If you have $1,000 to invest right now, you might be scanning the vast array of stocks available to you and wondering where the best place to put it is. Despite some very recent volatility, the tech sector is often a good place for investors to get the best returns, and two great companies to consider now are Alphabet (GOOG 1.69%) (GOOGL 1.66%) and Micron Technology (MU 3.21%).
If tech isn't your thing, that's all right: Costco Wholesale (COST +1.10%) is a fantastic company that's worth a $1,000 investment as well. Here's why these stocks deserve to be on your buy list.
Image source: Getty Images.
Alphabet is benefiting from its AI prowess
There are many reasons to buy Alphabet right now, and one of the most important is the company's position in the artificial intelligence (AI) race. The company's Google Gemini is the second most-popular chatbot -- behind OpenAI's ChatGPT -- with 650 million monthly active users, up from 400 million six months prior.
Management took a big step toward expanding its AI position with its recently announced collaboration with Apple, in which Gemini will become the underlying AI model for a new version of Apple's Siri. That will potentially put Gemini into millions more hands and give Alphabet an estimated $1 billion annually from Apple.
NASDAQ: GOOGL
Key Data Points
And while there are plenty of AI stocks to choose from these days, not all are as profitable as Alphabet. The company had $97.7 billion in net income and generated about $50 billion in free cash flow in the first nine months of 2025. And with Google Gemini users expanding quickly and its new collaboration with Apple, now could be a good time to buy shares.
Micron's AI memory chips are flying off the shelves
Chatbots aren't the only AI play; hardware stocks can be great investments, too. Just ask Micron shareholders. The stock has soared 269% over the past 12 months as the company's dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and NAND flash memory fly off the shelves.
Micron's sales increased 56% in the first quarter (which ended Nov. 27) to $13.6 billion, and adjusted earnings per share rose 167% to $4.78. The proliferation of AI data centers is causing a huge increase in memory demand, leading management to say last month that the company is "more than sold out."
NASDAQ: MU
Key Data Points
Hardware demand can be cyclical, but Micron is tapping into a significant trend right now as the world's largest tech companies are expected to spend an estimated $3 trillion to $4 trillion on data centers by 2030. This means Micron likely has many more years of impressive growth ahead.
Choose Costco for your non-AI play
AI isn't the only game on Wall Street, and investors would be wise to consider Costco stock right now as the company continues to grow. It ended the first quarter with an impressive 81.4 million paid members, up 5.2% from the year-ago quarter.
Sales also increased by 8% to $67.3 billion, outpacing Wall Street's consensus estimate of $67.1 billion. Some investors are worried that the company's membership renewal rates have slowed a bit, but considering that the rate in North America is still a very impressive 92.2% I think those concerns are overblown.
There's some economic uncertainty right now, with layoffs rising to a four-year high last year and hiring slowing. But Costco customers see their memberships as a way to save money, so they are likely to stick around if the economy slows.
With each of these companies growing at a healthy clip and expanding within their receptive niches, now could be a good time to buy some of their shares.
