December is an important month for the stock market. It's when individual investors and portfolio managers alike sit down and analyze their year-to-date performance and predict what the trends in the stock market will be for the next year. Over the past few years, this answer has been fairly easy, as artificial intelligence (AI) has been the prevailing theme. While there is evidence that 2026 will see continued success of AI, investors are growing increasingly worried that an AI bubble could be forming.
I don't think that's the case, but even if it is, there are a few stocks that will still benefit from the massive AI build-out. The real concern surrounding AI is whether there will be any benefit from the technology and whether AI hyperscalers are depreciating their assets fast enough. Both of those problems are centered around AI hyperscalers, not AI computing power providers like Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM).
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I think these two are well positioned to thrive in 2026, and they are great stocks to buy before December, when there could be a rally in AI computing providers to end the year.
Image source: Getty Images.
Nvidia
Nvidia has been the king of AI investing since the race began in 2023. Its graphics processing units (GPUs) have powered the majority of AI workloads that we see today, and that doesn't look to be changing anytime soon. While other options are growing popular, Nvidia still has the best overall ecosystem available.
For 2025, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang believes that global data center capital expenditures on data centers will reach $600 billion. However, by 2030, he expects that figure to rise to between $3 trillion and $4 trillion.
While that may seem far-fetched to some, investors must account for the fact that Huang and his team have more information at their disposal than investors do. AI hyperscalers still cannot get their computing units fast enough, and need to place orders years in advance in order to secure GPUs when they become available. So, while the dollar figure may not be exactly what Huang predicts, the general direction is likely true.
This means Nvidia has massive growth potential for 2026, and its valuation reflects that. At 29 times next year's earnings, its valuation isn't necessarily cheap, but it's no different than many of its big tech peers that are growing at a far slower rate than Nvidia is.
NVDA PE Ratio (Forward 1y) data by YCharts
I think this combines for a stock that can deliver excellent returns for 2026, especially if the AI boom stays strong and Nvidia continues to sell mountains of GPUs.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Nvidia and its competitors don't have the production capabilities to produce their own chips, so they farm out that work to a company like Taiwan Semiconductor. Taiwan Semiconductor is the world's largest chip manufacturer by revenue and boasts impressive production capacity and cutting-edge technology.
One new technology that's entering production now and will scale up throughout 2026 is its 2nm (nanometer) chip node. This chip has an impressive set of capabilities, including decreased power consumption. When configured to run at the same processing speed as previous-generation 3nm chips, it consumes 25% to 30% less power. That's an impressive improvement that will decrease the strain on the energy grid -- a huge problem with today's AI build-out plan.
Similar to Nvidia, TSMC isn't all that expensive despite its fantastic growth rate. With Taiwan Semiconductor growing revenue at a 41% year-over-year pace and trading at just 23 times next year's earnings, it's a bargain buy heading into December.
TSM PE Ratio (Forward 1y) data by YCharts
Both Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor are slated to benefit from record-setting capital expenditures. While there are questions about whether companies will spend all of the money that's been forecast, the providers are in the clear, making Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor excellent buys before December arrives.
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Keithen Drury has positions in Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.