AI stocks are at the forefront of the AI revolution as artificial intelligence is reshaping industries and driving real revenue growth for the companies building and powering it. From chips and cloud infrastructure to software and automation, AI is becoming a core competitive advantage.
Below are some of the top AI stocks to consider buying now, followed by tips on how to invest in the space.
10 AI stocks to buy in 2026
Almost every tech stock is an AI stock these days as the technology spans from semiconductors to cloud computing to software and other industries. That includes stocks like Nvidia, Alphabet, Microsoft, CoreWeave, Meta Platforms, Adobe, Alibaba, Amazon, Palantir, and Oracle, all of which are among the top AI stocks to buy now.
1. Nvidia
NVDA Nvidia
Nvidia (NVDA -1.26%) has become the backbone of the AI revolution. Its graphics processing units (GPUs) are the industry standard for training and running large language models, making the company one of the earliest and biggest beneficiaries of generative AI.
Once known primarily for gaming chips, Nvidia now supplies the core hardware for data centers worldwide. Its data center segment generates the vast majority of its revenue, fueled by surging demand from cloud computing providers and AI start-ups. Elon Musk just declared its new Vera Rubin architecture to be the best, saying SpaceX would build exclusively on Nvidia.
Revenue has exploded since 2022, with full-year sales reaching $215.9 billion in 2025, up 65% year over year, and revenue growth has accelerated in 2026 as well. Nvidia has expanded beyond chips, offering full-stack AI infrastructure that includes networking, software, and systems designed to run AI workloads at scale.
After the blowout success of its Blackwell platform, Nvidia is now rolling out the next-generation Rubin platform in the second half of 2026, which includes the updated Vera CPU. Demand continues to outstrip supply, underscoring Nvidia’s dominant position.
Beyond data centers, Nvidia is investing in autonomous vehicles, robotics, and “physical AI.” These initiatives remain a small part of revenue today, but they could become meaningful growth drivers for Nvidia over time.
2. Alphabet
GOOGL Alphabet
Alphabet (GOOGL -0.30%) (GOOG -0.07%) has been investing in artificial intelligence for more than a decade, highlighted by its acquisition of DeepMind in 2014. Today, AI touches nearly every part of its business.
The company’s Gemini models power products across Google Search, YouTube, Google Cloud, and Workspace. Though investors have worried that generative AI could threaten Google Search, advertising revenue continues to grow steadily. Additionally, its Google Cloud business is soaring thanks in part to AI-driven demand.
Alphabet is also a leader in autonomous driving through Waymo, which operates fully driverless ride-hailing services in multiple U.S. cities. On the infrastructure side, Alphabet designs its own AI chips, known as TPUs, putting it in direct competition with Nvidia in certain workloads.
In 2026, Alphabet is now planning $195-$205 billion in capital spending, much of it aimed at AI infrastructure. With information and data at its core, Alphabet remains one of the most deeply integrated AI companies in the world.
3. Microsoft
MSFT Microsoft
Microsoft's (MSFT -2.83%) partnership with OpenAI has made it one of the most visible players in AI. The company began investing in OpenAI in 2019 and now owns a significant minority stake following the start-up’s restructuring.
AI is embedded across Microsoft’s ecosystem, from Azure cloud services to Microsoft 365 Copilot, Edge, and GitHub. Azure AI Foundry has seen rapid adoption, with approximately 80% of Fortune 500 companies using the service.
Microsoft has also diversified its AI strategy by supporting multiple internal and third-party models across its platforms, reducing reliance on any single partner. Azure AI Foundry, launched in late 2024, allows customers to build and manage AI applications and agents, and adoption has grown quickly.
Microsoft also owns a significant stake in OpenAI, which was valued at 27% before a recent funding round. With OpenAI planning to go public in early 2027, Microsoft could be in line for a big payday.
4. CoreWeave
CRWV CoreWeave
CoreWeave (CRWV -8.60%) may be the closest thing to a pure-play AI infrastructure stock. The company’s cloud platform was designed specifically for AI workloads and counts customers like Nvidia, OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta among its core clients.
Revenue growth has been explosive. CoreWeave went from minimal sales in 2022 to $5.1 billion in 2025 and is expected to generate more than $10 billion in revenue in 2026.
That growth comes with risk. Microsoft accounted for 67% of revenue in 2025. The company carries heavy debt and large capital expenditures, and it's deeply unprofitable. Nearly all of CoreWeave’s revenue is directly tied to AI demand. News in July that Meta Platforms would launch its own cloud computing business sent the stock tumbling, showing it may be at a competitive disadvantage next to the Facebook parent. It's also been under pressure as investors have been skeptical of the hyperscaler spending ramp.
For investors seeking direct exposure to AI infrastructure, CoreWeave offers high upside but elevated risk.
5. Meta Platforms
META Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms (META -1.34%) doesn’t operate a cloud platform, though the company said it would begin to offer some cloud services. Still, it's more focused on using AI compute for its own needs, including its Superintelligence Labs.
In September, the company appeared to have its first breakthrough on that front with the Meta Muse personal AI agent, an app that can handle things like travel booking, financial organization, and even negotiating for a discount. The app has ranked #1 for weeks and topped 5 million downloads in less than a month. It also drove a surge in the stock.
Meta has also invested heavily in AI across advertising, consumer apps, and hardware, and it's targeting $130 billion-$145 billion in capex spending in 2026, with much of that going into AI. Meta AI is embedded across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp and reached 1 billion monthly active users in 2025.
AI plays a growing role in ad targeting and creative tools, and Meta aims to automate much of the advertising process using AI. The company has also introduced a new AI model, Muse Spark, which has received positive reviews and is an improvement over the previous Llama models.
Beyond software, Meta is incorporating AI into devices like Ray-Ban smart glasses and Meta Quest headsets. The company sees AI as central to its long-term strategy across experiences, advertising, and hardware.
6. Adobe
ADBE Adobe
Adobe (ADBE +0.50%) has successfully integrated AI into its creative software ecosystem. Adobe Firefly, its suite of generative AI tools are designed to enhance, not replace, creative work, and Adobe has taken a cautious approach to training models using licensed and public data.
More than 24 billion images and related creations have been generated using Firefly since its 2023 launch. Adobe has also expanded into agentic AI, offering tools that improve productivity for marketing, analytics, and operations teams.
While Adobe’s growth has slowed in recent years, it remains a dominant player in creative and marketing software and is well-positioned to benefit from AI adoption across enterprise teams.
7. Alibaba
BABA Alibaba Group
Alibaba (BABA +3.53%) has broad exposure to AI through cloud computing, e-commerce, and logistics. Its Qwen family of large language models underpins a rebuilt AI-focused cloud platform, and the company plans to invest more than $50 billion in AI infrastructure.
AI is also used to improve Alibaba’s e-commerce operations, including product recommendations, search, and automation. The company has partnered with Nvidia on physical AI projects and continues to expand its data center footprint.
While consumer demand in China remains uneven, Alibaba trades at a discount to many U.S. peers and maintains a strong competitive position in its home market.
8. Amazon
AMZN Amazon
In some ways, Amazon has lagged its big tech peers in AI. It doesn't have a leading large language model, and it seems to have gotten off to a late start in generative AI.
However, Amazon does have a competitive advantage in AI. It still has the largest cloud infrastructure platform in Amazon Web Services (AWS), and that includes Amazon Bedrock, a fully managed service that provides access to foundation models, allowing AWS customers to deploy AI models as needed. AWS just reported its fastest growth in nearly five years, showing that it's a clear beneficiary of the AI boom.
Amazon is using AI in other ways, including with Alexa+ and Amazon Seller Assistant, an agentic AI tool for its marketplace sellers. It's also a major investor and partner of Anthropic, the AI start-up now valued at nearly $1 trillion.
9. Palantir
PLTR Palantir Technologies
Palantir has become one of the stars of the AI era, with its stock skyrocketing after the company launched its artificial intelligence platform (AIP) in 2023.
That platform, along with the rest of its stack, helps its customers more easily search for and analyze their data.
AIP has helped significantly reduce process time for some of its customers' projects, driving strong growth from both government and commercial businesses. U.S. commercial revenue has been particularly strong and is poised to pass U.S. government revenue soon.
Palantir has little direct competition, and the success of AIP has widened the gap between it and would-be challengers.
10. Oracle
ORCL Oracle
Oracle has traditionally been known for database software, but more recently, the stock has moved according to the company's prospects in AI.
Oracle's cloud infrastructure division has been growing rapidly thanks to the demand for AI, and the company is spending aggressively on capital expenditures, expecting it to reach $50 billion for the fiscal year ending in May 2026.
It's also embedding generative AI in its cloud software applications, and has a $300 billion deal to supply computing power to OpenAI, showing it has big plans to ramp up AI-focused data centers.
How to buy AI stocks: A step-by-step guide
If you're looking to invest in AI stocks, it's a simple process. Just follow the steps below.
- Open your brokerage app: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments. If you don't have one yet, take a look at our favorite brokers and trading platforms to find the right one for you.
- Search for the stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
- Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
- Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
- Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
- Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.
What does AGI mean for AI stocks?
Artificial general intelligence (AGI) refers to the ability of a machine to match or exceed human intelligence across a range of intellectual activities.
The companies above are pursuing AGI in different ways. Meta Platforms has poured billions of dollars into its Superintelligence Labs. Nvidia is designing chips capable of performing the computing required to enable AGI. Alphabet, which has had an AI research lab for more than 10 years, is also focused on achieving AGI.
Reaching AGI is likely to accelerate demand for AI and could transform the economy. For AI stocks, this creates both opportunities and risks, as AGI could be a winner-take-most market. AGI leaders are likely to enter new businesses, while those left behind are likely to struggle.
Benefits and risks of investing in AI stocks
Like any other sector, there are both benefits and risks to investing in AI stocks. Let's take a look at some of the pros and cons investors should know.
- Significant long-term growth potential
- Broad adoption across industries
- Potentially transformative technology
- Technological bottlenecks can send stocks soaring
- Valuations can be volatile
- Heavy capital spending may not pay off
- Competition and disruption remain intense
- Concerns about ROI could lead to a bubble
Methodology: How these stocks were chosen
The leading AI stocks range from many of the Magnificent Seven to top chip companies like Nvidia and cloud computing companies like CoreWeave.
The stocks chosen for this list are either leaders in their respective categories, offer unique ways to get exposure to AI, like CoreWeave and Palantir, or both.
Alibaba offers international exposure for those looking for it, and all of these companies are considered leaders in some capacity.
While not all of these stocks have outperformed, they do offer a range of options for investors interested in AI. Adobe, for example, has underperformed, but it's a rare value stock, trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of just 13, that can also claim to be an AI stock.
The bottom line
AI is already translating into real revenue and sustained investment, and the strongest opportunities in 2026 are coming from the companies building and deploying AI at scale. An increasing number of AI stocks have already delivered massive returns, and the opportunity in the sector continues to grow.
Still, it remains risky, especially given some evidence that some companies are overspending on AI, and at some point, there is likely to be a pullback as the hype fades. Over the long term, the technology looks transformational, like the internet before it, but there are likely to be bumps along the way to going mainstream.
If you’re investing in AI stocks, a long-term mindset and diversification across several leaders can help balance growth potential with the risk inherent in investing in a new technology.