Like many investors, I'm always looking for the best ways to profit from the rise in artificial intelligence (AI), which is a technological revolution as significant as the industrial revolution. The ability to harness AI -- and to profit from it -- is perhaps the biggest opportunity we'll see in the stock market in a generation.
According to a report by consulting firm McKinsey & Company, 78% of companies it surveyed are using AI in at least one business function. And I expect that number to rise as companies are pressured to automate processes, manage inventory, reduce stress in the supply chain, and provide public-facing AI products.
Here are some of my favorite AI stocks to consider now to capitalize on this flourishing trend.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Nvidia
Any list of top AI stocks has to start with the biggest of the bunch, Nvidia (NVDA 1.97%). Nvidia's share in the data center graphics processing unit (GPU) market is more than 90%, helping it to become the biggest publicly traded company in the world, with a market capitalization around $4.6 trillion.
Nvidia gets most of its revenue from data center sales -- those accounted for $41.1 billion of the company's $46.7 billion revenue in the most recent quarter. The only thing that I'm concerned about for Nvidia is the trade war that's shut it out of the Chinese market. Nvidia got 17% of revenue in its fiscal 2025 from China, so it will need to find a way to make that up.
Considering the growth in data centers and demand for its next-generation Blackwell GPUs, I think Nvidia stock will find a way.
NASDAQ: NVDA
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2. Advanced Micro Devices
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD 1.54%) is Nvidia's competitor, but I think there's enough business to go around for investors to buy both stocks. AMD is best known for its central processing units (CPUs), which are used by desktop computers and data centers. While GPUs handle advanced AI tasks, CPUs are used in data centers for managing tasks and handling storage and network operations.
AMD also has a newly announced partnership with OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT, that has AMD selling up to 6 gigawatts of GPU compute capacity to OpenAI. AMD is also providing warrants allowing OpenAI to take up to a 10% stake in AMD, purchasing 160 million shares.
AMD stock is up 62% so far this year, with much of that gain happening in the wake of the OpenAI deal.
3. ASML
ASML Holding (ASML +1.04%) is a Dutch-based company whose machines are used in the fabrication of semiconductor chips. It has the distinction of being the only company in the world that has mastered extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology that allows fabricators to make smaller components and circuits. That's important because the smaller the components are, the more circuits can be loaded onto individual chips, making them more powerful.
NASDAQ: ASML
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This means that no matter what companies design and fabricate the AI chip, ASML's machines are virtually assured of being the machines that will help build it. Fabricators Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Intel, and Samsung Electronics all use ASML's EUV lithography machines.
4. Symbotic
Symbotic (SYM 1.16%) is an under-the-radar pick, but I like it a lot as an AI stock. Symbotic makes AI-powered robotics and software systems that its customers use to automate and manage warehouses. Its processes allow clients to quickly move, pack or unpack, and track inventory, while using AI to keep the robots moving effectively.
Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, has an 11% stake in Symbotic and uses the company's system in each of its 42 regional distribution centers. Other major customers include Target, Albertsons, and C&S Wholesale Grocers. Symbotic stock is up a whopping 137% this year.
5. Amazon
You may think of Amazon (AMZN 2.40%) as an e-commerce stock, but I think of it as an AI stock, because Amazon is the biggest cloud computing provider in the world. Amazon Web Services (AWS) has a 30% global market share, beating Microsoft Azure's 20% and Alphabet's Google Cloud's 13%. And the cloud computing space is heating up, as more companies are looking to migrate their operations to a cloud environment rather than invest millions of dollars into building their own on-premises data center.
NASDAQ: AMZN
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Grand View Research estimates that the cloud computing market size was $752.4 billion in 2024 and will reach $2.39 trillion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 20.4%. That gives AWS plenty of room to grow. Considering it's already far more profitable than Amazon's e-commerce side, I'm comfortable with Amazon as an AI stock.
