Micron, Nvidia, or SpaceX: Which Is the Best AI Stock to Put $1,000 in Right Now?

There are plenty of good artificial intelligence (AI) stocks available to investors these days, and if you've got $1,000 to invest right now, you've likely thought about buying Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU), Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), or Space Exploration Technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX).

Each of these companies is tapping into AI in its own unique way, but which is the better one to buy right now? Let's take a look.

Image source: Getty Images.

The case for SpaceX

While originally a rocket launch company, SpaceX's purchase of xAI and the company's massive build-out of data centers have expanded SpaceX into a full-fledged AI company.

SpaceX's neocloud business -- in which it sells data center compute power to other tech companies -- is growing fast, and the company already has $81 billion in computing contracts, including with Anthropic, Alphabet, and others.

What's more, SpaceX is considered by some analysts a "sovereign AI" company, meaning it controls nearly all of its artificial intelligence software and hardware. For SpaceX, that means owning everything from its Terafab semiconductor manufacturing factories to its Grok AI model. This complete approach to building an AI system could be a winning strategy as the need for more processors and compute power increases in the coming years.

SpaceX's opportunities come at a high cost, however. The company spent nearly $21 billion in capital expenditures last year and has already spent $10 billion in the first quarter of 2026. With spending ramping up, investors have to take on considerable risk to bet that the company's big investments will pay off down the road.

The case for Nvidia

Nvidia's GPU sales account for 86% of all GPU data center market share, making it an obvious AI stock pick for years. But the company has fallen out of favor with some investors recently as technology companies increasingly pursue CPUs for their AI models and agents.

CPUs can be especially good at processing AI agent tasks, which is why some tech companies, including Alphabet, are designing their own CPUs to be used in AI data centers.

That's a threat to Nvidia, to be sure, but it's already answering back. Nvidia recently revealed more details about its next-generation Vera CPU for AI, which will directly compete with Intel and AMD CPUs.

SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic are all evaluating the Vera CPU now, and Nvidia says its processor has 50% better performance for AI agents than the x86 CPU architecture used by Intel and AMD.

Nvidia isn't transitioning away from its main GPU business, but its push into CPUs suggests it views this market as potentially significant. The hard part will be chipping away at Intel's and AMD's server CPU market shares, which are currently 67% and 33%, respectively.

The case for Micron

The memory market can be cyclical, but it's currently in the middle of a massive upward growth cycle. With forecasts predicting the memory market will climb from over $230 billion last year to more than $1 trillion by 2027, the demand for high-performance memory could still be in its early stages.

Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra highlighted this on the fiscal Q3 2026 earnings call, noting that the industry has been "structurally transformed by the proliferation of AI." He added, "We are only in the early innings of the significant innovation and productivity that can be unleashed."

The company's most recent quarterly results back up management's optimism. Micron reported sales surging 345% in the fiscal third quarter to nearly $41.5 billion, while non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings jumped over 1,200% year over year to $25.11 per share.

While investors are currently debating when the AI infrastructure spending spree might cool off, Micron's management believes autonomous vehicles and humanoid robotics could spur even more memory demand in the coming years. The robotics market is especially notable because Morgan Stanley estimates that there could be 1 billion humanoid robots globally by 2050, with a potential $5 trillion market.

What's more, the shortage of memory brought on by AI data center demand is estimated to remain through 2028, which should keep Micron's revenue and earnings flowing.

The verdict: Micron is the best AI stock to buy right now

If I had to choose one out of this bunch right now, it would be Micron. SpaceX is spending too much money for my liking, and with the company just going public several weeks ago, there's still a lot it has to prove before it can be considered a good long-term investment.

I still think Nvidia is a great stock to own, but Micron shares are cheaper. Nvidia stock has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 31, while Micron's P/E ratio is just 19. Both are great AI stocks, but Micron takes the win overall because of this slight advantage.

Chris Neiger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Intel, Micron Technology, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.