Top 5 Best Stocks to Buy in Early 2026

With 2026 now underway, market participants are beginning to recognize investment patterns that could shape portfolio performance throughout the year. While skepticism about artificial intelligence spending persists in some quarters, recent corporate earnings reports reveal that AI adoption is accelerating across critical infrastructure sectors. For investors seeking exposure to these trends, several best stocks to buy have emerged at attractive valuations following 2025’s market volatility. These opportunities span both AI-driven technology companies and undervalued plays in adjacent markets poised for recovery.

AI Infrastructure Boom Drives Opportunity

The foundation for identifying best stocks to buy in 2026 begins with understanding the scale of AI infrastructure investment. Major semiconductor and equipment companies are positioned to capitalize on this secular shift, with management teams providing ambitious guidance for sustained growth through the decade. Data center spending projections suggest annual investments could reach $3 trillion to $4 trillion by 2030, representing an unprecedented capital allocation cycle. This backdrop makes the following technology leaders particularly compelling selections.

Nvidia Remains Essential to AI Computing

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) anchors any discussion of best stocks to buy for technology investors. As the dominant supplier of graphics processing units (GPUs) that power artificial intelligence training and deployment, the company continues expanding its addressable market. Current GPU demand dynamics point to sustained growth trajectories extending through at least 2030. The architecture of Nvidia’s product ecosystem—encompassing H100, H200, and next-generation processors—positions the company to capture significant value from the AI infrastructure buildout occurring globally.

Revenue expansion and margin improvement should remain structural features throughout 2026 and beyond, supported by enterprise spending on data center capabilities and cloud infrastructure upgrades.

Taiwan Semiconductor Signals Durable Demand

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM) provided concrete validation of sustained chip demand in its latest quarterly results. The company reported 26% year-over-year revenue growth and guided for approximately 30% revenue expansion in 2026. More significantly, management committed to $52 billion through $56 billion in capital expenditure during the year, underscoring confidence in long-term demand trajectories.

This substantial capital commitment demonstrates that semiconductor producers view AI-related chip demand as durable rather than cyclical. For best stocks to buy seeking exposure to the hardware acceleration underlying AI infrastructure, Taiwan Semiconductor represents a foundational position. The company’s willingness to deploy significant capital at this juncture validates the authenticity of the AI buildout narrative.

Nebius: Emerging Infrastructure Player

Nebius Group (NASDAQ: NBIS) represents a smaller but potentially high-impact addition to a best stocks to buy portfolio. The company deploys Nvidia GPU systems populated with Taiwan Semiconductor chips, renting compute resources to artificial intelligence training operations and research institutions. This business model parallels proven cloud computing architectures while focusing specifically on the most compute-intensive workloads.

Management projections indicate explosive growth, with annualized revenue expected to expand from $551 million to between $7 billion and $9 billion during 2026. This trajectory reflects exceptional demand for distributed GPU computing capacity. Though smaller in market capitalization than semiconductor peers, Nebius’s concentrated focus on AI infrastructure creates significant upside leverage if execution meets guidance.

Non-AI Sector Recovery Presents Value

Beyond AI-specific opportunities, best stocks to buy in 2026 include companies experiencing temporary market pessimism unrelated to fundamental business trends. Two names stand out: The Trade Desk and MercadoLibre.

The Trade Desk: Valuation Dislocation

The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) experienced significant pressure during 2025, declining approximately 70% despite relatively stable underlying business fundamentals. Wall Street analysts project 18% revenue growth for 2026 and 16% growth in 2027, indicating investor pessimism may have overestimated business deterioration. Demand for programmatic advertising technology remains robust, with digital advertising budgets continuing their shift toward sophisticated software platforms.

The valuation dislocation has created an opportunity, with the stock trading at merely 17.5 times forward earnings. This represents a meaningful discount to historical averages and likely provides attractive entry points for patient investors. The Trade Desk qualifies among best stocks to buy primarily because market sentiment has temporarily disconnected from revenue trajectory expectations.

MercadoLibre: Latin American Expansion Opportunity

MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) offers geographic diversification combined with secular growth trends in emerging markets. The company has established itself as a dominant e-commerce and fintech platform across Latin America, participating in transactions spanning multiple economies and consumer segments. Recent market weakness has reduced valuations by approximately 20%, creating a buying opportunity.

The fundamental business case remains intact: large portions of the Latin American population remain unconnected to the platform, suggesting substantial expansion potential. MercadoLibre’s track record of building durable competitive advantages within regional markets supports confidence in continued business expansion. For portfolios seeking best stocks to buy with international exposure, MercadoLibre deserves consideration at current price levels.

Portfolio Construction Implications

Constructing a diversified portfolio incorporating best stocks to buy should reflect individual risk tolerance and investment timelines. The opportunities identified across both AI infrastructure beneficiaries and recovery plays offer compelling risk-reward profiles relative to current market pricing. Historical precedent—including the notable outperformance of Nvidia and Netflix following inclusion on analyst recommended lists—demonstrates that identifying strong stock selections during periods of market uncertainty can generate exceptional long-term returns.

Investors considering implementation should conduct individual due diligence and consult with financial advisors regarding position sizing and portfolio integration strategies.