Is Lam Research (LRCX) The Best AI Semiconductor Stock to Buy Now?

We recently published 10 Buzzing Tech and AI Stocks Everyone’s Talking About. Lam Research Corp (NASDAQ:LRCX) is one of the stocks analysts were recently talking about.

Mehdi Hosseini, senior equity research analyst at Susquehanna, said in a latest program on CNBC that he likes Lam Research because the company is linked to spending on memory. The analyst believes memory spending will increase in the second half of 2026.

“I do like Lam Research Corp (NASDAQ:LRCX) because they’re overindexed to memory spend, and I think at some point in the second half of 2026, memory spend would have to pick up — just we’re not going to have enough supply. And then on top of that, what you get with Lam Research Corp (NASDAQ:LRCX) is increased market share. They have a new product; there’s a new material used in making semiconductor chill, and that’s the gravy on top of everything. I think Lam Research Corp (NASDAQ:LRCX) is well positioned.”

Artisan Value Fund stated the following regarding Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:

“Booking Holdings and Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) were the top contributors in the consumer discretionary and information technology sectors, respectively. Lam Research is a global leader in wafer fabrication equipment used in the production of semiconductors. Lam was a new purchase, made on April 9 near depths of the post-Liberation Day market selloff. As value investors, conditions of fear and uncertainty are fertile ground for creating attractive long-term buying opportunities. Few areas of the market were under greater pressure than semiconductors & semiconductor equipment stocks to start the year. We had been researching Lam since 2023, so we knew the company well and were able to act quickly when the stock plunged. At our initial purchase, Lam was selling for ~$60, almost 50% below its July 2024 highs. Lam is one of the key global suppliers of chip equipment serving the memory (NAND and DRAM) and foundry/logic markets. The financial condition is rock solid as it has a net cash balance sheet, and the company returns 100% of earnings to shareholders via share repurchases and dividends. Shares were selling for a 17X P/E on cyclically depressed earnings at the time of initial purchase, which we believed was an attractive valuation given the compounding nature of the business.”

While we acknowledge the potential of LRCX as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.