By Keithen Drury, The Motley Fool
Publication Date: 2026-08-21 02:20:00
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), AMD (NASDAQ: AMD), and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) are three of the most popular artificial intelligence (AI) stock picks in the market. While Nvidia has been a top pick since the AI arms race began in 2023, it hasn’t done nearly as well as the other two in 2026. This year, Nvidia is up 18%, while AMD is up 126%, and Intel leads the way at a 162% gain. If you bought AMD and Intel at the start of the year, you’re very happy. If you bought Nvidia instead, you’re likely pretty disappointed.
But none of that matters now. Instead, investors need to look ahead as to which stock is the best buy for the next year. Wall Street analysts offer one-year price targets to help convey where they think the stock will go, but using one analyst usually isn’t a smart idea, because there’s always one or two that have a preposterous prediction to the upside or downside. However, combining all analysts that follow a stock in aggregate usually yields a reasonable consensus pick.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a “Double Down” signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same “Total Conviction” signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
If we do that, it reveals some interesting information about the stocks, and clearly conveys one major winner, one OK pick, and one that investors should consider moving on from.
Image source: Getty Images.
