By Keithen Drury, The Motley Fool
Publication Date: 2026-06-11 08:35:00
In 2026, some stocks have overtaken Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) as the best artificial intelligence (AI) stock to buy. One of those has been longtime rival AMD (NASDAQ: AMD).
AMD’s stock has risen around 130% so far in 2026, leaving Nvidia’s 12% gains in the dust. For longtime Nvidia bulls like myself who have championed Nvidia’s stock over AMD’s, this is disappointing. However, a change in market sentiment could signal a new regime taking over, and Nvidia may no longer be as good an investment as it once was.
Will AI create the world’s first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an “Indispensable Monopoly” providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »
Still, there are high expectations baked into AMD’s stock. So, which one of these makes the most sense to buy right now? Let’s take a look.
AMD’s business is more balanced
AMD and Nvidia compete in the GPU segment. Both companies make GPUs, which are widely used in AI data centers because they can perform multiple calculations in parallel. While Nvidia has owned the data center market in the AI arms race so far, AMD’s growth rates are also ramping up.
Up until a few weeks ago, AMD had a diversification bonus to itself. It makes several other types of computing chips, like embedded processors and CPUs.
However, Nvidia recently announced it would enter the consumer CPU market as well. In…
