Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and the excitement around their potential drove the stock prices of some of the biggest companies in the world higher in 2024. But not every AI innovator was a big winner.

Rather than focusing on quarterly earnings beats or temporary market sentiment, my investment strategy centers on identifying companies that can compound value over many years or even decades. While many view the current AI boom skeptically,

Uber drove 3.9% higher after the ride-hailing app said it would accelerate $1.5 billion in purchases of its own stock, part of a previously announced $7 billion buyback program. Uber’s chief financial officer, Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah, said it’s making the move because its stock price looks cheap compared with the strength of its business.

The U.S. stock market ended 2024 on a high note, with the benchmark S&P 500 index up by 23.3%. That came on the heels of its 24.2% rise in 2023, so overall, the S&P was up by 53.2% since 2022 -- one of its best two-year stretches of the 21st century.

Detailed price information for Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO-Q) from The Globe and Mail including charting and trades.