What a year for the stock market! Not a bad one -- as of the latest look, the S&P 500 is actually on track to log a 2025 gain of nearly 20%.
It's just been a wild (and sometimes confusing) year, led by artificial intelligence (AI) powerhouses like Nvidia, while stalwarts like Apple (AAPL +0.62%) and Amazon have lagged. International trade tensions and lingering inflation have made things even more difficult for investors.
The dust is starting to settle, though, revealing which names are likely to be better prospects than others in the year ahead.
Here's a closer look at your 10 best bets on growth stocks for 2026, grouped by the driving force behind their market-beating potential. These aren't necessarily the fastest-growing or biggest companies in their respective segments; they're just the stocks with the most promising upside.
The leaders of AI's next chapter
AI is still likely to be a hot sector in 2026 (albeit not quite as hot as it was this year). The sector's winners are apt to change, though, now that the industry is maturing and its key players like Amazon and Alphabet are looking for more cost-effective and customized data centers.
1. Qualcomm
Qualcomm (QCOM 2.85%) is one of the names looking to provide tailor-made AI solutions. It's already a big name in the smartphone space -- data from Counterpoint Research suggests its chipsets are found in 26% of all smartphones worldwide. That's second only to MediaTek's 38%, although the latter tends to be found in the lower-end sliver of the market. For affordable high performance, the industry taps Qualcomm.
The company is taking a big leap in the year ahead, however. It will still serve the smartphone market, but based on what it's learned with its AI-capable Snapdragon mobile processors, Qualcomm intends to launch an AI data center chip next year, and an even better one in 2027.
Look for actual interest in these processors to be tepid at first; data center owners and operators may not be hyped to test-drive a brand new supplier. Traction should at least start building soon, though, which has the potential to preemptively buoy the stock.
2. Broadcom
Broadcom (AVGO 1.06%) is addressing most of AI data centers' challenges that weren't fully anticipated when the industry was new: the speed at which a cluster of AI accelerators can transmit digital data to and from one another, and how much electricity data centers consume. Efficient and effective digital signal processors, ethernet switches, and fiber-optic hardware are all in Broadcom's wheelhouse. That's the chief reason its third-quarter AI revenue jumped 63% year over year.
NASDAQ: AVGO
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There's plenty more where that came from, too, given the company's recent foray into a fairly new business: application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). These custom-built processors are for data center operators who want something other than Nvidia's off-the-shelf solutions.
Alphabet's Google, for instance, has chosen Broadcom to co-develop its ASIC Tensor processing units that AI newcomer Anthropic will use to train its AI platform. Credence Research believes the ASIC chip market for AI is set to grow at an average annual pace of nearly 19% through 2032.
3. Taiwan Semiconductor
Lastly, since neither Broadcom nor any other familiar chip designer actually manufactures their own high-performance silicon, most of them use third-party contract manufacturers like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM 1.87%) -- in most cases, it's TSMC itself. Some estimates put its share of the high-performance semiconductor manufacturing market as high as 90%.
That figure isn't difficult to believe, nor is it apt to change in the foreseeable future. It's just too costly and complicated for a customer or would-be rival to set up their own new foundries.
China's economic recovery
Among overseas markets, it's been tougher in China this year than in the U.S. China's real estate market continues to struggle, while lingering inflation is leading to relatively disappointing consumer spending. Both contributed to equally disappointing GDP growth of 4.8% during the third quarter, versus expectations of 5.2%.
There are two companies, however, that are not only positioned to push through these headwinds but also to thrive if and when China finally turns things around next year.
4. Alibaba
Alibaba Group (BABA 1.40%) is most famous for e-commerce, which still is and will remain a key part of its business. That's not going to be the chief growth engine for its foreseeable future, though. It's actually going to be (surprise!) AI.
With Beijing all but banning the use of foreign-made AI processors within China, Alibaba has stepped up to the plate. Its so-called T-Head performs comparably to Nvidia's H20 chips meant for overseas use, and is already being embraced by some of China's most prolific technology companies, like Baidu. It matters because Morgan Stanley believes China's domestic AI business could grow to $140 billion per year by 2030.
5. BYD Company
It's been a tough past few months for shareholders of the world's largest electric vehicle (EV) producer, BYD Company (BYDDY +0.00%). Although the stock started 2025 on the right foot, its price has since fallen 30% from May's peak, recently testing new lows. Investors have just been a bit shocked at how competitive rivals like Geely, Chery, and Xiaomi have been in chipping away at BYD's leading share in its all-important home market.
OTC: BYDDY
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The shock-driven sell-off, however, has arguably overshot its target. BYD is still the market leader in China and remains better equipped than any other player to meet demand. It's also still the fastest-growing EV brand outside of China and owns a fleet of eight huge transport ships that give it the flexibility to do business anywhere in the world at any time.
Catalysts are waiting in the wings
A handful of compelling stocks have only performed so-so this year, with the market taking a wait-and-see approach with each company. In three cases, however, the future is surely bright even if the present is less than thrilling.
6. Apple
Apple undoubtedly fumbled its foray into the consumer-facing AI realm. Despite the hype built in June of 2024 and the launch of Apple Intelligence in October of that year, by the end of 2024, it was clear that the market was rather underwhelmed, forcing a major regrouping of Apple's AI efforts. The stock's subpar performance has reflected this lingering gaffe.
The turnaround is on the horizon, however. The company says the updated AI-powered version of its digital assistant Siri is likely to be made available in the spring of 2026. If all goes as well as hoped -- which is likely -- this should start to reposition Apple as an actual AI service provider, in turn rekindling demand for its flagship iPhone.
7. Rocket Lab
Rocket Lab (RKLB 4.76%) has been successfully putting relatively small satellites into space for some time now. Its 60-foot reusable Electron rocket has now been launched 73 times to deploy 239 satellites.
Something big (or bigger, actually) is about to happen ... literally. Before the end of this year, the company plans to launch its much bigger Neutron rocket, officially putting Rocket Lab into the much more lucrative medium-lift category of the orbital launch industry.
This first Neutron flight will only be a test, with a couple more proving flights likely in the early part of 2026. Each successful liftoff has the potential to generate more bullish interest in the company, though.
8. Netflix
Streaming giant Netflix (NFLX 0.41%) hasn't exactly done anything wrong this year (although its third-quarter earnings miss was a misstep). The stock has mostly underperformed since July, just because the market is less than thrilled with its above-average spending.
NASDAQ: NFLX
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But taking the temperature of the entire streaming business will show that it's changing. Most rivals are retreating, largely out of necessity. Warner Bros. Discovery, for instance, has essentially put itself up for sale after mulling a split between its streaming and television divisions, while Walt Disney will soon be melding its Hulu and Disney+ into a single, higher-priced service.
So the streaming wars are all but over. Netflix won -- something investors are likely to realize once the dust settles in the year ahead.
More of the same is a good thing
A couple of names aren't waiting for better days. They're seeing strong growth right now, and will likely experience the same in the year ahead -- and for many more years beyond that. These stocks may seem expensive right now, but the market is just pricing in the sort of results that are in the cards for five and even 10 years down the road.
9. Shopify
Shopify (SHOP 4.74%) is an alternative to selling via Amazon. It's different in one major way, however: Whereas Amazon's sellers list their wares on its huge digital shopping mall, Shopify lets its customers set up their own customized online store.
As more and more consumers insist on personalization and authenticity, merchants are finding tools like Shopify's are exactly what they need. That's why the platform was able to facilitate the sale of $292 billion worth of goods and services in 2024, up 24% from 2023's tally.
This year isn't turning out any differently, and next year isn't likely to be any different, either. The company is likely to grow at this pace for many, many more years as e-commerce continues to evolve.
10. SoFi Technologies
Lastly, speaking of evolving businesses, look for SoFi Technologies (SOFI 1.14%) to be one of the top-performing growth stocks in 2026. It's an online bank, and what's noteworthy is that it's only an online bank -- no brick-and-mortar branches. And this is what consumers want.
Results of a recent survey commissioned by the American Bankers Association and performed by Morning Consult indicate that 55% of U.S. adults' first choice in handling banking is a mobile app. Computer/browser-based service is their second favorite option, but that's a distant second at only 22%. It's a sign of the digital times.
And SoFi's customer head count confirms as much. It has grown every quarter since early 2020, from just over 1 million then to 12.6 million members as of the end of the third quarter.
This still only scratches the surface of its opportunity, though, as more and more consumers embrace the convenience of online banking.
