What Are the 3 Top Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy Right Now?

Over the past decade, the artificial intelligence (AI) market has expanded as companies launched faster, more efficient, and more intelligent AI applications. By consuming and analyzing massive amounts of data, these applications enabled their users to identify trends, make informed predictions, and execute smarter, data-driven decisions.

The rise of generative AI chatbots, including OpenAI's ChatGPT, roped in mainstream users while disrupting search engines and information-driven industries. The increasing use of AI-generated text, images, and videos has shaken up creative fields. At the same time, AI-powered algorithms have streamlined the delivery of digital ads and the consumption of digital media.

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That boom generated robust tailwinds for AI chipmakers, AI software makers, cloud infrastructure providers, and data center operators. However, the market should continue to evolve and expand as AI applications replace or enhance more jobs.

From 2026 to 2033, Grand View Research expects the global AI market to expand at a CAGR of 30.6%. To capitalize on that growth cycle, investors should buy the market's top three AI stocks: Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO), and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN).

Nvidia

Nvidia sells the best picks and shovels for the AI gold rush. It's the world's largest producer of discrete GPUs for PCs and servers. It once generated most of its revenue from the gaming PC market, but its data center GPUs now account for the lion's share of its top line.

Nvidia's high-end data center GPUs accelerate complex machine learning and AI workloads by executing massive numbers of floating-point and integer operations across parallel processes. That makes them faster and more energy-efficient than stand-alone CPUs, which are optimized for sequential workloads instead of large-scale parallel calculations.

Nvidia also locks its clients into CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture), its proprietary programming platform optimized for its own chips. It now controls over 90% of the data center GPU market, and its first-mover advantage, best-in-breed reputation, and sticky software ecosystems should keep it far ahead of its smaller challengers, such as AMD.

From fiscal 2025 (which ended last January) and fiscal 2028, analysts expect Nvidia's revenue and earnings per share (EPS) to grow at a CAGR of 46% and 45%, respectively. Its stock still looks reasonably valued at 26 times its projected earnings for 2027, and it will remain the bellwether of the booming AI market for the foreseeable future.

Broadcom

Broadcom -- a dominant producer of wireless, storage, networking, optical, mobile, and radio frequency chips -- doesn't sell any high-end data center GPUs like Nvidia. However, data centers have been ramping up their purchases of Broadcom's AI-oriented networking, optical, and custom accelerator chips to upgrade their infrastructure to handle the latest AI applications.

In fiscal 2025 (which ended last November), Broadcom's AI-related revenue surged 65% to $20 billion and accounted for 31% of its top line. In its latest conference call, CEO Hock Tan predicted that AI spending momentum would "accelerate in 2026" and continue to offset the slower growth of its non-AI chip and infrastructure software businesses.

From fiscal 2025 to fiscal 2028, analysts expect Broadcom's revenue and EPS to grow at a CAGR of 37% and 48%, respectively. Its AI business should drive most of that growth. Still, its non-AI chip and infrastructure software businesses should continue to expand as interest rates decline and the broader macroeconomic environment stabilizes. Its stock doesn't seem overheated at 30 times its projected earnings for fiscal 2027, and it will likely acquire even more companies -- as it did over the past decade -- to strengthen its core businesses.

Amazon

Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce and cloud infrastructure company, will also benefit from the growth of the AI market. More AI-oriented companies are expected to increase their spending on Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud infrastructure platform, to host their latest AI applications. It's supporting that growing demand with new custom AI accelerators and dedicated platforms for developing machine learning, generative AI, and agentic AI applications. Amazon's e-commerce marketplace also uses AI algorithms to power its recommendations and integrated ads.

AWS controlled 32% of the global cloud infrastructure market in the second quarter of 2025, according to Canalys, putting it far ahead of Microsoft's Azure (22%) and Alphabet's Google Cloud (11%). The growth of that higher-margin cloud business enables Amazon to expand its lower-margin retail business with discounts, free shipping options, streaming media, and other loss-leading perks.

From 2024 to 2027, analysts expect Amazon's revenue and EPS to grow at a CAGR of 12% and 20%, respectively. It might not seem like a bargain at 31 times next year's earnings, but it's one of the simplest ways to profit from the growth of the cloud, AI, and e-commerce markets.

Leo Sun has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and 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.