The Best Stocks to Invest $1,000 in Right Now

By Manali Pradhan, CFA – Mar 12, 2026 at 6:30PM ESTKey PointsAmazon’s rapidly growing AWS business and massive AI infrastructure investments position it as a major beneficiary of the AI boom.TSMC plays a crucial role in meeting hardware demand for AI infrastructure buildout.Strong financial momentum and aggressive capacity expansion can help both companies capitalize on this AI wave.Global markets in 2026 are facing a host of problems, including geopolitical tensions, higher oil prices, and renewed inflation concerns. In this environment, investors are increasingly opting for companies with sustainable competitive advantages and robust financials. Image source: Getty Images. In case you have $1,000 that is not required to pay bills or set aside for contingencies, two stocks worth considering in this environment are Amazon (AMZN 1.52%) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM 4.96%). Amazon Amazon has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure buildout.

Through Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company provides the critical cloud infrastructure that many businesses rely on to train, deploy, and run AI applications at scale. ExpandNASDAQ: AMZNAmazonToday's Change(-1.52%) $-3.23Current Price$209.42Key Data PointsMarket Cap$2.3TDay's Range$208.15 - $211.7052wk Range$161.38 - $258.60Volume2.7MAvg Vol49MGross Margin50.29% In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 (ending Dec. 31, 2025), AWS revenue grew 24% year over year to $35.6 billion, marking its fastest growth in the past 13 quarters. AWS exited fiscal 2025 as a $142 billion annualized run rate business. Amazon plans to spend about $200 billion in capex in 2026, with a large portion directed toward expanding AWS infrastructure to meet soaring demand for both traditional cloud and AI workloads. Amazon is further strengthening AWS' position with custom silicon. Its proprietary Trainium and Graviton chips now generate more than $10 billion in annual revenue run rate and offer better price-performance than many traditional chips. These custom chips are helping reduce AI computing costs and will boost AWS' margins over time. Amazon has also entered into long-term agreements with strategic players such as OpenAI, Visa, and Salesforce. These deals are ensuring long-term revenue visibility for AWS and reinforcing its position as a critical AI platform. Finally, Amazon has another powerful profit engine in advertising, with revenues rising 22% year over year to $21.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. Hence, considering Amazon's accelerating AWS growth, massive AI infrastructure investments, custom silicon strategy, and rapidly expanding advertising business, the company seems a safe and reliable pick in the current uncertain economic environment.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (or TSMC) manufactures advanced chips for major AI chip designers such as Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices, and Broadcom. Operating the largest global foundry, TSMC sits at the center of the global AI boom. ExpandNYSE: TSMTaiwan Semiconductor ManufacturingToday's Change(-4.96%) $-17.57Current Price$336.99Key Data PointsMarket Cap$1.8TDay's Range$336.40 - $346.9052wk Range$134.25 - $390.20Volume1MAvg Vol13MGross Margin58.73%Dividend Yield0.87% The demand for the company's cutting-edge chips has been rising. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said that TSMC may need to double its production capacity over the next decade, just to meet Nvidia's AI demand. Broadcom is also reported to have secured TSMC's advanced node production capacity for AI chip production through 2028. TSMC's recent financial performance already reflects the strong demand trends. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 (ending Dec. 31, 2025), revenues were up 26% year over year to $33.7 billion. The company also reported record gross margins of 62.3% and a net profit margin of 48.3%. The financial momentum seems to be accelerating, with the company's revenues rising nearly 37% year over year in January 2026. TSMC already plans to invest $52 billion to $56 billion in capex in 2026. Of this, 70% to 80% will be directed toward advanced chip manufacturing. With AI and high-performance computing workloads heavily reliant on the company's advanced process nodes, TSMC will continue to enjoy strong pricing power. All these factors position TSMC as a smart pick in March 2026.Read NextMar 12, 2026 •By Neil PatelIs Amazon Stock a Once-in-a-Decade Buying Opportunity?Mar 12, 2026 •By John Ballard2 Growth Stocks to Buy and Hold ForeverMar 11, 2026 •By Prosper Junior Bakiny2 Brilliant Growth Stocks to Buy Now and Hold for the Long TermMar 11, 2026 •By Neil PatelIs Amazon Stock Overvalued or Dirt Cheap? Here's the 1 Metric That MattersMar 11, 2026 •By Lawrence Rothman, CFAHave $500? 2 Absurdly Cheap Stocks Long-Term Investors Should Buy Right Now.Mar 11, 2026 •By Sean WilliamsBillionaire Bill Ackman Dumped His Fund's Stake in Chipotle and Has Piled Into This Dual-Industry Leader Over the Previous 3 QuartersAbout the AuthorManali Pradhan, CFA, is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering technology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and industrial sectors. Manali brings prior experience as a healthcare analyst and team lead at Market Realist, a data equity analyst at Morgan Stanley, and a data analyst at Deloitte Financial Advisory Services. She holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and a master’s in finance from Mumbai University.TMFManaBStocks MentionedAmazonNASDAQ: AMZN$209.42(-1.52%)-$3.23Taiwan Semiconductor ManufacturingNYSE: TSM$336.99(-4.96%)-$17.57*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.