This "Magnificent Seven" Stock Could Be the Biggest Winner in 2026, According to Wall Street

Source The Motley Fool

Key Points

  • Analysts project one big loser and two laggards among the "Magnificent Seven" stocks next year.

  • Wall Street expects the other four stocks in the group to deliver strong gains in 2026.

  • Analysts think that one "Magnificent Seven" stock could soar 39% over the next 12 months.

  • 10 stocks we like better than Apple ›

No one has Nostradamus-like powers of prediction. That's true even of Nostradamus himself, whose track record wasn't nearly as impressive as the hype surrounding some of his prophecies.

That said, Wall Street analysts are paid handsomely to thoroughly research stocks, enabling them to attempt to project how the stocks might perform in the near term. Unsurprisingly, many analysts focus on the so-called "Magnificent Seven" stocks, since they rank among the largest stocks on the market. One member of the elite group could be the biggest winner in 2026, according to Wall Street.

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Losers and laggards

Before we get to Wall Street's projected biggest winner among the Magnificent Seven, let's look at a few that analysts believe will be losers and laggards. Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) will be the biggest loser next year, if analysts are right.

Less than half of the 47 analysts surveyed by S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) in December rated Tesla as a "buy" or "strong buy." The average 12-month price target for the electric vehicle maker is 12% below the share price as of the market close on Dec. 11, 2025.

Wall Street doesn't seem to think Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) recent momentum has legs, either. Although 29 of the 48 analysts surveyed by S&P Global recommended the iPhone maker's stock as a "buy" or "strong buy," the consensus price target for Apple reflects minimal upside potential.

It's a similar story for Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL). Google's parent company is popular on Wall Street, with 56 of the 65 analysts surveyed by S&P Global rating the stock as a "buy" or better. However, the average 12-month price target for Alphabet is only 5% above its share price.

Wall Street's winners

Wall Street doesn't think all of the Magnificent Seven stocks will be duds in 2026, though. Analysts expect several members of the group to be significant winners in the new year.

For example, the consensus price target for Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) reflects an upside potential of roughly 28% over the next 12 months. Such a gain would be a nice improvement over Amazon's lackluster performance this year. Impressively, 64 of the 67 analysts surveyed by S&P Global rated Amazon as a "buy" or "strong buy," with the three outliers recommending holding the stock.

Analysts think Meta Platforms' (NASDAQ: META) share price will soar around the same amount as Amazon's. Support for the parent company of Facebook and Instagram was also broad, with 60 of the 67 analysts surveyed by S&P Global rating the stock as a "buy" or better.

Wall Street also loves Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). The average 12-month price target is around 29% higher than the share price as of the market close on Dec. 11, 2025. Fifty-four of the 56 analysts surveyed by S&P Global recommend Microsoft as a "buy" or "strong buy."

The most magnificent of all?

If you're familiar with the Magnificent Seven stocks, you know that only one remains that hasn't been mentioned so far: Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA). Wall Street appears to view the GPU maker as the most magnificent of them all.

The consensus price target for Nvidia reflects an upside potential of 39%. Of the 64 analysts surveyed by S&P Global, 60 rated the stock as a "buy" or better.

I think Wall Street's bullish take on Nvidia is warranted. The AI boom is likely to continue in 2026 as organizations scramble to implement agentic AI solutions, in my opinion. Although the competition in the AI chip market may intensify, I expect Nvidia's GPUs to enjoy strong demand.

Optimism about the prospects for Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft also makes sense to me. Amazon and Microsoft should, like Nvidia, benefit from an agentic AI tailwind. Meta is reportedly cutting costs in its metaverse unit, which should boost profitability.

However, I suspect that analysts may be wrong about the growth potential for Alphabet and Apple next year. Google Cloud is firing on all cylinders and is likely to continue doing so in 2026. Apple's iPhone 17 is experiencing strong sales momentum as 2025 comes to a close. Also, I expect both Google and Apple will unveil smart glasses next year that could compete with the Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses.

What about Tesla? I won't even try to predict whether or not the stock will decline as much as Wall Street thinks it will. After all, I'm no Nostradamus.

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Keith Speights has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, S&P Global, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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