Technological innovation has played a key role in the success of the local hi-tech industry over the last few decades. Many companies contribute greatly to shaping all aspects of the technological world of tomorrow, from computer chips to popular applications.
The technology sector includes everything from major companies that everyone knows, to players both big and small that operate largely behind the scenes. The category is also home to emerging companies of all sizes, start-ups, and billion-dollar household brands.
In a broad sense, the category includes stocks involved with the research, creation, and distribution of technology-based goods or services. That can be everything from computers to software, televisions to websites. Hardware is the physical device — a computer, a television, a smartphone, etc. Software is the computer code and platforms that make those devices work.
Technology stocks offer investors a lot of opportunities. In fact, the sector offered the highest returns of all ranked market sectors at 34.28% in 2017.
Those strong returns, however, do not mean the technology sector is without risks. Technology changes quickly, and one-time leaders can quickly fall behind, or even go out of business. In addition, promising emerging companies may make a huge splash, only to fade out quickly.