Banking giant picks 2026 top stocks to watch

Core Insights - Morgan Stanley has identified a select group of stocks that are well-positioned for growth heading into 2026, focusing on strong fundamentals and favorable industry trends [1] Group 1: Artificial Intelligence - Nvidia is viewed as a core play on the artificial intelligence theme, with accelerating revenue growth and sustained demand exceeding supply [2] - Nvidia has outperformed its guidance, adding billions in sequential revenue, supported by a long runway for AI infrastructure spending [2] Group 2: Digital Media - Spotify is recognized for its growth and improved profitability, with its use of AI seen as a competitive advantage [3] - The company is expected to offset higher content costs in 2026 through pricing power and rising average revenue per user, supporting margin expansion [4] - Spotify shares have increased by approximately 30% in 2025, indicating growing confidence in its business model [4] Group 3: Cybersecurity - Palo Alto Networks is positioned as a leading beneficiary of platformization and AI adoption in cybersecurity, with an optimistic outlook due to attractive valuation levels and solid growth prospects [6] - The pending acquisition of CyberArk is expected to strengthen Palo Alto's product offering and long-term earnings power, despite a modest 2025 gain of about 3.6% [7] Group 4: Data Storage - Western Digital is highlighted as a top pick linked to cloud capital expenditure growth, with improving demand in the hard disk drive market and strong exposure to public cloud spending [9] - The company has seen its shares rise over 300% in 2025, with fundamentals justifying a bullish outlook going into next year [10]