The Best Stocks to Invest $10,000 In Right Now

By Patrick Sanders – Mar 20, 2026 at 1:00PM ESTKey PointsNivida's chips are so popular that even six-year-old models are selling out.Palantir's AIP changed the company's trajectory.I try to keep my investments simple -- I love exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for the instant diversification; I don't fiddle around with options; and I believe in buying and holding funds for a long period of time, adding to my positions consistently over time and rebalancing a couple times a year. But like many investors, I have my tried-and-true, ride-or-die companies that I highly value. These are companies that, despite the opinions of naysayers, form the anchor of my current portfolio, and they are the first names that come to mind when anyone asks me for investment advice. If I were just starting out today, the first two stocks I would buy with a $10,000 nest egg would be Nvidia (NVDA 2.75%) and Palantir Technologies (PLTR 3.80%). Both have done extremely well and have long runways to continued growth. Image source: Getty Images. 1. Nvidia Nvidia has been a massive winner over the last three years -- a $5,000 investment would be worth nearly $36,000 today. That's a gain of 621% for the chipmaker, whose graphics processing units (GPUs) are considered the gold standard for training and running artificial intelligence (AI)-powered programs and other high-level computing tasks. ExpandNASDAQ: NVDANvidiaToday's Change(-2.75%) $-4.92Current Price$173.64Key Data PointsMarket Cap$4.3TDay's Range$173.59 - $178.1152wk Range$86.62 - $212.19Volume4.6MAvg Vol173MGross Margin71.07%Dividend Yield0.02% But you're not too late to jump in on Nvidia stock. The company is generating massive revenue and earnings gains, with revenue in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 (ending Jan. 25) of $68.1 billion, up 73% from a year ago. Net income was $39.5 billion, up 79% from last year, and earnings of $1.82 per share were a gain of 82% from a year ago. Nvidia rolled out its new Blackwell chips last year, and its next-generation Rubin chips should be top sellers, too. "With Nvidia infrastructure in high demand, even Hopper and much of the six-year-old Ampere-based products are sold out in the cloud," CFO Colette Kress told analysts on the company's most recent earnings call. 2.

Palantir Technologies As dynamic as Nvidia's growth has been, Palantir's is even better. Shares are up 1,820% in the last three years, meaning a $5,000 investment in March 2023 would be worth more than $97,000 today. Palantir uses its powerful software platforms for government, military, and civilian uses. For the government, Palantir improves logistics, provides insights into real-time battlefield situations, and even uses AI to help identify targets. For commercial clients, Palantir's systems help manage inventory and the supply chain and provide competitive analysis. ExpandNASDAQ: PLTRPalantir TechnologiesToday's Change(-3.80%) $-5.92Current Price$149.76Key Data PointsMarket Cap$372BDay's Range$149.66 - $156.6052wk Range$66.12 - $207.52Volume1.1MAvg Vol48MGross Margin82.37% Tying it all together is the company's vaunted Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), which leverages generative AI to let users submit detailed prompts to access Palantir's network and retrieve information. That helped Palantir's revenue jump by 70% in the fourth quarter to $1.40 billion. U.S. commercial revenue increased by 137% from a year ago to $507 million, and U.S. government revenue was up 66% on a year-over-year basis to $570 million. How to invest It would be a mistake to put your entire nest egg into just two companies, even if they are as dynamic and promising as Nvidia and Palantir. Investors should always maintain a diversified portfolio of stocks. But if you have $10,000 and are looking for some high-flying names with massive potential to add to your holdings, Nvidia and Palantir look like they are can't-miss opportunities.Read NextMar 20, 2026 •By Adam Spatacco3 AI Stocks Trading at Bargain Prices After the Recent Sell-OffMar 20, 2026 •By Will Healy2 Stocks That Can (Mostly) Escape the Impact of High Oil PricesMar 20, 2026 •By Neil PatelIs Nvidia Stock Going to $500?Mar 19, 2026 •By Harsh Chauhan1 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock With Generational Wealth PotentialMar 19, 2026 •By Jack DelaneyPrediction: The Agentic AI Market Could Grow 10X by 2030.

This Stock Is Leading the Charge.Mar 19, 2026 •By Parkev Tatevosian, CFANvidia Stock Is Even More Undervalued Than I Previously ThoughtAbout the AuthorPatrick Sanders is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering stocks and ETFs in the consumer, financial, and technology sectors. Before joining The Motley Fool, he was an assistant managing editor at U.S. News & World Report and a news editor for The Associated Press. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Marshall University.TMFPatrickStocks MentionedNvidiaNASDAQ: NVDA$173.64(-2.75%)-$4.92Palantir TechnologiesNASDAQ: PLTR$149.88(-3.73%)-$5.80*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.