Ranking the Best "Magnificent Seven" Stocks to Buy for 2026: Here's My No. 3 Pick

Welcome to part five of a seven-article series in which I rank the best "Magnificent Seven" stocks to buy for 2026 (in reverse order).

Tesla came in last, followed by Apple as the sixth pick, Amazon at No. 5, Alphabet in the fourth spot, and now Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) winning the bronze.

Microsoft and Meta Platforms will go head-to-head for the heavyweight title in two separate upcoming articles.

While Tesla and Apple are not worth buying right now, I believe Amazon, Alphabet, Nvidia, and then Meta Platforms and Microsoft are.

Here's why Nvidia remains one of the best growth stocks to buy in 2026, even after soaring over tenfold over the last three years.

Image source: Nvidia.

Nvidia has a clear runway for future growth

One of the most challenging investment decisions is whether to buy a stock that has skyrocketed in value. Especially a stock like Nvidia, which has gone from being an industry leader in graphics processing units (GPUs) for professional visualization, gaming, automotive, and cryptocurrency mining to completely switching gears and getting the vast majority of its operating income from data centers.

Nvidia was well positioned to capitalize on the surge in artificial intelligence (AI) spending. But what's arguably more impressive is what the company has done since the boom began in early 2023.

Nvidia continues to push the limits of data center efficiency with its Blackwell GPU and associated hardware and software. In its latest quarter, Nvidia announced that it has become the largest networking business in the world -- with networking revenue up 264% over the past year. In fact, Nvidia's networking business generated more revenue in third-quarter fiscal 2026 than gaming and AI PC, professional visualization, and automotive and robotics combined.

During its Nov. 19 earnings call, Nvidia said that demand continues to outpace its GPU supply, signaling strong potential growth for years to come.

In late October, Nvidia announced $500 billion in AI chip orders for Blackwell and its upcoming Rubin GPUs. That includes both booked orders and revenue that will be realized through the end of fiscal 2026.

On the Nov. 19 earnings call, Nvidia stated that it will likely be taking more orders, so there's an opportunity for the $500 billion number to increase.

Nvidia remains a foundational AI stock to buy now

Nvidia's surging earnings and investor optimism are fueling its red-hot stock price. And there's reason to believe that can continue, given Nvidia's upbeat forecast and its sky-high operating margins, despite competition from Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices.

The only reason the stock isn't higher on my Magnificent Seven list is that Microsoft and Meta Platforms are also high-margin companies with multiple avenues for steady growth in the coming years. Nvidia could capitalize on its upcoming orders and then be vulnerable to a pullback in AI spending, given that essentially the entire investment thesis now hinges on compute and networking demand.

Still, Nvidia isn't overvalued. At 38.5 times forward earnings estimates, Nvidia is cheaper than Walmart and Costco Wholesale.

Find out how I rank the two remaining Magnificent Seven names in my upcoming rankings.

Daniel Foelber has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Costco Wholesale, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla, and Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and 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.