1 Unbelievable Stat That Makes Me Bullish on AI Stocks

Market sentiment toward artificial intelligence (AI) is currently mixed. While it was the premier sector to invest in during 2023 through 2025, investors are a bit more selective and skeptical in 2026. They see the AI hyperscalers spending record-setting amounts on capital improvements, yet returns on this spending are still to come (if they come at all).

Investors considering AI stocks need to be patient. The reality is, most companies haven't started using AI on a day-to-day basis. Once they do, they're going to need a lot more computing capacity than is available right now. Those who are bullish on the AI trend should look at this short-term skepticism as a long-term AI buying opportunity.

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Less than 20% of companies are using AI

AI usage is rapidly growing, but there's still a large majority of the population that isn't using it. Businesses are even worse, and according to research done by The Motley Fool, only 18% of businesses are currently using AI. That figure is expected to rise to 22% in the next few months, showing rapid adoption. But businesses are still a long way away from an AI-first approach that we keep hearing about.

Larger firms are a bit more tech savvy and have a 27% usage rate, but that's still way under half. There is clearly more room to use AI. AI computing resources are still constrained right now, even with relatively minor usage among the business community. As a result, there is still a huge investment opportunity in AI.

We're going to need a lot more infrastructure, and that brings to mind three stock picks that could thrive.

There are several ways to profit from this massive build-out

By 2030, McKinsey & Company projects that about $7 trillion in data center capital expenditures will be needed to meet AI computing demand. For reference, the AI hyperscalers are expected to spend about $650 billion this year, so there's still a long way to go to meet the threshold necessary to achieve this goal.

Two companies that will thrive from continued build-out are Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM). Nvidia makes graphics processing units (GPUs), which have become the go-to computing unit of choice for facilitating AI workflows. While there are alternatives out there, none have the full-stack capabilities that Nvidia's GPUs have and the ability to move workloads from provider to provider. An investment in Nvidia is a bet that more GPUs are needed to process all of the AI workload yet to come online -- a pretty safe bet.

TSMC is similar, as it makes most of the logic chips that go into advanced computing devices commonly deployed in AI applications. While TSMC is Nvidia's primary chip supplier, it also produces chips for its competitors. This makes TSMC the ultimate neutral investment in the AI sector, as it's a bet that spending will continue rising, and there may be different computing unit providers that emerge as better options than Nvidia, although that isn't the case right now.

Another stock I'm bullish on is Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). Microsoft provides a lot of different software applications that include AI capabilities, and its platform will naturally be a way for many companies to increase their AI usage. It also has one of the top cloud computing platforms, Azure. Azure is where developers can build AI models and host them via the cloud, and this business unit has delivered impressive growth for Microsoft for many years. I don't see that slowing down anytime soon, due to rising AI demand, making its stock an excellent pick.

Businesses and consumers haven't come close to maximizing AI usage, and that bodes well for several AI investments. I think investors should use the current AI investing lull to load up on stocks, as there has seldom been a better time to buy some of these now-discounted stocks than right now.

Keithen Drury has positions in Microsoft, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Microsoft, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.