2 AI Stocks Down 20% or More That Are Screaming Buys

Key Points
Nothing has changed about the investment thesis for Microsoft, yet its stock is down nearly 30% from its all-time high.
Investors are concerned about Meta Platforms' infrastructure spending.
- 10 stocks we like better than Microsoft ›
With the market selling off a bit due to geopolitical and macroeconomic instability stemming from the Iran war, there are several compelling investment opportunities available. Some of those are in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, and there are a couple of stocks that are 20% or more off their all-time highs that I think make for strong picks.
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1. Microsoft
It's fairly unusual for Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to be trading 20% or more below its all-time high, but that's where it finds itself. Right now, the stock is down around 30% from its peak. It's the stock's second-deepest slump in the last decade, only exceeded by the one it took during the marketwide sell-off from late 2022 to early 2023.
However, Microsoft's business isn't struggling. In its fiscal 2026 second quarter (which ended Dec. 31), its revenue rose 17% year over year. Its cloud computing division, Azure, also did great, with revenue rising 39%. That segment's results offer investors a peek into the health of AI spending more broadly, and with its revenue continuing to soar, Microsoft looks to be in a great position.
Wall Street analysts expect 16% revenue growth next quarter, which is the same projection for its fiscal 2026 growth rate. In short, there isn't a ton to dislike about Microsoft's financials. Yet in the wake of this sell-off, the stock is now near its cheapest levels of the past decade.
I'm choosing to gauge its valuation using the operating price-to-earnings ratio because that excludes the effects of investment gains. Microsoft owns 27% of OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT. That investment has added a ton of net income to Microsoft on paper, even though it hasn't locked any of that in by selling any of its stake. From an operating P/E standpoint, its stock has seldom been this cheap, and any time investors have taken the opportunity to buy it at a similar level and held on, they have made a great profit.
I think right now is as good a time as any to buy Microsoft stock.
2. Meta Platforms
While the market has had a mostly positive relationship with Microsoft stock over the past decade, its relationship with Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) falls more under the category of love-hate. Right now, the market is trending toward a negative view of the social media giant: Meta stock is down around 23% from its all-time high. The company is no stranger to deep sell-offs, though. It has been down 20% or more from its all-time high several times over the past decade.
Yet Meta's latest results also look great. In Q4, revenue was up 24% year over year, thanks to its ad sales continuing to soar.
The biggest issue the market has with Meta isn't its growth or current business, but what it's spending on AI infrastructure. It is routing nearly every dollar of its operating cash flow into its data center capital expenditures, which it has said will land in the $115 billion to $135 billion range this year. That's sparking concerns among investors that the company is overextending itself.
However, what the skeptics fail to realize is that the risk of underspending is far greater than that of overspending. If Meta's AI aspirations lead to a popular consumer product, its stock could soar, and the company could essentially become the next Apple. This would justify the billions of dollars it has spent developing AI as well as its smart glasses.
I'm still bullish on Meta's future, and I think that this price is a great buying opportunity. The market always comes back around to loving Meta stock eventually.
Should you buy stock in Microsoft right now?
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Keithen Drury has positions in Meta Platforms and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft and is short shares of Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.