Semiconductor stockNVIDIA Corporation(NASDAQ:NVDA) has been one of the best performing stocks over the last year and five years, but has been beaten by software companyMicroStrategy Inc(NASDAQ:MSTR) for one key reason.

What Happened:Nvidia stock is up 2,878% over the last five years and up 172% over the last year. The company briefly passedMicrosoft Corporation(NASDAQ:MSFT) andApple Inc(NASDAQ:AAPL) to be the most valuable company in the world earlier this year.

A look at the five-year chart from Benzinga Pro below shows how the stock has surged in the past couple years...