The calendar has flipped over to 2026, but this is no time for a post-holiday lull. Historically, major names in the stock market have enjoyed solid gains in the first month of the year.
According to Citadel, Nasdaq-100 stocks, as a group, have risen in January 70% of the time since 1985, with an average return of 2.5% That's better than the performance of the broader S&P 500, which sees January gains 62% of the time.
Why is this? Much of it has to do with end-of-year payouts that are now in the market -- things like capital from retirement contributions and end-of-year bonuses. January sees the greatest amount of equity capital deployment in the market.
To capitalize on this historical trend, I recommend examining tech stocks that are part of the Nasdaq-100 to help your portfolio get off to a strong start in 2026.
Tech stocks have been among the best-performing names in the market over the last several quarters, thanks to the continued development of artificial intelligence. And that should continue for the next several quarters, making these names some stocks that you can buy and hold for the long term.
Here are three names I'm considering now.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Nvidia
It would be hard to bet against Nvidia (NVDA 1.28%) right now, considering the massive advantages the company enjoys in supplying the infrastructure needed for AI platforms. Nvidia's graphics processing units (GPUs) are the gold standard for training and running high-level AI programs, and data centers bundle them by the hundreds so they can work together to process complex tasks.
Nvidia estimates that tech companies are currently spending $600 billion annually on AI infrastructure, with this number projected to reach as high as $4 trillion by 2030. And much of it's going to Nvidia's coffers -- Nvidia's revenue in the last 12 months has topped $187 billion. In the company's most recent quarterly report, it recorded $57 billion in revenue, with $51.2 billion of that as a result of data center sales.
NASDAQ: NVDA
Key Data Points
Nvidia's Hopper and Blackwell chips have been best-sellers, and its next-generation Rubin chip is expected to be available this year. In addition, Nvidia appears set to resume sales to China once again -- the company has clearance from the U.S. government to sell its H200 chip, and Beijing is expected to sign off soon, according to Bloomberg. That would be another tailwind for Nvidia's growth story, China sales made up 13% of Nvidia's profits in 2024, but the company was restricted from selling there in 2025.
2. Netflix
Netflix (NFLX 0.01%) has solidified its position as the leading streaming service, serving more than 300 million subscribers in over 190 countries. While the company stopped reporting detailed subscriber numbers last year, it has continued to show strong revenue growth.
|
Metric |
Q3 2024 |
Q4 2024 |
Q1 2025 |
Q2 2025 |
Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Revenue |
$9.825 billion |
$10.247 billion |
$10.543 billion |
$11.079 billion |
$11.510 billion |
|
Growth (YOY) |
15% |
16% |
12.5% |
15.9% |
17.2% |
|
Earnings per share |
$5.40 |
$4.27 |
$6.61 |
$7.19 |
$5.87 |
Data source: Netflix.
The company has introduced several innovations, including eliminating password-sharing to drive revenue, introducing a tiered subscription plan, and incorporating live sporting events. Netflix launched its own first-party adtech stack, known as Netflix Ads Suite, and the company expects to more than double its advertising revenue in 2025.
NASDAQ: NFLX
Key Data Points
3. Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms (META 2.46%) had a great 2025, but you wouldn't know it from the stock price. Meta stock suffered in the second half of the year as investors showed concern about the company's aggressive spending on artificial intelligence. Capital expenditure spending was expected to be between $70 billion and $72 billion for the year, and management said that will increase in 2026.
NASDAQ: META
Key Data Points
But Meta, which took a lot of criticism for burning money on its Reality Labs project, is spending this money wisely. The company's Meta AI assistant allows it to deliver personalized content and ads on Meta's massively popular social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. It operates Llama, a large language model, that allows users to create and interact with AI personas and drive even more engagement.
And that's important for Meta, which has 3.4 billion daily active users. The company saw revenue jump 26% in the third quarter, to $51.24 billion, as ad impressions increased by 14% and the average price per ad jumped by 10%.
