up with the Big Three in the standard DRAM/SSD segment. But for now, the layout is perfect. Scarcity guarantees an incredibly profitable year ahead. My plan at this point is to exit the position around the middle of next year.
Year-to-date, Micron Technology shares were up 213.34% by the close of trading on Dec. 10.
$3000 to undervalue and return dividends
The third idea is devoid of hype, but gives chance to earn on stability and without jerks of world indices - it is Kazakhstan bank CenterCredit.
The first rule of thumb before investing in local financial institutions is to check asset quality
First, loans account for 56% of the bank's total assets (based on Q3 2025 data). That is, the assets are working and generating income.
Secondly, provisions as of the same date amounted to 4% of the gross value of assets. This indicator did not change during the year, which indicates that, in the opinion of the bank itself, the quality of the loan portfolio remains stable.
And third, for three quarters of this year, the bank charged interest of KZT536 billion, and actually received KZT508 billion (95%) in money.
According to Akhmedov's calculations, CenterCredit's shares are now 56% undervalued. "This discount has persisted for quite some time, but in my opinion it will start to narrow if the bank - for the first time in 25 years - starts paying dividends again," concludes Akhmedov . Since the beginning of the year, the stock is up 117% as of the close on December 10.
Disclamer
The ideaspresented are for informational purposes only and do not constitute personalized investment advice. Past returns do not guarantee future results. Before making investment decisions, it is important to conduct your own analysis or consult with a professional specialist.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
