To The Moon

Dan Ives is back with a fresh shakeup to his popular IVESAI 30 list. The veteran tech analyst at Wedbush just added two red-hot AI pure-plays in CoreWeave (CRW), Iren (IREN), and another tech giant, Shopify (SHOP), to his roster of AI winners heading into 2026.

In this article I would like to share why I prefer to look at high-quality AI stocks in 2026, and here is a forward-looking analysis on why investors may favor high-quality tech names like $Alphabet(GOOGL)$, $Amazon.com(AMZN)$ Amazon (AMZN), $Palantir Technologies Inc.(PLTR)$ Palantir (PLTR), $NVIDIA(NVDA)$ Nvidia (NVDA), and $Broadcom(AVGO)$ Broadcom (AVGO) in 2026 — especially compared to newer, more speculative AI plays like CoreWeave or Iren that Dan Ives recently added to his IVES AI 30 list.

Why the “Big Tech” Stocks Still Have Strong 2026 Potential

1. Massive AI-Driven CapEx from Hyperscalers

• Alphabet and Amazon in particular are among the largest spenders on AI infrastructure. Big tech’s capex into AI data centers, computing hardware, and advanced cloud services continues to expand — and Wedbush expects these investments to accelerate into 2026, potentially reaching $550–$600 billion as companies build the backbone for next-gen AI applications.

• This kind of spending strengthens the moats of companies like GOOGL and AMZN, because they aren’t just buying AI — they’re enabling the global AI economy.

2. Alphabet (GOOGL): AI Beyond Search

• Alphabet isn’t just a search engine — its AI development (Gemini models), data center scale, and cloud expansion give it multiple growth engines. Analysts note its substantial investments and deep integration of AI across products, which can help sustain earnings and improve advertising relevance.

• AI monetization extends beyond ads into cloud services, autonomous systems (Waymo), and enterprise tools — meaning diversified revenue growth potential.

3. Amazon (AMZN): AWS as an AI Platform

• AWS is a core driver of Amazon’s valuation and one of the fastest-growing cloud businesses globally. Though analysts note competition and growth hurdles (e.g., hitting a 20%+ growth rate again), AWS’s multicloud and AI-capable offerings are critical infrastructure for businesses migrating to AI workloads.

• AWS infrastructure demand — including partnerships with Google Cloud and others — supports long-term revenue strength independent of retail seasonality.

4. Palantir (PLTR): AI-Native Enterprise Software

• Palantir stands out among enterprise AI stocks due to rapid commercial revenue growth and real-world AI adoption in sectors like defense, finance, and healthcare. Notably, its U.S. commercial business recently grew well above expectations, reinforcing momentum.

• Unlike many speculative AI startups, Palantir already shows significant recurring revenue and contract scale, which supports a durable growth thesis.

5. Nvidia (NVDA): The AI Compute Backbone

• Nvidia remains the dominant supplier of AI chips globally, and its GPUs are central to training and inference for nearly every leading AI model. Analysts and bulls point out that its valuation weakness at times has actually created entry points for long-term investors.

• Moreover, Nvidia’s strategic partnerships (e.g., reported multi-billion-dollar deals with platforms like OpenAI) reinforce its position at the heart of expanding AI workloads.

6. Broadcom (AVGO): Custom Chips & Enterprise AI Demand

• Broadcom’s growth is supported by custom AI silicon and networking chips that hyperscalers and cloud providers increasingly adopt — a space that’s expected to expand as AI deployments scale.

• Analyst discussions suggest Broadcom could eventually compete with Nvidia’s dominance, capturing sizable AI compute market share in the years ahead.

Fundamental Strength vs. Speculative Hype

Here’s why many investors might prefer these seasoned AI players over pure-play or early-stage AI names:

For instance, analysts argue that CoreWeave’s stock run and model highlight AI infrastructure demand — but also point to high debt and speculative valuation risks compared to established players with proven financial discipline.

Bottom Line — Why These Stocks Might Do Well in 2026

✅ AI investment remains a key growth driver across the tech landscape — and data continues to show heavy spending and adoption trends for AI infrastructure and software.

✅ These companies offer meaningful revenue exposure to AI adoption across multiple markets — advertising, cloud, enterprise software, semiconductors and custom silicon.

✅ They also carry business resilience with diversified products, strong cash flow, and economies of scale, which can smooth out macroeconomic volatility in 2026.

In the next section, we would do a comparative look at key valuation metrics (P/E, PEG, and growth forecasts) for the stocks you mentioned — Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Palantir (PLTR), Nvidia (NVDA), and Broadcom (AVGO) — to help us understand their relative risk/reward heading into 2026.

1) Alphabet (GOOGL)

✅ Valuation

• Forward P/E: ~24–26× — among the lowest in the Magnificent Seven group, suggesting a more reasonable price relative to earnings compared with peers.

• PEG: Around ~1.5 — indicates roughly fair valuation relative to growth expectations. LinkedIn

✅ Growth Expectations

• Analysts forecast mid-teens EPS and revenue growth as AI adoption and advertising/cloud monetization continue to expand.

Takeaway: Alphabet trades at a relatively lower valuation with decent growth, which can reduce risk and still capture AI-driven expansion — a balanced risk/reward profile.

2) Amazon (AMZN)

✅ Valuation

• Forward P/E: Generally seen in the ~30–35× range (some estimates ~31.8× for 2026).

• PEG: Moderately elevated — estimates around ~1.8–3.0+ in various analyses.

✅ Growth Expectations

• AWS cloud earnings growth, logistics automation, and AI-enhanced advertising/retail could support ~15-20%+ earnings growth in the mid-term.

Takeaway: A higher P/E reflects investor willingness to pay more for Amazon’s long-term cloud/AI potential. But its higher PEG suggests the stock isn’t cheap relative to growth forecasts — meaning less margin for error if growth slows.

3) Palantir (PLTR)

⚠️ Valuation

• Extremely high P/E: Consensus estimates for future earnings show 200+× P/E, depending on year and forecast method.

• PEG: Also very high (2.5–6+ range) by multiple data providers — indicating much of the growth is already priced in or the market expects very strong continuing growth.

✅ Growth Expectations

• Some analysts forecast strong growth (e.g., Bank of America sees ~40%+ revenue growth in 2026).

• However, forecasts vary widely and growth can decelerate as the business matures.

Takeaway: Very expensive on traditional valuation metrics. Palantir can still grow fast, but the premium price increases risk — slowing growth or disappointing results could lead to larger drawdowns than with the more established names.

4) Nvidia (NVDA)

✅ Valuation

• Forward P/E: ~26–31× — recently noted as near historical lows for the stock, implying some pessimism is already priced in.

• PEG: Estimates vary but often shown low or even below 1.0, reflecting very high growth expectations priced relatively modestly compared with earnings forecasts.

✅ Growth Expectations

• Huge growth driven by AI computing demand — analysts project strong double-digit (40%+) growth rates in revenue and earnings.

Takeaway: Nvidia’s valuation appears more secularly justified by growth than many peers. A lower PEG suggests better risk/reward vs. growth, especially for 2026 if AI demand remains strong.

5) Broadcom (AVGO)

✅ Valuation

• Forward P/E and PEG are higher than average — some reports put P/E north of ~90× and elevated PEG, implying expectations of continued strong growth.

✅ Growth Expectations

• Analysts forecast high earnings and revenue growth rates (some estimates ~20-30%+ annually), driven by AI custom silicon and networking demand.

Takeaway: Rich valuation reflects the market’s view that Broadcom will benefit significantly from AI infrastructure buildouts. But that also means less downside protection if growth disappoints relative to expectations.

Summary: Relative Valuation and Risk/Reward

Key points to consider:

Low-to-moderate valuation with strong growth (like NVDA, GOOGL) typically offers better cushion if macro conditions worsen.

High P/E/PEG (like PLTR, AVGO) means growth must materialize to justify prices — more upside if it does, but more downside risk if it does not.

Amazon’s elevated valuation reflects its unique mix of mature e-commerce and high-growth AWS/AI segments — worth watching how AWS growth evolves.

What It Means for 2026 Investing

✅ Lower valuations + strong growth (Nvidia, Alphabet) — potential for more steady gains and less valuation compression risk.

✅ High valuations + high growth expectations (Palantir, Broadcom) — higher possible upside, but also more risk if growth slows.

✅ Amazon — a structural outlier with diverse businesses; growth is there but its PEG suggests a higher premium for expected growth.

Summary

Veteran tech analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities recently updated his "IVESAI 30" list of top AI stocks, projecting that the technology sector could climb roughly 20% in 2026 as the AI Revolution accelerates and enterprise adoption expands. Ives maintains a bullish outlook, dismissing concerns of an AI bubble and stating that investments in AI infrastructure made in 2025 are poised to unlock significant monetization in the following year.

In the quarterly shakeup, Ives removed SoundHound, ServiceNow, and Salesforce, replacing them with three new names that he believes are centrally positioned to benefit from the AI build-out:

CoreWeave (CRW): Added as a red-hot AI pure-play, CoreWeave provides essential specialized cloud computing resources and GPUs to meet the surging demand for AI model training and inference.

Iren (IREN): Included for its unique position in the AI energy supply chain, focusing on digital infrastructure development and securing large-scale power (reportedly 3 gigawatts) necessary to fuel massive AI data centers.

Shopify (SHOP): Recognized as a key technology giant integrating AI applications, the company is expected to drive gains by embedding AI aggressively across its e-commerce platform to streamline merchant operations and enhance customer experience.

Analysis of High-Quality AI Stocks for 2026

The five stocks you mentioned—Alphabet, Amazon, Palantir, Nvidia, and Broadcom—are widely recognized leaders in various segments of the AI ecosystem. Their outlook for 2026 is strong, driven by their foundational roles in building, powering, and deploying AI:

Appreciate if you could share your thoughts in the comment section whether you think high quality AI stocks would continue to do well in 2026.

@TigerStars @Daily_Discussion @Tiger_Earnings @TigerWire @MillionaireTiger appreciate if you could feature this article so that fellow tiger would benefit from my investing and trading thoughts.

Disclaimer: The analysis and result presented does not recommend or suggest any investing in the said stock. This is purely for Analysis.