Top 20 US Stocks for 2026
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The year 2026 presents a compelling investment landscape defined by structural tailwinds in artificial intelligence infrastructure, healthcare innovation driven by GLP-1 therapeutics, and robust defense spending. This guide examines 20 high-conviction US stocks positioned to deliver above-market returns, each backed by fundamental catalysts, competitive advantages, and multi-year growth trajectories.
The selection spans semiconductors powering AI acceleration, infrastructure builders, healthcare leaders navigating patent cliffs and new therapeutic paradigms, and technology platforms monetizing AI and digital transformation. Each company is selected based on revenue momentum, margin expansion, customer concentration with multi-year commitments, and pipeline quality that extends growth visibility well beyond 2026.
1. Western Digital Corporation (WDC)
What the company does
Western Digital manufactures storage solutions across hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), and NAND flash. It operates in client devices (PCs, mobile, consumer) and large-scale data center storage, with a global manufacturing footprint and thousands of active patents.
Investment rationale for 2026
Western Digital has shifted from a cyclical storage name to a structural AI infrastructure play. Revenue grew double-digits year over year, driven by hyperscale cloud demand and AI workloads that are massively storage-intensive.
Key points for 2026:
Top hyperscale customers have locked in purchase commitments through 2026 (and one into 2027), indicating visibility of exabyte-scale demand.
Gross margins have expanded meaningfully as pricing recovers and mix tilts toward high-capacity enterprise drives and SSDs.
The technology roadmap (32TB and 36TB HDDs entering production, HAMR-based drives on the horizon) positions Western Digital as a core supplier for AI data centers.
For investors, WDC offers leveraged exposure to the growth in data creation, cloud storage, and AI model training – with improving margins and better capital discipline.
2. Lam Research Corporation (LRCX)
What the company does
Lam Research sells wafer fabrication equipment (WFE) to semiconductor manufacturers. It specializes in etch and deposition tools used at leading-edge nodes for memory (NAND/DRAM) and logic (CPUs, GPUs, AI accelerators).
Investment rationale for 2026
Lam is one of the purest “picks and shovels” plays on AI and semiconductor scaling:
Dominant share in advanced etch and deposition for 3D NAND and leading-edge logic.
Benefiting from three capex cycles at once: AI compute, memory recovery, and advanced packaging (chiplets, 2.5D/3D).
Customers are shifting more of their capex wallet to Lam’s core tools as complexity increases.
With a high-margin, oligopolistic position, Lam has pricing power and a long runway as AI and high-performance computing drive new wafer starts and more complex process flows.
3. AppLovin Corporation (APP)
What the company does
AppLovin runs an AI-driven advertising and monetization platform for mobile apps. It provides user acquisition, ad mediation, and analytics tools that help developers acquire users and monetize inventory more efficiently.
Investment rationale for 2026
AppLovin has successfully pivoted from a mixed gaming/ads model to a purer high-margin ad-tech business:
Divested its gaming studios to focus on the AXON AI engine and the MAX mediation platform.
Processes billions of ad requests daily, feeding its machine learning models and improving targeting performance.
Acts as both marketplace and participant, capturing attractive economics across the ad stack.
The thesis for 2026 is continued operating leverage as mobile ad budgets normalize and more verticals (e-commerce, fintech, subscription apps) adopt performance-based campaigns driven by APP’s AI models.
4. Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (FIX)
What the company does
Comfort Systems USA provides mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) services, with a focus on HVAC design, installation, and maintenance for commercial and industrial facilities, including data centers and mission-critical sites.
Investment rationale for 2026
Comfort Systems is a quietly powerful way to play the data center boom:
Large data centers require sophisticated, continuous cooling and mechanical systems – FIX is a key engineering and installation partner.
Each completed project typically leads to recurring service and maintenance contracts.
Its national footprint and specialization in complex projects make it a go-to partner for large hyperscale builds.
As AI data centers proliferate, FIX stands to benefit from both upfront project revenues and long-term service contracts.
5. Robinhood Markets, Inc. (HOOD)
What the company does
Robinhood is a fintech platform offering commission-free trading in equities, options, and crypto, alongside cash management and newer products such as prediction markets and access to private markets.
Investment rationale for 2026
Robinhood’s story in 2026 is less about meme-stock cycles and more about platform monetization and product breadth:
Strong transaction revenue growth driven by options and crypto volumes.
Rapid growth in Robinhood Gold (paid tier) subscribers, creating recurring subscription revenue.
Ongoing expansion into the EU and new product verticals like prediction markets, credit cards, and eventually private markets via closed-end structures.
For investors, HOOD is a leveraged play on retail participation in markets, but with increasing resilience as subscriptions and non-transaction products grow.
6. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)
What the company does
Alphabet is the parent of Google Search, YouTube, Google Cloud, and the Gemini AI platform. It earns most of its revenue from advertising and an increasing share from cloud services and subscriptions.
Investment rationale for 2026
Alphabet’s upside case revolves around Google Cloud and AI monetization:
Google Cloud has become a core growth engine, with rapid revenue growth and improving profitability.
Gemini underpins new AI-powered experiences across Search and Workspace, improving user engagement and ad monetization.
Recurring subscription revenue from Google One, YouTube Premium, and AI add-ons is growing fast and carries high margins.
While capex for AI infrastructure is heavy, the long-term pay-off is a more diversified, higher-margin Alphabet with meaningful non-ad revenue streams.
7. Expedia Group, Inc. (EXPE)
What the company does
Expedia operates a portfolio of travel brands including Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo, and more. It connects travelers with hotels, flights, car rentals, and vacation rentals globally.
Investment rationale for 2026
Expedia is riding resilient travel demand and a shift toward experience-driven trips:
Strong gross bookings and nights stayed, even through macro volatility.
Increasing focus on higher-margin segments like luxury travel and packaged experiences.
Proprietary “Unpack ’26” travel trend data suggests sustained demand for differentiated stays and experiences that Expedia is well placed to curate.
With improving tech infrastructure and better capital allocation, EXPE offers a way to play global travel without owning airlines or hotels directly.
8. Amphenol Corporation (APH)
What the company does
Amphenol designs and manufactures connectors, cables, and interconnect systems for data centers, aerospace, automotive, industrial, and communications markets.
Investment rationale for 2026
Connectors are small components with huge implications:
AI data centers require high-speed, high-reliability interconnects – a core APH specialty.
Defense and aerospace modernization require rugged, mission-critical connectors with demanding certification standards.
EV adoption boosts demand for automotive-grade power and data connectors.
Qualification complexity and long design cycles mean once APH is designed in, it tends to stay in. That creates sticky revenue and pricing power.
9. KLA Corporation (KLAC)
What the company does
KLA sells process control tools – inspection and metrology systems – used by chipmakers to detect defects and optimize yields in semiconductor fabs.
Investment rationale for 2026
KLA is a near-essential oligopoly in its niche:
Dominant market share in wafer and reticle inspection.
As nodes shrink and architectures become more complex (2nm, GAA, advanced packaging), yield management becomes more difficult and more valuable.
Tools are deeply integrated into fab workflows, with proprietary software and AI models that are hard to displace.
In a world that needs more chips for AI, autos, and IoT, KLAC benefits from every incremental fab and every node transition.
10. GE Aerospace (GE)
What the company does
GE Aerospace produces jet engines and related systems for commercial and military aircraft, as well as defense-related propulsion and power systems.
Investment rationale for 2026
GE Aerospace combines cyclical and structural tailwinds:
Commercial aviation recovery and fleet renewal post-pandemic.
Rising global defense budgets and large engine contracts with the U.S. and allies.
Strong free cash flow generation, aided by high-margin service contracts on installed engines.
The business has cleaner focus after GE’s breakup and is positioned as a pure-play aerospace and defense name with solid visibility into multi-year order books.
11. Eli Lilly and Company (LLY)
What the company does
Eli Lilly is a global pharmaceutical company with leadership positions in diabetes, obesity, immunology, and oncology. Recent blockbusters include GLP-1-based therapies like Mounjaro and Zepbound.
Investment rationale for 2026
LLY is the prime way to play the obesity drug revolution:
Dominant GLP-1 portfolio with both diabetes and obesity indications.
Strong late-stage pipeline, particularly oral GLP-1 candidates that offer more convenient dosing than injectables.
Massive total addressable market as obesity treatments expand beyond weight loss to cardiovascular and metabolic benefits.
While competition exists, Lilly’s execution, breadth of programs, and manufacturing scale position it to remain a leader as the market grows.
12. Incyte Corporation (INCY)
What the company does
Incyte is a biopharma company focused on oncology and inflammation. Its best-known product is Jakafi (ruxolitinib), with additional assets like Opzelura and multiple pipeline candidates.
Investment rationale for 2026
Incyte is a classic “pipeline transition” story:
Jakafi remains a strong cash generator but approaches patent expiry later in the decade.
Management is actively building a diversified pipeline across hematology, oncology, and dermatology.
Precision-medicine oriented programs (e.g., biomarker-driven oncology trials) aim for high-value, less crowded indications.
Execution risk is real, but success in a few key programs can more than offset future Jakafi erosion.
13. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
What the company does
JNJ is a diversified healthcare giant with businesses in pharmaceuticals (Innovative Medicine) and medical devices (MedTech), plus a spun-off consumer health arm.
Investment rationale for 2026
JNJ offers defensive growth with upside from innovation:
Innovative Medicine segment is offsetting loss of exclusivity on legacy drugs with new oncology and immunology launches.
MedTech is being repositioned toward higher-growth, higher-tech segments, including surgical robotics and advanced devices.
Strategic acquisitions (e.g., neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative assets) deepen the pipeline in areas of high unmet need.
JNJ remains a core compounder for investors seeking a mix of dividend stability and innovation-driven growth.
14. Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (EXPD)
What the company does
Expeditors is a non-asset-based logistics provider offering freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and supply chain solutions globally.
Investment rationale for 2026
EXPD is a way to play global trade complexity rather than just volume:
Asset-light model offers flexibility across air, ocean, and ground carriers.
Increased regulatory and customs complexity makes its expertise more valuable.
Nearshoring, reshoring, and “friendshoring” create new routing and compliance challenges where Expeditors can add value.
While sensitive to trade cycles, EXPD is structurally well-positioned as supply chains become more intricate rather than simpler.
15. Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (MPWR)
What the company does
Monolithic Power Systems designs power management ICs used in data centers, automotive, industrial, and consumer electronics. It is fabless but owns key process IP.
Investment rationale for 2026
MPWR is a picks-and-shovels play on power density and efficiency:
AI data centers need more power per rack while controlling heat – exactly MPWR’s domain.
EVs and advanced driver-assistance systems require more sophisticated, efficient power management.
Proprietary process technology allows highly integrated, efficient designs that are difficult to match.
MPWR offers a high-quality, high-margin way to gain exposure to multiple secular growth trends at once.
16. NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA)
What the company does
NVIDIA designs GPUs and accelerators for AI, data centers, gaming, and professional visualization, supported by the CUDA software ecosystem and networking products.
Investment rationale for 2026
NVIDIA remains at the center of the AI boom:
Dominant market share in data center AI accelerators.
Deep software moat via CUDA and a massive installed developer base.
Vertical integration across compute, networking, and software gives it a system-level advantage.
While competition is intensifying and capex cycles are large, NVDA continues to capture a disproportionate share of AI infrastructure value.
17. Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK)
What the company does
Merck is a large pharmaceutical company with key franchises in oncology, vaccines, and infectious diseases. Keytruda is its flagship immuno-oncology drug.
Investment rationale for 2026
The market fixates on Keytruda’s patent cliff, but there’s more to the story:
Keytruda is likely to peak mid-decade and then gradually decline, not collapse overnight.
Merck is investing heavily in next-generation oncology assets, particularly antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and targeted therapies.
Valuation already embeds significant fear about the post-Keytruda world, creating potential upside if the pipeline performs.
For long-term investors comfortable with pipeline risk, MRK offers a combination of yield, defensive earnings, and underappreciated optionality.
18. EMCOR Group, Inc. (EME)
What the company does
EMCOR provides mechanical and electrical construction services, industrial services, and facilities management for commercial, industrial, and government clients.
Investment rationale for 2026
EME is another under-the-radar AI infrastructure beneficiary:
Specializes in complex MEP work for data centers, semiconductor fabs, and critical facilities.
Follow-on service and maintenance contracts create a sticky, recurring revenue stream.
Also benefits from broader energy and infrastructure spending via industrial services.
As hyperscalers and large enterprises expand AI capacity, EMCOR’s expertise in large, technically demanding projects makes it a natural partner.
19. Apple Inc. (AAPL)
What the company does
Apple builds hardware (iPhone, Mac, iPad, Watch, AirPods) and operates a fast-growing services ecosystem (App Store, iCloud, Music, TV+, Fitness+, Apple Intelligence).
Investment rationale for 2026
Apple’s story is increasingly about services and AI:
Services now contribute a significant, high-margin slice of revenue and earnings.
Apple is layering AI (“Apple Intelligence”) into its ecosystem, with potential subscription-style monetization.
Hardware cycles (e.g., AI-enabled iPhones, possibly foldables) can drive periodic volume and ASP uplifts.
For investors, AAPL remains a high-quality compounder with a strong buyback program and a steadily rising services profit engine.
20. Arista Networks, Inc. (ANET)
What the company does
Arista Networks provides high-performance switches, routers, and software for cloud data centers, AI clusters, and high-speed networks.
Investment rationale for 2026
Arista is at the networking heart of AI data centers:
Leading supplier of 400G and 800G Ethernet switches used in AI clusters.
EOS software platform creates stickiness and simplifies operations for hyperscalers.
AI workloads demand ultra-high bandwidth and low latency – precisely Arista’s sweet spot.
As data center architectures evolve to support ever-larger AI clusters, ANET stands to be a major beneficiary of rising network spend.
Closing Thoughts
These 20 stocks collectively offer diversified exposure to three dominant themes of this decade: AI infrastructure, healthcare innovation, and digital/financial transformation. As always, position sizing, valuation discipline, and risk management remain critical – but for long-term investors, this list can serve as a starting universe for deeper due diligence and portfolio construction.
Disclaimer: This article constitutes the author’s personal views and is for entertainment and educational purposes only. It is not to be construed as financial advice in any form. Please do your own research and seek advice from a qualified financial advisor. From time to time, I have positions in all or some of the mentioned stocks when publishing this article. This is a disclosure - not a recommendation to buy or sell stocks.
The Merck analysis gets at something the market keeps missing- people treat patent cliffs like instant death, but the reality is way more gradual. I've been tracking their ADC portfolio and the stuff in phase 2 looks legit, especially when you consider how underbuilt that space still is compared to what's coming for solid tumors. What really shifts the math imo is how much buffer time they have between Keytruda peak and anygenuine erosion kicking in hard. That's not just "manage the decline" territory, that's actual runway to get new assets contributing. The market tends to price binary outcomes when teh real world is way messier and frankly more forgiving than that.
Solid analysis on the data center buildout angle. The pairing of EMCOR and Comfort Systems in the same list makes a lot of sense given how interrelated their work is on these massive hyperscale projects, but I found it intresting how the article frames EME's edge as being the sticky service contracts post-install. From what I've seen working adjacent to these builds, the real margin expansion comes when they bundle the electrical/mechanical work with ongoing energy optimization consulting that starts abot 18 months after project completion. That layer of value-add keeps them embedded much deeper than just maintenance contracts, especially as clients get more paranoid about uptime costs.