My Top Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy in 2026
The Motley Fool·2026-02-02 07:00

Group 1: AI Megatrend Overview - The Nasdaq-100 index grew 20% in 2025, driven by optimism surrounding generative AI, although early leaders are incurring significant losses [1] - Investors are encouraged to focus on hardware companies that support AI technology, particularly Micron Technology and Broadcom [2] Group 2: Micron Technology - Micron's shares have increased nearly 400% over the past year, yet they remain attractively valued due to the rising demand for high-bandwidth memory in AI data centers [3][6] - NAND memory prices are projected to rise by 330% year-over-year in 2026 and 50% in 2027, driven by cloud computing demand [5] - Micron's forward P/E ratio is 13, significantly lower than the S&P 500 average of 22, indicating a potential undervaluation [6] Group 3: Broadcom - Broadcom is gaining traction in the AI hardware market, focusing on custom chips that provide efficiency and cost savings compared to general-purpose GPUs [7][10] - The company has secured partnerships with major clients like OpenAI to develop custom AI chips [9] - Broadcom's fourth-quarter revenue rose 28% year-over-year to $18 billion, with AI semiconductor revenue increasing 74% to $6.5 billion [11] Group 4: Investment Comparison - Both Micron and Broadcom offer exposure to the generative AI market, but Micron is viewed as the stronger investment due to its low valuation and expected growth amid ongoing memory hardware shortages [12]