Artificial intelligence (AI) investing has been the backbone of the market since it began in 2023. Fortunes have been made from some of the investment opportunities that have appeared, but there are still several compelling investment opportunities right now. Sometimes, the best opportunity is the most obvious.
I think that's exactly where Nvidia (NVDA 1.21%) is today. Nvidia's stock is up over 1,150% since 2023 began, but has delivered fairly tame results over the past few months. I think that's about to change, and the stock could soar after Feb. 25 when it reports earnings.
I expect Nvidia to deliver monster guidance during that quarter and beyond, making it my top AI stock to buy for 2026.
Image source: Getty Images.
Nvidia stacks up well against the competition
The best AI stock isn't an easy title to give a company. There are other chip designers like Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom that are starting to improve their offerings. There are also chipmakers like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing that are capitalizing on massive AI spending.
AI hyperscalers like Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta Platforms are also compelling investment ideas. However, they don't stack up to Nvidia. First, very few of these companies are cheaper than Nvidia from a forward earnings standpoint.
NVDA PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts
Outside of Meta Platforms, Nvidia is the second-cheapest stock on this list. However, with Wall Street analysts projecting it to grow its revenue by 65% this year, it's also the fastest-growing. These two metrics aren't unrelated to each other, but it goes to show that Nvidia is actually far cheaper than most people think it is.
Furthermore, AI spending among the major hyperscalers is expanding. While that spending will be spread around to multiple companies, Nvidia is in line to get most of it. Its graphics processing units (GPUs) are still the industry standard in AI computing, and are the most demanded computing unit.
NASDAQ: NVDA
Key Data Points
This isn't the last year of extreme AI spending, either. Many projections forecast this build-out lasting through at least 2030, so there's plenty more room for Nvidia to run even after 2026 is wrapped up. This makes it a great pick not only for 2026, but also for the long term.
I can think of a few stocks that offer a greater combination of growth and value than Nvidia. With it being front and center of one of the biggest technological revolutions we've ever seen, it's a no-brainer buy right now, and I think it will post monster returns during 2026.
