If it wasn't clear a year or two ago, the rapid progress of artificial intelligence (AI) thus far in 2026 means the world is going to change a lot over the next decade and beyond.
Rapid innovation can make it difficult to pick winners. That said, some companies have already established early leads in the AI race. For the most part, winning AI stocks have fallen into two groups: companies that enable AI, often from a hardware and software standpoint, and companies that benefit the most from AI.
Here are three stocks, pulled from both groups. They already dominate their respective fields. Dislodging them will be quite difficult at this point, making them as close to buy-and-hold-forever stocks as you'll find in such a fast-moving AI space.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
1. Still the most important AI hardware company
Nvidia (NVDA +0.64%) immediately became the go-to AI chip company as the data center boom took off in early 2023. Market experts have pegged Nvidia's data center GPU accelerator market share at 97%, a remarkable stat. Its GPU chips are ideal for training AI models, and Nvidia's CUDA programming platform has locked in customers who have now built billions of dollars of AI infrastructure on it.
NASDAQ: NVDA
Key Data Points
So far, other AI chip companies have struggled to make a meaningful dent in Nvidia's grip on the AI chip market. A shift in AI has begun, with computing moving from training workloads to inference. That may have opened the door for competition, but Nvidia is on top of it. It has begun full production of its first Vera Rubin chip platform, which excels at inference and looks like another growth catalyst.
Nvidia's opportunities will gradually shift from data centers to localized applications, such as humanoid robotics and autonomous vehicles. That should only continue to present additional growth opportunities as the world evolves and opens up new technology frontiers over the next 10 to 25 years.
2. This social media giant could be the biggest AI beneficiary
Meta Platforms (META +0.71%) has been one of the most aggressive companies to invest in AI, and for good reason. AI is a game changer for both Meta's social media apps and the digital advertising business behind them, which is how the company makes virtually all of its profits.
NASDAQ: META
Key Data Points
AI is automating ad creation and helping advertisers achieve better ad results, giving Meta greater pricing power. On its social media apps, AI can help people create content, and Meta has even, controversially, deployed AI-powered profiles to pump out content that human users engage with.
Co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is still just 41. It's an underrated advantage to have a company as successful as Meta Platforms, led by a proven visionary, with so much time left before investors need to worry about succession.
3. A tech titan involved in almost every AI sub-category
Alphabet (GOOGL 0.33%)(GOOG 0.72%) has become so much more than a search engine over the past few decades. The Google parent company is a multitrillion-dollar tech giant with leading products and services across the digital economy, ranging from smartphone apps and software to cloud computing. Alphabet has already been a winner, leveraging AI to bolster Google Search.
NASDAQ: GOOGL
Key Data Points
On top of that, Alphabet is enjoying tailwinds as a major AI infrastructure player. AI demand has accelerated Google Cloud's growth, and the company has even delved into AI chips. In fact, Alphabet's first-party chips worked so well that the company has begun selling them to Anthropic and renting them to Meta Platforms.
Lastly, Alphabet has become a leader in some emerging AI markets, such as autonomous vehicles, where its Waymo subsidiary is currently leading the self-driving field. Alphabet's diversified business model, size, and deep pockets all but ensure investors can confidently hold the stock for decades to come.
