3 Absurdly Cheap Stocks That Could Double in 2026
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By Keithen Drury – Jan 11, 2026 at 10:53AM ESTKey PointsThe Trade Desk is still growing at a market-beating pace despite its underperformance last year.Design software giant Adobe continues to hold its own just fine against generative AI.Digital payments processor PayPal is buying back its shares at a rapid pace.CEO says this is worth 18 Nvidias. Will this make the world's first trillionaire? ›NASDAQ: TTDThe Trade DeskMarket Cap$18BToday's Changeangle-down(0.08%) $0.03Current Price$37.33Price as of January 9, 2026 at 3:58 PM ETThe market wasn't kind to this trio in 2026.Although growth investing has been the go-to strategy for ultimate investing returns since the artificial intelligence (AI) arms race began in 2023, it has also claimed some victims. There are several companies that are being actively disrupted, although not every one of them is an AI victim. This opens up the potential for a value investment, as these stocks have sold off below a reasonable valuation. If you're looking to add a bit of value to your portfolio, I think investors should consider The Trade Desk (TTD +0.08%), Adobe (ADBE 1.45%), and PayPal Holding (PYPL 1.00%). Image source: Getty Images. 1.
The Trade Desk The Trade Desk isn't a company that's being disrupted by artificial intelligence; it disrupted itself by deploying it! It rolled out its AI-powered ad-buying platform, Kokai, to mixed reviews. This caused some customers to leave the platform entirely and others to scale back usage.
The Trade Desk is actively working on fixing this blunder, but it has taken a toll on its stock. Additionally, Amazon has entered the advertising game and has captured a large part of the market that The Trade Desk was hoping to gain. Amazon's consumer information is far more accurate than anyone else's, as it has actual data for what consumers are shopping for. ExpandNASDAQ: TTDThe Trade DeskToday's Change(0.08%) $0.03Current Price$37.33Key Data PointsMarket Cap$18BDay's Range$36.63 - $37.6452wk Range$35.65 - $126.20Volume274KAvg Vol12MGross Margin78.81% All of this has disrupted The Trade Desk's investment thesis, and its stock was one of the worst-performing S&P 500 components last year. The stock is down more than 70% from its all-time high, but investors should consider scooping up this longtime winner at a much more attractive price.
The Trade Desk isn't that expensive now, trading at 18.5 times forward earnings.Advertisement TTD PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts. PE Ratio = price-to-earnings ratio. For reference, the S&P 500 as a whole trades for 22.1 times forward earnings. You'd think that a company trading at a discount to the market would be growing more slowly, but that's not the case. In the third quarter, The Trade Desk's revenue rose 18% year over year. For 2026, Wall Street expects 16% growth. That's a recipe for a company that can bounce back, and it's one of my top value investments for 2026. 2. Adobe Adobe is a company that everyone is convinced will be disrupted by generative AI. With the various generative AI engines becoming more sophisticated in generating AI images, the assumption is that there won't be a need for Adobe's creative design software. However, Adobe has openly embraced the generative AI tools and has worked to integrate them into its platform. ExpandNASDAQ: ADBEAdobeToday's Change(-1.45%) $-4.93Current Price$334.11Key Data PointsMarket Cap$140BDay's Range$328.00 - $335.9252wk Range$311.58 - $465.70Volume145KAvg Vol3.9MGross Margin88.60% In their eyes, there will always be a need for professionally designed images, even if they are assisted by generative AI tools. Adobe's products give the user ultimate control over the end product, which is key in shaping a brand. Since the AI revolution kicked off in 2023, Adobe's growth rates haven't really changed. ADBE Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts. YoY = year over year. This shows that it's doing just fine, growing even though everyone assumes that it's being disrupted. The market also has no faith in its stock, and it trades for a dirt cheap 14.4 times forward earnings. Adobe is a great value play to scoop up, and it could deliver solid returns. ExpandNASDAQ: PYPLPayPalToday's Change(-1.00%) $-0.58Current Price$57.69Key Data PointsMarket Cap$54BDay's Range$57.28 - $58.8652wk Range$55.85 - $93.25Volume536KAvg Vol16MGross Margin41.64%Dividend Yield0.24% 3. PayPal PayPal is the cheapest stock of the three, trading for just 10 times forward earnings. It is battling other payment processors and payment ecosystems to maintain its market share, and it's doing an OK job. Its growth isn't anything spectacular, but it continues to deliver mid- to high-single-digit growth each quarter. However, PayPal is doing the smart thing and buying back all the stock it can at this depressed stock price. Because its stock is cheap, these share repurchases have an outsize effect, causing its diluted earnings per share (EPS) to rise at a much faster rate. PYPL Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts. YoY = year over year. EPS = earnings per share. If PayPal can keep this up, eventually it will become too cheap to ignore. As a result, I think PayPal is a great stock to buy now and wait for it to be fairly valued by the market.Read NextJan 8, 2026 •By Brett SchaferWhy the Trade Desk Stock Collapsed 68% In 2025Jan 2, 2026 •By Sean Williams7 Magnificent Stocks That Can Double Your Money in 2026Dec 30, 2025 •By Keith SpeightsPrediction: 3 Stocks That Will Be Worth More Than Newsmax 5 Years From NowDec 28, 2025 •By Keithen Drury2 Beaten-Down Stocks That Could Make a Comeback in 2026Dec 26, 2025 •By Daniel SparksDown 73% From All-Time High, Is The Trade Desk Stock a Buy?Dec 25, 2025 •By Adam Levy2 Extraordinary Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks Down 30% and 73% to Buy Before They Turn Around in 2026About the AuthorKeithen Drury is a contributing Motley Fool technology analyst covering AI, semiconductors, cybersecurity, and SaaS stocks. In addition to The Motley Fool, Keithen is a mechanical engineer and has held roles at Honeywell and smaller industrial companies like Brand Hydraulics and Lincoln Industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Dordt University.TMFTripleOptionStocks MentionedThe Trade DeskNASDAQ: TTD$37.29 (0.00%) $0.01AdobeNASDAQ: ADBE$333.95 (0.02%) $5.09PayPalNASDAQ: PYPL$57.69 (0.01%) $0.58*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.Advertisement