The Best Stocks to Invest $10,000 in Right Now

Although the market is hovering around all-time highs, it doesn't mean that investors should avoid buying stocks. In fact, I think there are several great investment opportunities to take advantage of right now. If you've got $10,000 available to invest, I've got three stocks that look like excellent buys right now that can take advantage of several trends appearing in 2026.

I think Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI), and The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) all make for top-notch buys in 2026, and these three represent entirely different ways to approach the market.

Image source: Getty Images.

Nvidia

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is the world's largest company by market capitalization, thanks to its impressive graphics processing units (GPUs) that power artificial intelligence workloads. Nvidia's GPUs are the go-to option for training and running generative AI models, and its dominance has built one of the most impressive companies in the world.

However, it's not done yet.

AI spending is still going strong, and Wall Street analysts project another year of jaw-dropping growth for the behemoth that is Nvidia. For fiscal year 2027 (ending January 2027), they expect 50% revenue growth. There are several tailwinds behind that number, including a general rise in spending from the AI hyperscalers and the launch of its new architecture, Rubin. It's rare for any company to grow at a 50% pace, let alone one as large as Nvidia.

Nvidia is one of the most impressive businesses anyone has ever seen, and 2026 will be further evidence of that fact.

MercadoLibre

Mentioning impressive businesses, MercadoLibre should also be on that list. While it's not as well-known as Nvidia, it has carved out an impressive market for itself in Latin America. It's often referred to as the Amazon of Latin America due to its expansive e-commerce platform and extensive logistics network, which enables same-day or next-day delivery to many locations. However, that's not painting the full picture. What's lost in that analogy is MercadoLibre's fintech business.

Latin America didn't have the digital payment infrastructure that the U.S. had when Amazon came on the scene, so it built it from scratch. This gives MercadoLibre dominance in two important growth areas that the U.S. has experienced over the past few decades, and investing in MercadoLibre gives you the chance to tap into two trends that we know have played out successfully.

MercadoLibre has outperformed the market year after year and is currently down nearly 20% from its all-time high. The stock rarely goes on sale, and now is the opportune time to scoop up shares.

The Trade Desk

Last is The Trade Desk. Unlike the other two, The Trade Desk is not performing at a top level. It operates an ad technology platform that links ad buyers with the optimal space to place their ad on the internet. While this excludes places that have walled gardens, such as Facebook or Google, there are plenty of other areas on the internet where The Trade Desk can shine, like connected TV.

However, it stumbled when rolling out its new, AI-powered ad platform and is still working to fix some issues it encountered. However, The Trade Desk has retained a large majority of its customer base, as 95% of customers stuck with the platform in Q3, a measure that hasn't wavered in 11 consecutive years. It also delivered 18% growth, which is still strong. However, it's the lowest growth rate in the company's history (outside of one COVID-19-affected quarter).

TTD Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts

This rightfully concerned investors, but it ignores a key fact: political revenue. Q3 2024 saw heavy political ad spending, which didn't exist in 2025. This caused difficult comparisons and made the situation seem worse than it actually is. The Trade Desk is still a strong company that's going to grow at an above-average pace. Furthermore, it's priced at a mere 18 times forward earnings. For comparison, the S&P 500 trades for 22.4 times forward earnings.

If you can buy a stock that's growing faster than the S&P 500 at a lower price tag, it's a no-brainer investment. I think The Trade Desk will bounce back nicely in 2026, and investors should take advantage of the stock while it's cheap.

Keithen Drury has positions in Amazon, MercadoLibre, Nvidia, and The Trade Desk. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, MercadoLibre, Nvidia, and The Trade Desk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.