Key Points
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Investors have worried about the valuations of artificial intelligence stocks in recent times.
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But some of the world’s top AI companies actually are trading at bargain levels right now.
Artificial intelligence (AI) stocks have rocketed higher in recent years, so it may seem impossible to find companies involved in the field that trade at bargain prices. Some investors and analysts have even mentioned the idea of the possible formation of an AI bubble following this movement.
But amid these gains, some major AI players — even some that have seen their shares climb — remain at reasonable valuations. Four of the following players trade for between 26x and 31x forward earnings estimates, representing fair prices to pay for these established players with strong AI prospects. The fifth company isn’t yet profitable, so this valuation measure doesn’t apply — but Wall Street expects this stock to climb more than 55% over the coming 12 months, suggesting it may be a bargain buy today.
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Let’s take a closer look at my top five cheap AI stocks to get in on right now, before 2026.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Microsoft
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) trades for 29x forward earnings estimates — that’s pretty cheap for a company that’s built a technology empire and already is winning big in the AI space. Over time, Microsoft has grown its earnings and proven that it’s made wise investments, as we can see through its return on invested capital.
MSFT Revenue (Annual) data by YCharts
The company generates revenue thanks to many offerings, from software subscriptions to cloud services. And speaking of cloud, that business is going strong these days amid surging demand from AI customers. In the recent quarterly earnings report, cloud services revenue jumped 40%, and chief executive Satya Nadella said Microsoft would continue to boost AI investments “to meet the massive opportunity ahead.”
So, Microsoft, at today’s valuation, is a no-brainer addition to any AI portfolio.
2. Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) is a social media giant, and that has helped it gain access to a source of massive revenue: advertising. Advertisers flock to Meta’s social media apps — from Facebook to Instagram — to reach us, their target audience, there. And that’s resulted in a well-established track record of earnings growth for Meta.
But Meta isn’t stopping here. The company aims to integrate AI in its business to keep users on its apps longer and improve advertising results. All of this should help to further supercharge its ad revenue over time. And Meta may use its AI innovations — such as its own large language model — to power other products and services down the road.
Right now, Meta, trading at 26x forward earnings estimates, is the cheapest of the Magnificent Seven tech stocks — making it an irresistible buy.
3. Alphabet
Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), like the previous two stocks I mentioned, already has core businesses that are driving growth: its Google Search and Google Cloud units. Together, they helped the company recently reach the major milestone of more than $100 billion in quarterly revenue. So, investors can count on Alphabet for ongoing revenue and profit growth.
In addition to this, investing in Alphabet is a great way to bet on AI. Google Cloud offers its customers a wide range of AI products and services — from top chips from Nvidia to its own house-designed chips and much more. All of this has been driving growth, and in light of current demand for compute, this momentum should continue.
Alphabet trades for about 30x forward earnings estimates — and considering its leadership in the search and cloud markets and potential for AI growth, it’s an excellent buy at this level.
4. Oracle
Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) over the years has become a database management powerhouse, but in recent times, it’s also shown its strength in cloud infrastructure — and this has helped revenue to roar higher. The company says it expects cloud infrastructure revenue to soar 77% to $18 billion in this fiscal year — and reach $144 billion over the next four years.
Why such gains? AI customers are in great need of compute, and they can find that, as well as a variety of additional cloud services, at Oracle. The tech giant also offers incredible flexibility to its customers, allowing them to use its AI cloud database services across all clouds.
In recent weeks, Oracle stock has slipped, but I see this as an opportunity to get in on a long-term winner for a bargain price — it now trades for 31x forward earnings estimates.
5. CoreWeave
CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV) made its market debut in March and over the next few months surged more than 300%. The stock since has fallen from that peak, mainly amid the same concerns that have weighed on other AI stocks: the possibility of an AI bubble taking shape.
But demand for AI services hasn’t shown signs of letting up — we’ve seen this from CoreWeave and many others in the field — so there’s reason to remain optimistic about the long-term AI story. And CoreWeave offers something in high demand now, and this likely will remain in demand: capacity for AI workloads. The company rents out access to its fleet of high-powered chips, and this has helped revenue explode higher — it more than doubled in the recent quarter.
Wall Street expects CoreWeave stock to jump more than 55% over the coming 12 months, making now, right before 2026, a good moment for aggressive investors to scoop up the shares.
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Adria Cimino has positions in Oracle. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Oracle. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.