What is the best AI stock to buy?

Artificial intelligence is a fast-moving technology, and AI stocks will likely be volatile as the sector evolves. AI stocks that have attracted the most attention include Nvidia, Microsoft, and Alphabet, but finding the best stock to buy is also a matter of price and valuation, which can change quickly.

Is it good to buy Nvidia stock?

Nvidia has jumped into the lead among semiconductor companies developing AI chips and accelerators, and it has the competitive advantages to help it stay there. The semiconductor sector can also be highly cyclical, and pricing can change rapidly. Additionally, there's the potential for unexpected surprises, such as the DeepSeek launch, which sent AI stocks like Nvidia temporarily plunging. If Nvidia can maintain its lead in AI chips, the stock should continue to be a winner, but it will likely be volatile since the AI landscape is still developing.

What is the biggest AI company?

Currently, the biggest company to have made AI central to its business model is Nvidia, with a market cap that has topped $5 trillion. The tech giant is at the center of the AI revolution, with components that are fueling AI applications and in high demand by major cloud infrastructure companies and others.

What AI is Elon Musk investing in?

Elon Musk owns xAI, maker of the Grok chatbot, which was acquired by SpaceX, his space exploration company, in February 2026.

What AI stock is ready to explode?

It's difficult to predict the next AI stock to soar, but one chip stock that could be a winner is Qualcomm, which is focused on Edge AI, or AI in devices like smartphones and PCs. Qualcomm has yet to surge in AI like many of its peers, but it should eventually benefit from AI's tailwinds.

Best AI Stocks to Buy in 2026: 10 Top Picks & How to Invest

Best AI Stocks to Buy in 2026 and How to Invest in Them

By Jeremy Bowman – Updated May 7, 2026 at 10:14 AM EST | Fact-checked by Frank Bass

Key Points

Nvidia leads AI chip production, essential for tech advancements and has seen a 65% revenue boost.
Alphabet integrates AI throughout its operations, also leading in autonomous driving with Waymo.
Microsoft's AI investment includes a major stake in OpenAI, enhancing its broad tech ecosystem.

Artificial intelligence is already 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

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Ticker Information Table
Name and ticker	Market cap	Dividend yield	Industry
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA)	$5.3 trillion	0.02%	Semiconductors and Semiconductor Equipment
	$4.7 trillion	0.22%	Interactive Media and Services
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)	$4.7 trillion	0.22%	Interactive Media and Services
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)	$3.1 trillion	0.63%	Software
	$54.5 billion	0.00%	IT Services
	$1.5 trillion	0.35%	Interactive Media and Services
Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE)	$103.1 billion	0.00%	Software
	$325.4 billion	0.77%	Multiline Retail
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN)	$2.8 trillion	0.00%	Multiline Retail
	$324.3 billion	0.00%	Software
Oracle (NYSE:ORCL)	$521.9 billion	1.10%	Software

Data as of May 20, 2026. Showing 11 of 11 tickers.

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1. Nvidia

NASDAQ: NVDA

Nvidia

Today's Change

(1.22%) $2.70

Current Price

$223.31

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$5.3T

Day's Range

$220.50 - $226.12

52wk Range

$129.16 - $236.54

Volume

5.5M

Avg Vol

171M

Gross Margin

71.07%

Dividend Yield

0.02%

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2. Alphabet

NASDAQ: GOOGL

Alphabet

Today's Change

(0.38%) $1.49

Current Price

$389.15

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$4.7T

Day's Range

$382.94 - $393.75

52wk Range

$162.00 - $408.61

Volume

Avg Vol

29M

Gross Margin

60.43%

Dividend Yield

0.22%

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Alphabet (GOOGL +0.38%) (GOOG +0.03%) 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. While some investors worried that generative AI could threaten Google Search, advertising revenue continues to grow steadily.

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 planning $180-$190 billion in capital spending, much of it aimed at AI infrastructure. With information and data at the heart of its business, Alphabet remains one of the most deeply integrated AI companies in the world.

3. Microsoft

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NASDAQ: MSFT

Microsoft

Today's Change

(0.82%) $3.42

Current Price

$420.84

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$3.1T

Day's Range

$411.37 - $422.08

52wk Range

$356.28 - $555.45

Volume

1.6M

Avg Vol

34M

Gross Margin

68.31%

Dividend Yield

0.63%

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Microsoft's (MSFT +0.82%) 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 OpenAI has seen rapid adoption, with more than 65% 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.

CEO Satya Nadella has called AI the next major computing platform, and Microsoft’s heavy investment reflects its determination to lead that transition.

Microsoft also owns a significant stake in OpenAI, which was valued at 27% before a recent funding round.

4. CoreWeave

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NASDAQ: CRWV

CoreWeave

Today's Change

(1.45%) $1.45

Current Price

$101.25

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$54B

Day's Range

$98.15 - $102.75

52wk Range

$63.80 - $187.00

Volume

745K

Avg Vol

29M

Gross Margin

34.82%

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NASDAQ: META

Meta Platforms

Today's Change

(0.37%) $2.25

Current Price

$604.86

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$1.5T

Day's Range

$597.85 - $608.00

52wk Range

$520.26 - $796.25

Volume

717K

Avg Vol

15M

Gross Margin

81.94%

Dividend Yield

0.35%

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Meta Platforms (META +0.37%) doesn’t operate a cloud platform, but it’s investing heavily in AI across advertising, consumer apps, and hardware. 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 from 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

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NASDAQ: ADBE

Adobe

Today's Change

(-0.66%) $-1.69

Current Price

$253.30

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$103B

Day's Range

$246.28 - $253.68

52wk Range

$224.13 - $422.95

Volume

171K

Avg Vol

5.6M

Gross Margin

88.77%

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Adobe (ADBE -0.66%) has successfully integrated AI into its creative software ecosystem. Its Firefly 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 18 billion images have been generated using Firefly since 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

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NYSE: BABA

Alibaba Group

Today's Change

(-0.88%) $-1.19

Current Price

$134.45

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$325B

Day's Range

$132.72 - $135.96

52wk Range

$103.71 - $192.67

Volume

247K

Avg Vol

11M

Gross Margin

39.26%

Dividend Yield

0.77%

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NASDAQ: AMZN

Amazon

Today's Change

(2.14%) $5.55

Current Price

$264.89

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$2.8T

Day's Range

$259.54 - $265.57

52wk Range

$196.00 - $278.56

Volume

1.5M

Avg Vol

46M

Gross Margin

50.60%

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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 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.

Amazon is using AI in other ways, including with Alexa+ and Amazon Seller Assistant, an agentic AI tool for its marketplace sellers.

9. Palantir

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NASDAQ: PLTR

Palantir Technologies

Today's Change

(1.35%) $1.83

Current Price

$137.09

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$324B

Day's Range

$132.42 - $137.24

52wk Range

$118.93 - $207.52

Volume

1.3M

Avg Vol

48M

Gross Margin

84.07%

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Palantir has become one of the stars of the AI era as the stock began to skyrocket after the company launched its artificial intelligence platform (AIP) in 2023. That platform combines with the rest of its stack to help its customers more easily search through and analyze their data.
AIP has helped cut down process time significantly for some of its customers' projects, driving strong growth both from the government and commercial businesses.

Palantir has little direct competition, and the success of AIP has widened the gap between Palantir and would-be challengers.

10. Oracle

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NYSE: ORCL

Oracle

Today's Change

(3.69%) $6.70

Current Price

$188.16

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$522B

Day's Range

$178.80 - $188.22

52wk Range

$134.57 - $345.72

Volume

16M

Avg Vol

28M

Gross Margin

64.30%

Dividend Yield

1.10%

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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 invest in 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.
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.

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Pros and cons of investing in AI stocks

Pros

Significant long-term growth potential
Broad adoption across industries
Potentially transformative technology

Cons

Valuations can be volatile
Heavy capital spending may not pay off
Competition and disruption remain intense

What to consider when investing in AI stocks

Investing in AI stocks requires a lot of the same analysis and considerations as investing in any stock. Here are some things to consider if you're investing in AI stocks.

Look for durable advantages

Most AI stocks are well-established tech companies, but some have stronger competitive advantages than others in AI. Nvidia, for example, dominates the market for data center GPUs, giving it a strong competitive advantage.

Understand the business model

There are lots of different ways to make money in AI. There are chip companies like Nvidia, infrastructure companies like CoreWeave, software companies like Adobe, and companies like Microsoft that are diversified across verticals. Each one of these subsectors offers a different set of risks and opportunities, and it's important to understand how they differ from each other.

Assess AI exposure

Most tech stocks are doing something with AI, but some companies have more exposure than others. Nvidia and CoreWeave, for example, are virtually pure-play AI stocks, making most of their revenue directly by powering AI. Meta, on the other hand, makes almost all of its revenue from advertising, though it says that AI has enhanced its advertising product.

Strategies for investing in AI stocks

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FAQ

Artificial intelligence stocks: FAQ

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About the Author

Jeremy Bowman has been a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst, covering technology, consumer goods, and macroeconomic trends since 2011. Before The Motley Fool, Jeremy was a newspaper reporter, restaurant manager, and English teacher abroad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Colorado College and a master’s degree in business administration from American University. One of his Motley Fool headlines was briefly featured on Late Night with Stephen Colbert.

TMFHobo

@TMFBowman

Jeremy Bowman has positions in Amazon, CoreWeave, Meta Platforms, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Adobe, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends Alibaba Group and recommends the following options: long January 2028 $330 calls on Adobe and short January 2028 $340 calls on Adobe. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Best AI Stocks to Buy in 2026 and How to Invest in Them

Key Points

10 AI stocks to buy in 2026

1. Nvidia

Key Data Points

2. Alphabet

Key Data Points

3. Microsoft

Key Data Points

4. CoreWeave

Key Data Points

Key Data Points

6. Adobe

Key Data Points

7. Alibaba

Key Data Points

Key Data Points

9. Palantir

Key Data Points

10. Oracle

Key Data Points

How to invest in AI stocks: A step-by-step guide

Pros and cons of investing in AI stocks

What to consider when investing in AI stocks

Look for durable advantages

Understand the business model

Assess AI exposure

Strategies for investing in AI stocks

Related investing topics

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Best SaaS Stocks to Buy in 2026 and How to Invest in Them

Best Quantum Computing Stocks to Buy in 2026 and How to Invest in Them

AI Adoption Statistics: How Many Businesses Are Using AI?

FAQ

Artificial intelligence stocks: FAQ

What is the best AI stock to buy?

What is the best AI stock to buy?

Is it good to buy Nvidia stock?

Is it good to buy Nvidia stock?

What is the biggest AI company?

What is the biggest AI company?

What AI is Elon Musk investing in?

What AI is Elon Musk investing in?

What AI stock is ready to explode?

What AI stock is ready to explode?

About the Author

Read Next

Stocks Mentioned

Premium Investing Services

10 AI stocks to buy in 2026

Key Data Points

Key Data Points

Key Data Points

Key Data Points

Key Data Points

Key Data Points

Key Data Points

Key Data Points

9. Palantir

Key Data Points

10. Oracle

Key Data Points

How to invest in AI stocks: A step-by-step guide

5 Best Artificial Intelligence (AI) ETFs to Buy in 2026

Best SaaS Stocks to Buy in 2026 and How to Invest in Them

Best Quantum Computing Stocks to Buy in 2026 and How to Invest in Them

AI Adoption Statistics: How Many Businesses Are Using AI?

Artificial intelligence stocks: FAQ

What is the best AI stock to buy?

What is the best AI stock to buy?

Is it good to buy Nvidia stock?

Is it good to buy Nvidia stock?

What is the biggest AI company?

What is the biggest AI company?

What AI is Elon Musk investing in?

What AI is Elon Musk investing in?

What AI stock is ready to explode?

What AI stock is ready to explode?

Pros and cons of investing in AI stocks

What to consider when investing in AI stocks