Looking back at the U.S. stock market last year, a really interesting pattern emerged. An unbalanced rally centered around AI and semiconductors led the overall market, and especially big tech companies accounted for most of the index gains. The fact that the S&P 500 rose into the high 6,000s wasn't just due to expectations of interest rate cuts; it was primarily supported by actual corporate earnings growth.

Last year, the market was driven by the Fed's easing stance, explosive growth in the AI industry, and solid performances in the semiconductor and healthcare sectors. Notably, profit growth for top large-cap stocks was expected to be around 16% on average, with tech stocks projected to increase by 21%. The key point is, this rally wasn't just liquidity-driven but a 'profit-driven market.' Corporate financial health was also strong, with ROE reaching a 30-year high of 18%.

When selecting U.S. stocks to recommend, the first thing to look at is financial health. It shows resilience in a volatile market. Companies like Apple and Microsoft, holding over $600 billion in cash equivalents, can maintain share buybacks and dividends even during a downturn. Next, check competitiveness and barriers to entry. Nvidia's dominance of over 80% in the AI GPU market has created a structural competitive advantage that goes beyond simple chip manufacturing, integrating the CUDA ecosystem and software tools.

Valuation is also important, but a high PER doesn't always mean overheating. Tesla's PER exceeding 60 reflects expectations for new business models like robotaxis and energy storage systems. Lastly, growth potential must be considered. The global growth axes have clearly narrowed to AI, healthcare, and clean energy sectors.

AI and semiconductors remain the core of the market. Nvidia's revenue last year increased by 114% year-over-year, with data centers accounting for 91% of total sales. AMD is expanding its market share with the MI300 series, and Microsoft and Google are enhancing cloud competitiveness with their own AI semiconductors. Goldman Sachs analyzed that over 80% of the S&P 500's gains came from the 'Top 7 AI stocks.'

The healthcare sector showed polarization centered on obesity treatments. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk posted strong results, while traditional pharma stocks declined by 15-20%. Clean energy showed weakness due to oversupply concerns, but with the Fed's easing stance and IRA tax benefits remaining, medium- to long-term growth prospects are still valid.

To compile a list of recommended U.S. stocks, Nvidia stands out as the top AI accelerator chip maker, with strengths spanning from data centers to full-stack software. Microsoft benefits from Copilot monetization and Azure AI customer lock-in effects. Apple’s on-device AI is driving high-growth service revenues. Alphabet’s Gemini 2.0 and YouTube ad recovery are key to improving AI search and ad efficiency, while Amazon’s strengths are in AWS margin improvements and retail automation.

AMD, as the second-largest AI accelerator, can improve its data center mix by expanding its MI series market share. Meta is enhancing ad efficiency through AI recommendation engine improvements, and Tesla’s FSD and energy storage are expanding its revenue base. Defensive stocks include Costco, which shows steady growth amid easing inflation, and UnitedHealth, benefiting from aging demographics and growth in Optum data and analytics.

When building a portfolio centered on U.S. stocks, using ETFs for diversification is the most efficient approach. One purchase can give exposure across multiple industries, and inflows into ETFs from major asset managers like BlackRock and Vanguard are rapidly increasing. Combining growth sectors like AI and semiconductors with dividend, healthcare, and defensive ETFs can reduce individual stock risks.

Dollar-cost averaging is also a good strategy. Investing a fixed amount regularly lowers the average purchase price, especially effective in volatile markets. According to J.P. Morgan Asset Management, a consistent 10-year investment in the S&P 500 has less than a 5% chance of loss. Risk management is crucial—set position size limits, stop-loss orders, diversify across sectors, and during FOMC or CPI announcement weeks, reduce positions to manage volatility.

Ultimately, last year’s market was in the early stages of a gradual bull trend. Structural growth driven by AI-based earnings continued, supported by stable inflation and solid corporate profit structures. In the short term, factors like tech stock overheating or geopolitical risks could cause adjustments, but major institutions still view the U.S. stock market as a gradual bull. The key investment strategy going forward is long-term diversification and risk management. Using ETFs for portfolio construction, regular rebalancing, and maintaining steady investment principles can help achieve stable compound returns even amid short-term volatility.