2026 is shaping up to be another fantastic year for the stock market, especially with the amount of artificial intelligence (AI) spending going on. I think there are several stocks bound to rocket higher over the year, and if you don't buy them now, you're going to regret it down the road.
The five stocks on my shopping list for 2026 are Nvidia (NVDA 0.68%), Broadcom (AVGO 2.96%), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD 1.50%), Amazon (AMZN 0.74%), and Alphabet (GOOG +0.18%) (GOOGL +0.18%). There's a pretty obvious theme in this group: AI infrastructure. We're still in the early stages of building out the computing power companies need for AI workloads, and an investment in these five is a great way to take an advantage.
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AI computing hardware providers
I split these stocks into two primary groups: AI computing hardware and cloud computing companies. I think there's a natural split between these two, although each company can cross into another division if you really dive in.
Nvidia is the leader in the AI computing space. Its graphics processing units (GPUs) and the ecosystem it has built to support them are unmatched. There's a reason why Nvidia has sold out production capacity for its cloud GPUs, and their popularity will continue to grow as more data centers come online.
NASDAQ: NVDA
Key Data Points
AMD is the second-choice GPU provider, although it may be getting a second chance with Nvidia's capacity maxed out. If AMD can steal some market share, AI hyperscalers might find that AMD's products are somewhat comparable, which could open a further growth opportunity for AMD to steal more market share from Nvidia.
Broadcom is taking an entirely different approach to AI computing hardware than Nvidia and AMD. Instead of making a general-purpose computing unit like a GPU, which can handle workloads ranging from gaming graphics to AI training to cryptocurrency mining, it's partnering directly with AI hyperscalers to develop specialized computing units. These custom AI accelerator chips are called ASICs, or application-specific integrated circuits, and they can outperform GPUs when the workload is properly configured.
NASDAQ: AVGO
Key Data Points
I think Broadcom could be the biggest winner in 2026 as more companies investigate what it would take to create a computing unit that's designed specifically for AI training and processing. However, these units will never replace GPUs, only supplement them. This makes all three companies worthy investments, and I won't be surprised if they dramatically outperform the market in 2026.
Cloud computing providers
Alphabet and Amazon are both competing heavily in the AI boom. However, they also have thriving primary businesses that help fund their AI aspirations, but those aren't the focus in this realm. Instead, I want to look at each company's cloud computing platform, as that is what is really benefiting from the massive AI buildout.
NASDAQ: GOOGL
Key Data Points
Most businesses don't have the resources or expertise to build their own data centers to run AI workloads. Most don't have a need for the 24/7 computing capacity, either. So, they rent the computing power from a provider like Google Cloud or Amazon Web Services (AWS). As more workloads come online, these two providers could grow quickly. In Q3, Google Cloud delivered 34% year-over-year revenue growth while AWS increased by 20%. These are both strong marks and highlight the massive demand for AI computing power that's readily accessible.
I think 2026 will continue this trend of success, and maybe see even more due to more computing capacity coming online. While Amazon and Alphabet may be big spenders in the AI data center realm, they should see some serious return on investment thanks to their ability to monetize it through their cloud computing offerings.
