2 Stocks to Buy in March

It's mid-March, which means two things: Your basketball bracket is already busted, and you've got some time to think about your portfolio instead.

In my view, it's high time to pick up some Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) and/or Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) stock. Amazon is investing so much cash in AI-focused data center construction that it's making many investors nervous. Netflix's stock bounced back when it lost a high-stakes buyout battle.

So both stocks are down by double-digit percentages from recent highs, but you can't argue with their long-term results. Amazon shares have gained 670% over the last decade while Netflix investors pocketed a gain of 845%. Short-term volatility has created entry points for patient investors willing to look past the noise.

Let's take a closer look at these proven winners, before the tasty discounts disappear.

Image source: Getty Images.

Why Netflix shareholders are happy about losing

Netflix just lost an $111 billion bidding war, and the stock went up. Welcome to 2026.

As it turns out, Netflix investors weren't thrilled about the prospect of absorbing Warner Bros. Discovery's (NASDAQ: WBD) debt load and cable-era baggage. When Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ: PSKY) (with an assist from Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison's bulging wallet) swooped in with a higher bid, Netflix shareholders breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Honestly, Netflix is doing fine on its own. KPop Demon Hunters broke records with a sequel on the way. The company just bought Ben Affleck's AI startup to make movies faster and cheaper. It's experimenting with live sports, gaming, and physical venues.

Free cash flow hit $9 billion last year. Revenue's growing at 17%. Oh, and Paramount Skydance sent over a $2.8 billion check to soothe Netflix's wounds from the canceled Warner Bros. takeover attempt. There's really not much to complain about.

The WBD deal would have been transformative, sure. But Netflix is already transforming, just more quietly. The stock is down 30% from highs, and I'm no longer worried about what it lost. I focus on what it's building. Netflix has made me a lot of money over the last two decades and I think it will keep doing that for many years to come.

Yay, Amazon's spending spree is scaring Wall Street again

Amazon's $200 billion capital expenditure plan for 2026 has investors on edge. The company is building AI-focused data centers at a pace that makes even its hyperscaler peers look restrained. Wall Street is struggling to absorb the implications.

But this is familiar territory for Amazon. The company spent years building fulfillment infrastructure that competitors dismissed as reckless. This week, it just launched one-hour delivery in hundreds of U.S. cities. It surpassed Walmart (NASDAQ: WMT) in quarterly sales last year and is now the world's largest retailer. No big deal, right?

The AI build-out follows a similar playbook. Amazon Web Services already dominates cloud computing. The Braket quantum platform and Ocelot error-reduction chip signal where the company is headed next. CEO Andy Jassy recently consolidated quantum, custom silicon, and AI model development under one executive, a move that suggests Amazon expects these technologies to orbit each other closely in the years ahead.

The stock is down 17% from highs, and the bears are circling the same arguments they always do: too much spending, margins at risk, competition closing in. Maybe they're right this time.

But Amazon's entire history suggests that when its capex budget makes investors nervous, the company has something big going on. From a surprising online bookstore to a same-day delivery system with a world-class cloud computing business, Amazon is a serial innovator.

Like master investor Warren Buffett, I watched Amazon from the sidelines for too long. The first shares I bought in 2017 are up by 440% now, far from the longer and richer Netflix bet or David Gardner's famous 2002 purchase of Amazon stock, which is up by 27,560% so far.

Seventeen percent off highs may not be a game-changing discount, but it's a pretty generous start. I'm tempted to buy more.

Anders Bylund has positions in Amazon, Netflix, and Walmart. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Netflix, Walmart, and Warner Bros. Discovery. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.