What Are the 2 Top Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy Right Now?

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By Neil Patel – Mar 9, 2026 at 1:45AM ESTKey PointsThe first company investors should buy has operations in all areas of AI, putting it at the forefront of this technology. The founder and CEO of the second top AI business is spending generously to introduce personal superintelligence. These two “Magnificent Seven” stocks trade at reasonable price-to-earnings ratios that are below 30. Investors love to follow the biggest trends altering our economy. In recent years, nothing has been more important than the notable rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Companies of all shapes and sizes are finding ways to use this technology to drive growth and cut costs. And investors want to figure out how to best position their portfolios for long-term gains. The good news is that you don't have to search far and wide to find top AI stocks. These two trillion-dollar enterprises are worth considering for investment right now. Image source: Getty Images. Alphabet is an end-to-end AI juggernaut The first stock that's a leader in the AI race is Alphabet (GOOGL 0.75%) (GOOG 0.87%). This pick might not come as a surprise, given that the company has long been a dominant force in the internet age. It's leaning on AI capabilities to strengthen its empire. What makes Alphabet stand out is its presence across seemingly every area of AI. The company runs an AI research lab called DeepMind. It's developing chips known as tensor processing units. And with its Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Alphabet owns a booming cloud computing segment that rounds out its impressive position at the AI infrastructure layer. Speaking of GCP, it's operating at a very high level. Revenue surged 48% year over year in the fourth quarter. CEO Sundar Pichai says the backlog is $240 billion. Alphabet's various apps and platforms, among them Search, Gmail, Maps, and YouTube, are all powered by AI. It also is using AI features to bolster creativity and monetization for its ad clients. Alphabet collected $295 billion in advertising revenue in 2026, so it must cater to these customers. In 2026, Alphabet's capital expenditures (capex) are expected to total $170 billion at the midpoint. Representing an 87% increase from the year before, this is a clear sign of management's commitment to AI. ExpandNASDAQ: GOOGLAlphabetToday's Change(-0.75%) $-2.25Current Price$298.42Key Data PointsMarket Cap$3.6TDay's Range$294.97 - $300.3152wk Range$140.53 - $349.00Volume915KAvg Vol34MGross Margin59.68%Dividend Yield0.28% Meta Platforms leverages AI to boost engagement and ad capabilities The next stock to consider is Meta Platforms (META 2.33%). It's also been at the forefront of the internet revolution, operating many popular social media platforms. Between Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads, the business counted a mind-boggling 3.58 billion daily active users in Q4. That kind of adoption is unmatched. And it gives Meta powerful network effects. Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg's AI intent is clear. He wants to bring personal superintelligence to people all over the world. Engagement is important to Meta Platforms. AI is helping to improve personalized content recommendations, which can push users to spend more time on the apps. Because advertising sales represented 98% of the company's entire revenue base last year, Meta is also introducing AI-enabled ad enhancements. Zuckerberg's objective is for AI to automate the whole ad process for customers who provide a clear goal and budget. Like Alphabet, Meta is sparing no expense. It paid to bring prime AI talent in-house last year. And capex was $72 billion in 2025 to expand computing capacity. Its capex projection for 2026 is between $115 billion and $135 billion. ExpandNASDAQ: METAMeta PlatformsToday's Change(-2.33%) $-15.42Current Price$645.15Key Data PointsMarket Cap$1.6TDay's Range$636.23 - $649.4552wk Range$479.80 - $796.25Volume928KAvg Vol15MGross Margin82.00%Dividend Yield0.33% These are two of the cheapest "Magnificent Seven" stocks Investors will wonder why now is a great time to buy these businesses. Besides their strong financial performances, the valuations are inviting. This is a key factor that should always be incorporated into a thorough analysis. Besides Microsoft, these two stocks are the cheapest of the prestigious "Magnificent Seven" club. Alphabet and Meta trade at price-to-earnings ratios of 28.1 and 28.4, respectively. Investors who buy these top AI stocks now are improving the quality of their portfolios. Read NextMar 9, 2026 •By John BallardYou Don't Need Polymarket to Make a Winning Bet.
Just Buy This AI Stock.Mar 9, 2026 •By Sean WilliamsFor the First Time in 13 Quarters, Billionaire Chase Coleman's No. 1 Holding Isn't Meta Platforms or Microsoft -- but It Is a "Magnificent" StockMar 8, 2026 •By Geoffrey Seiler3 Tech Stocks You Can Buy and Hold for the Next DecadeMar 8, 2026 •By Patrick Sanders3 Unstoppable Tech Stocks to Buy Right Now for Less Than $1,000Mar 8, 2026 •By Marc GubertiThe Smartest Growth Stock to Buy With $3,000 Right NowMar 7, 2026 •By Keithen DruryThe Best "Magnificent Seven" Stocks to Buy in MarchAbout the AuthorNeil Patel is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering consumer staples, consumer discretionary, financials, information technology, and communication services. Prior to The Motley Fool, Neil worked in corporate finance roles at JPMorgan Chase and Capital One. He also has experience working on a start-up in the cryptocurrency space. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a specialization in finance from Ohio State University.TMFNeilPatelStocks MentionedAlphabetNASDAQ: GOOGL$298.42(-0.75%)-$2.25Meta PlatformsNASDAQ: META$645.15(-2.33%)-$15.42MicrosoftNASDAQ: MSFT$408.93(-0.43%)-$1.75AlphabetNASDAQ: GOOG$298.09(-0.87%)-$2.61*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.
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