Three Tech Giants Beat the S&P 500 Index Fund

An S&P 500 index fund may not be enough for long-term growth potential, according to The Motley Fool's research. Since 1928 through 2025, the S&P 500 has delivered an average annual return of 9.98%. Three tech giants - Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META), and Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) - have a track record of beating the market and are still posting growth that can sustain outperformance.

Amazon's cloud growth is driving its potential for above-average returns. With total net sales up 20% year over year in Q2 2026, reaching $200 billion, Amazon's revenue growth surpasses the index's historical average annual return. The company's trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is about 20 as of Sept. 30, and its forward P/E on 2026 earnings estimates is around 30.

Memo: Meta's advertising business continues to grow due to AI investments. With over 3.6 billion daily active users across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, the company generates nearly all of its revenue each year from advertising. The second-quarter 2026 revenue surged 28% year over year to $61 billion.

Alphabet pairs advertising momentum with Google Cloud's explosive growth. With a dominant digital advertiser through Google Search and YouTube, Alphabet has the resources to be a leader in AI for decades. The company's forward P/E is 29 based on 2026 earnings estimates as of Sept. 30.