3 Stocks to Load Up on Before 2026 Is Over

Key Points

• Nvidia and Broadcom are cashing in on major spending by the AI hypercalers.
• Micron is a key component provider to Nvidia and Broadcom.
• 10 stocks we like better than Nvidia ›

As 2026 draws to the final quarter, investors should direct some of their attention to what may work in 2027.

I think 2027 will be another year of dominance by artificial intelligence stocks (surprise, surprise). While some investors may be growing weary of the AI trade, I think several factors will boost this industry and make some of the biggest winners over the past few years look like attractive investments.

Missed AI’s "Act 1"? Act 2 Could Be 15x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn't buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our analysts, we’re only at the end of "Act 1"—the R&D phase. "Act 2" is the global rollout. Continue »

So, what three stocks do I think are the best to buy before the year is over? I think it's easily Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO), and Micron (NASDAQ: MU).

AI is expected to boom again in 2027

One of the reasons I think AI stocks will see success in 2027 is the result of some IPOs that haven't happened. OpenAI and Anthropic are two of the biggest names in the AI model space, and make the ChatGPT and Claude AI models. These two companies are expected to go public sometime in 2026, and could have a valuation of $2 trillion each attached to them. That will be some major new additions to the stock market, but I think it will just highlight the need for more computing power.

That's where these three come in.

Nvidia is the primary AI computing unit provider, and nearly every AI firm uses Nvidia GPUs in some way. Nvidia is the industry standard computing unit for a reason, and it expects incredible growth in 2027 as a company and for the industry as a whole.

Next year, its management team believes the company will grow revenue at a 70% pace. If you've followed Nvidia throughout the AI race, you know that management often sandbags its guidance, so the real growth rate is likely higher than this. As for a large industry outlook, Nvidia expects the big five AI hyper-scalers to spend nearly $800 billion in 2026, with that figure rising to $1.3 trillion next year.

That leaves plenty of room for growth for Nvidia, but also its competitors.

Broadcom is a rising star in the AI world

Nvidia makes broad-purpose computing chips, while Broadcom's are far more specialized. Broadcom has partnered with several AI firms, including OpenAI and Anthropic, to design a computing unit that is specifically tailored for their workloads. This makes a cheaper and more streamlined computing process, but it must be used for its optimized workload. Outside of that, the computing unit is useless. This makes them perfect for some applications, but not all.

There's plenty of room for Nvidia and Broadcom to thrive in the AI race. Broadcom is expected to grow quicker than Nvidia, as its AI semiconductor revenue is more than doubling to $115 billion next year.

That's a solid growth rate, and it makes Broadcom a no-brainer investment right now.

Nvidia and Broadcom need Micron's chips

Nvidia and Broadcom's computing units cannot run without memory chips, and currently, there's a huge shortage. Micron is one of the biggest memory chip providers in this space and is benefiting from soaring prices.

While Micron could sit around and enjoy the elevated prices, it's actively expanding its production footprint to provide clients with more memory chips. That production capacity won't be online until mid-2027 and into 2028. Micron also doesn't expect the "tightness" in the memory chip space to alleviate until 2028, which leaves plenty of time for the stock to boom.

Even after the tightness is alleviated, memory chips will still be in high demand. This will extend Micron's growth cycle for many years beyond 2028, especially if AI hyperscalers continue spending hundreds of billions of dollars on data centers through 2030 and later.

All three of these stocks are slated to cash in on the AI buildout. With the AI buildout intensifying in 2027, they make for no-brainer buys now to position your portfolio wisely heading into the new year.

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Keithen Drury has positions in Broadcom and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Broadcom, Micron Technology, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.