Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a primary driver of stock market growth in recent years, and despite concerns about a bubble, investors remain optimistic about this emerging technology. Nine out of 10 AI investors plan to either increase or maintain their positions this year, according to The Motley Fool's 2026 AI Investor Outlook Report.
If you're looking for AI stocks to add to your portfolio, there's no shortage of options. Here are two standouts to consider.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
1. Nvidia
Nvidia (NVDA 1.46%) is the leading chipmaker, with a 92% share of the global graphics processing unit (GPU) market. That dominance has resulted in explosive growth as companies invest in GPUs for their AI data centers. As recently as the fourth quarter of its 2022 fiscal year, Nvidia reported $3.3 billion in data center revenue, second to its gaming segment, which brought in $3.4 billion.
In the third quarter of its 2026 fiscal year (ended Oct. 26, 2025), Nvidia made $51.2 billion in data center revenue, $4.3 billion from gaming, and $57 billion overall.
NASDAQ: NVDA
Key Data Points
Data center spending is likely to continue increasing from here. McKinsey estimates that data centers will require $6.7 trillion in spending by 2030 to meet global demands for computing power. Nvidia should be able to capture a sizable portion of that spending, especially now that it introduces new GPU architectures on a yearly basis. Its latest, the Rubin platform, reportedly delivers up to a 10x reduction in inference token cost compared with the Blackwell platform.
2. Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms (META 2.43%) is investing heavily in the pursuit of AI superintelligence -- a theoretical version of AI that far exceeds human intelligence. It expects 2025 capital expenditures (capex) to be between $70 billion and $72 billion, and that 2026 capex spending will be "notably larger."
Investors are concerned about how much Meta is spending on AI, and the company's stock fell after its earnings release for the third quarter of 2025. What often gets lost with the focus on Meta's spending is that it's already seeing positive results from its use of AI technology.
NASDAQ: META
Key Data Points
During the company's third-quarter earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that the annual run rate for its AI-powered ad tools has surpassed $60 billion. Meta's AI recommendation systems are leading to users spending more time on its social media platforms, including a 5% increase in time spent on Facebook in the third quarter and a 30% increase in video time spent on Instagram compared to the prior year.
Meta can afford to take big swings because of the success of its advertising business. Out of $51.2 billion in third-quarter revenue, $50.1 billion came from ads. It's also highly profitable, bringing in $44.8 billion in free cash flow (FCF) over the trailing 12 months. While there's the possibility of Meta's AI spending not panning out, this should still remain a profitable business and a quality investment. And if AI keeps driving revenue growth for Meta, its data center investments could be money very well spent.
