Alphabet (Google) Class C

GOOG

Market cap $3.77T

Shares of pure-play companies IonQ, Rigetti, and D-Wave are down more than 30% so far in 2026. Large-scale use may be many years away, creating a survival risk for these cash-burning companies.

In 2026, Wall Street's attitude towards AI changed to fears over the tech's negative ramifications. Share prices fell for excellent AI-focused businesses, such as Alphabet and Symbotic.

Chipmakers, DRAM companies, and leading foundry TSMC should all benefit from increased AI infrastructure spending. Hyperscalers should also see strong returns on their spending.

Many AI stocks have reached insane valuations, but a few are still trading at reasonable prices. Alphabet has many ways to grow due to AI deployment.

The first company on this list is already crushing it in the AI race, as it's involved in seemingly every area related to the technology. With billions of daily active users, the second business has one of the most powerful network effects on the face of the planet.

Ackman and Pershing Square own a wide variety of artificial intelligence stocks. Ackman also sold some AI stocks during Q4.

Nearly half of all Americans have over 1,000 photos stored on their phones, squeezing memory storage at time when technology giants are cutting costs and spending more than ever before on AI buildouts. The need for a paid storage subscription, and the move by more online companies to cut down on free offers, from Snap to Google to Shutterfly, is forcing consumers to think hard about digital hoarding.

In folding its Intrinsic project into the main company this week and out of "Other Bets," Google is aiming to mimic its Android strategy for robots. "We're trying to make it accessible for anyone," Intrinsic CEO Wendy Tan White told CNBC in an interview last year.

Big tech companies are spending hundreds of billions on AI infrastructure. Alphabet has distinct advantages over the competition, namely its financial strength, its custom AI chips, and its diverse revenue streams.

Alphabet is the best-performing Magnificent Seven stock over the past year and has multiple catalysts that could extend its lead. It has a comfortable lead in the search engine market and is gaining ground in cloud computing.