These Could Be 3 of the Best Stocks to Own in 2026

Core Viewpoint - The S&P 500 is experiencing significant growth, up nearly 17% this year, and investors should focus on diversifying their portfolios with both growth and value stocks to navigate potential market volatility [1]. Group 1: Alphabet (GOOG) - Alphabet has diversified beyond its search engine, with multiple businesses contributing to growth, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI) [4]. - The company has a P/E ratio of 32, which is considered reasonable for a growth stock despite trading at a premium compared to the S&P 500 average [4]. - Google Search maintains a dominant market share of around 90%, providing a competitive edge, and the company is expanding its AI capabilities with the Gemini large-language model [6]. - Alphabet's cloud services are growing rapidly, outpacing AWS on a percentage basis, and the company has a stable business model with various revenue streams [6][7]. Group 2: Nu Holdings (NU) - Nu Holdings operates an all-digital financial services business and has seen a 61% increase in stock value in 2025 [8]. - The company serves over 60% of the Brazilian population and is expanding into Mexico and Colombia, indicating significant long-term growth potential [8]. - Nu trades at a P/E ratio of 32, which is attractive given its growth prospects, and plans to launch new products in new markets in 2026 [10]. Group 3: Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) - Taiwan Semiconductor is well-positioned for growth, manufacturing semiconductors for various technologies, including AI, smartphones, and autonomous vehicles [11]. - The company has a strong operating margin of 50.6% and a 39% increase in earnings per share (EPS) [13]. - With a P/E ratio of 30, Taiwan Semiconductor is the most affordable stock among the three discussed, providing further growth potential [13].