Think about buying a stock as you'd think about investing in a business in your city. You'd consider multiple factors, but the most important one would undoubtedly be whether or not it will make you money.
The best businesses to invest in are usually those that are already generating significant profits. That's also typically true for stocks. Here are three stocks to buy for 2026 that are practically money machines.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Apple
Apple (AAPL 1.94%) reported $416 billion in revenue for its fiscal year ending Sept. 27, 2025. The company raked in profits totaling $112 billion. Apple sits atop a cash stockpile of $54.7 billion.
You don't have to be an investing genius to know what product lies at the heart of Apple's money machine. iPhone sales make up 50% of the company's total revenue. Indirectly, products and services associated with iPhones (such as Apple Watch and App Store) push that percentage even higher.
NASDAQ: AAPL
Key Data Points
Look for positive news from Apple when the company announces its results for the first quarter of fiscal 2026. CEO Tim Cook said in the October earnings call, "We are incredibly excited about the strength we're seeing across our products and services, and we expect the December quarter's revenue to be the best ever for the company and the best ever for iPhone."
Apple is also reportedly developing AI-powered smart glasses. While the new devices may not ship until 2027, the company is expected to unveil them sometime this year. I believe the anticipation of Apple's AI glasses launch could provide a solid catalyst for the stock.
2. Microsoft
Microsoft (MSFT 0.73%) is already more than halfway through its 2026 fiscal year. Wall Street projects the technology giant will generate full-year revenue in the ballpark of $327 billion. Microsoft's earnings are expected to increase significantly from its net income of $101.8 billion in the previous year. That amount also nearly matches the company's cash position of $102 billion.
Unlike Apple, Microsoft doesn't depend on one product for most of its revenue. The company's productivity and business processes segment, which includes Microsoft 365 Commercial Cloud, Microsoft 365 Consumer Cloud, and LinkedIn, is its largest money maker. However, the intelligent cloud segment, which includes the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, isn't far behind.
NASDAQ: MSFT
Key Data Points
Wall Street has great expectations for Microsoft in 2026. The consensus price target for the stock reflects a potential upside of over 30%. All but two of the analysts surveyed by S&P Global (SPGI 2.15%) in January who cover Microsoft rated the stock as a "buy" or "strong buy."
I agree that Microsoft will deliver market-beating gains for investors this year. The company should especially benefit from the increased adoption of agentic AI, which has the potential to yield greater returns for clients than other AI investments.
3. Nvidia
As the largest company in the world based on market cap, you'd probably think that Nvidia (NVDA 1.53%) would be a money machine. And you'd be right. The company expects to generate revenue of around $212 billion in its fiscal year 2026, which ends later this month. Nvidia's profits will likely account for more than half of that total. Meanwhile, the chipmaker's cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities total $60.6 billion.
Nvidia's graphics processing units (GPUs) are its cash cow. These chips, developed initially for gaming systems, are the gold standard for powering AI applications. Nvidia's data center revenue made up nearly 90% of total revenue in the latest quarter.
NASDAQ: NVDA
Key Data Points
Over the last 12 months, Nvidia's share price has increased by roughly 35%. Can this momentum continue through the rest of 2026? I think so.
As Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang noted in his company's third-quarter update, "Compute demand keeps accelerating and compounding across training and inference – each growing exponentially." Huang said, "The AI ecosystem is scaling fast – with more new foundation model makers, more AI start-ups, across more industries, and in more countries." He's right. Nvidia is poised to be a key beneficiary of this trend.
