The 3 Best AI Stocks to Own Right Now for Long-Term Growth

Artificial intelligence has emerged as the defining technology of this decade, with the potential to revolutionize how businesses operate across virtually every sector. Finding the best AI stock to buy requires looking beyond headlines—it means identifying companies with genuine competitive advantages and strong financial fundamentals. Today’s market offers several compelling opportunities for investors willing to think long-term.

Three companies stand out as exceptional choices for those seeking exposure to AI’s transformative power. Each has demonstrated remarkable execution in capturing AI’s benefits while maintaining attractive valuations.

Meta Platforms: Advertising Excellence Powered by AI

When evaluating the best AI stocks, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) deserves top consideration. The company’s competitive advantages in generative AI stretch across its entire business ecosystem—from advertising optimization to messaging tools and next-generation computing platforms.

The most immediate impact comes from Meta’s advertising business, which is experiencing genuine transformation. The company developed AI agents capable of autonomous ad campaign creation and optimization for Facebook and Instagram, helping small business owners stretch their marketing budgets further while reducing overhead. Machine learning systems now determine which advertisements reach each user and when, maximizing advertiser value and unlocking new revenue potential.

Results speak volumes. In 2025, ad revenue climbed approximately 21% through the first nine months, reflecting AI’s commercial impact. Beyond near-term gains, generative AI offers Meta a pathway to deeper user engagement through enhanced content creation tools and personalized experiences. The company is also using AI to pioneer next-generation augmented-reality interfaces that could redefine mobile computing itself.

Meta’s capital expenditure reflects management’s confidence in this AI opportunity. The company announced plans to increase 2026 spending by over $30 billion compared to 2025 levels, with total capex exceeding $100 billion. These infrastructure investments will create near-term depreciation headwinds, yet the long-term growth trajectory remains compelling. Trading at just 22 times forward earnings, Meta represents excellent value among the best AI stocks available today.

Salesforce: Enterprise AI as a Growth Engine

Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) is systematically embedding generative AI across its industry-leading enterprise software platform, positioning itself as perhaps the best AI stock for capturing corporate spending trends. However, the real opportunity lies in a newer product: Agentforce.

Agentforce functions as a platform for building autonomous AI agents that handle business processes using company data. The product’s reception has been extraordinary—annual recurring revenue surged 330% year-over-year in the most recent quarter. While this growth begins from a small base, the implications are staggering. Combined with Data 360, Agentforce generated $1.4 billion in annual recurring revenue as of October, up 114% year-over-year.

What makes Agentforce potentially transformative: management expects existing customers adopting it to increase their overall Salesforce spending by 200-300% over time. At Salesforce’s October analyst day, the company presented multiple examples of customers already doubling their expenditures since the platform’s late 2024 launch. Early financial indicators confirm this momentum—remaining performance obligations increased 12% year-over-year in recent quarters.

Management’s long-term targets reflect confidence in this trajectory. The company projects $60 billion in revenue by 2030 with a 40% operating margin, up from roughly $41 billion anticipated for this year and a 34% operating margin. Even assuming modest shortfalls against these targets, the directional accuracy points to substantial value creation. With the stock trading at 19 times forward earnings, Salesforce emerges as one of the best AI stocks for patient, growth-oriented investors.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing: Dominating AI Chip Supply

Perhaps no company has benefited more directly from AI’s explosive growth than Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM), known as TSMC. The company’s advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology positions it as the essential supplier for virtually anyone developing leading-edge AI chips and custom accelerators.

TSMC’s dominance translated into impressive 2025 results. Sales growth reached 35.9%, while gross margins expanded to 59.9%—a remarkable achievement reflecting pricing power and operational efficiency. The company captured roughly 72% of the global contract chip manufacturing market as of the third quarter. These results validate TSMC as a best-in-class AI stock in terms of both growth and profitability.

Management expects this strong performance to persist well into 2026 and beyond. The company implemented price increases for advanced manufacturing processes (7-nanometer chips and smaller) at the start of 2026, with planned continued escalation through 2029. These advanced nodes represent approximately three-quarters of TSMC’s revenue base, ensuring robust margin expansion alongside volume growth.

Capital expenditure projections demonstrate confidence. Management guided for $52-56 billion in capex this year, representing a 31% increase from 2025’s $40.9 billion. TSMC historically maintains conservative capex discipline, building only when demand is thoroughly validated. The guidance’s midpoint suggests extraordinary conviction about AI-driven chip demand.

This spending aligns with management’s updated five-year revenue growth guidance of 25% annually between 2024 and 2029—an increase from prior guidance of 20%. That implies roughly 22% sales expansion over the next four years. With this growth trajectory, demonstrated pricing power, and operational leverage, TSMC should generate earnings growth in the mid-20% range through decade’s end. The stock’s current valuation of 23 times forward earnings makes it one of the best AI stocks for value investors seeking growth.

Making Your AI Stock Decision

History demonstrates that early investors in transformative technologies often achieve extraordinary returns. Netflix investors who bought at our recommendation in December 2004 saw their $1,000 investment grow to $462,174. Nvidia investors who participated from April 2005 forward realized approximately $1,143,099 on the same initial investment.

The current AI moment presents similar generational opportunity. These three companies—Meta, Salesforce, and TSMC—represent some of the best AI stocks to buy today. Each combines genuine technological advantages with attractive valuations, financial discipline, and clear pathways to significant future earnings growth.

The best AI stocks to own are those where you can invest with conviction and patience, holding through inevitable volatility. These three candidates fit that profile precisely.