The Best Stocks to Invest $50,000 in Right Now

The equity market is in record territory, as measured by the S&P 500 index. Investors looking to put a relatively large sum of money to work might not think now is a good time. But that's a flawed view.

Here are the best companies to invest $50,000 in right now. Hint: They're both dominant artificial intelligence (AI) stocks.

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These are some mind-boggling metrics

In July 2023, Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) CEO, Sundar Pichai, revealed a monster data point. He said that the business had "15 products that each serve half a billion people, and six that serve over 2 billion each."

Not far from the Google parent's headquarters in the Bay Area is Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META). During the fourth quarter of 2025 (ended Dec. 31), this business reported having 3.58 billion daily active users.

Take a moment to pick your jaw up off the floor. These two companies, which are each deserving of a $25,000 investment allocation, have unrivaled adoption. They quite literally impact the daily lives of people across the globe.

Consequently, there are unbelievably powerful network effects at play. Google Search and YouTube are constantly getting better with more usage, data, and improving algorithms. The same is true of Meta's various social media apps.

Putting all their eggs in the AI basket

Another reason to buy these stocks is because both companies are in enviable financial positions. Alphabet and Meta posted 18% and 24% year-over-year revenue growth, respectively, in Q4 2025. At their huge scale, this type of expansion is impressive. And it shows that the digital ad market in particular has a long runway ahead.

But what stands out is further down the income statement. They produce massive profits. This supports their free cash flows and robust balance sheet positions. As of Dec. 31, 2025 Alphabet and Meta had $126.8 billion and $81.6 billion, respectively, of cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities.

As a result, Alphabet and Meta have the financial resources to go all in on AI. Combined, they plan to spend $290 billion to $320 billion in capital expenditures in 2026, big jumps from last year. In an effort to bolster computing capacity and build the required technical infrastructure to better serve users and their various customers, the leadership teams view these capital outlays as necessary.

Two of the cheapest "Magnificent Seven" stocks

Besides Microsoft, these two trade at the lowest price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios of all the "Magnificent Seven" stocks. Their compelling valuations, with both P/E multiples sitting firmly below 30, are another reason that they make good investment opportunities for those with $50,000 ready to put to work.

Neil Patel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.