Got $3,000? Here Are My Top 3 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy Right Now

Source Motley_fool

Key Points

  • Microsoft trades at a steep discount despite the company's strong AI growth.

  • Nvidia continues to wow investors with how much computing hardware it's selling.

  • Nebius is one of the fastest-growing stocks in the AI industry -- and that looks set to continue.

  • 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia ›

In the artificial intelligence (AI) investing sector, several stocks look like great buys right now. There is still massive demand for AI computing power, and companies are racing to build infrastructure and take market share in hopes of creating viable, long-term revenue streams.

Despite many companies offering nearly the same product, there can be large pricing disparities within the same industry, meaning you can find major deals. I think I've discovered three of them, and if you've got $3,000 to deploy, you should consider buying this trio.

Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »

Investor looking at stock prices.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Microsoft

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) may be one of the most mispriced stocks in the entire stock market right now. It has a strong AI business, integrating Copilot into its business productivity software, and a dominant cloud computing business in Azure. Both of these two are growing rapidly, with their AI business growing at a 123% year over year pace and cloud computing rising at a 40% clip. As more businesses integrate AI and more computing capacity becomes available, these numbers will continue to rise, leading to solid, sustainable revenue streams for Microsoft.

Despite these strengths, the stock is down around 30% from its all-time high, and it looks like an absolute bargain. Microsoft's fiscal year (FY) ends in June, so it's best to use FY 2027 projections to value the stock. From this perspective, Microsoft trades for 19 times forward earnings -- far less than the S&P 500 at 22 times forward earnings.

Microsoft is a dominant and rapidly growing company for its size, and this pricing mismatch doesn't make a ton of sense. As a result, Microsoft is a solid stock to buy now.

2. Nvidia

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) may seem like an odd recommendation because it's the world's largest company, but the reality is it has a ton of growth left in the tank. The AI hyperscalers' data center expenditures are expected to reach a record $650 billion in 2026, but Nvidia projects they will reach $1 trillion in 2027. If that's true, then Nvidia has major upside ahead.

Right now, the stock trades for just 23 times forward earnings, barely more expensive than the S&P 500 at 22. However, if you use next year's earnings projections, the stock really starts to look cheap.

NVDA PE Ratio (Forward) Chart

NVDA PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts

At 16 times next year's earnings, it's clear that none of next year's growth has been priced into the stock. It won't stay that way forever, and by buying the stock now, you can get in on those gains before everyone else, making Nvidia an excellent stock to buy now.

3. Nebius

If you're looking for outright growth, then Nebius (NASDAQ: NBIS) is your stock. It's a neocloud company and offers a cloud computing platform specifically catered to AI. Nebius also has a deal with Nvidia to get cutting-edge hardware first, making it an incredibly popular platform for running AI workflows. Nebius has huge expansion plans and believes it can grow its annual recurring revenue from $1.25 billion at the end of 2025 to $7 billion to $9 billion by the end of 2026.

Early results confirm this trajectory, as Nebius's revenue rose 684% in Q1. Wall Street is equally bullish on Nebius's stock, expecting 550% revenue growth this year and 225% next year. So, despite the stock more than tripling already this year, if the stock price follows revenue growth, Nebius still has far more upside ahead.

I think Nebius is a great stock to sprinkle in with solid, established companies like Microsoft and Nvidia. It's far riskier, but it could yield far greater returns if Nebius can build an AI computing empire over the next few years.

Should you buy stock in Nvidia right now?

Before you buy stock in Nvidia, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Nvidia wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.

Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $387,428!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,221,398!*

Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 895% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 205% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.

See the 10 stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of June 25, 2026.

Keithen Drury has positions in Microsoft, Nebius Group, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Microsoft and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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