Move Over, AI Stocks: Wall Street Is Likely to Welcome a New Member to the Trillion-Dollar Club in 2026

One of the only constants on Wall Street is change. Over multiple decades, the stock market's most valuable publicly traded companies have often changed places, with technological innovations, competition, mergers and acquisitions, and bankruptcies shuffling the proverbial deck.

In 1995, ExxonMobil and IBM were among the 10 most valuable public companies in the U.S. More than three decades later, only Microsoft has maintained its spot among the 10 most valuable public businesses.

Through the end of 2025, we've observed a dozen public companies globally reach the trillion-dollar plateau, excluding the effects of inflation over time. For the majority of these exceptional businesses, artificial intelligence (AI) has been, or will be, a core growth driver. However, the next member of the trillion-dollar club on Wall Street should be one of the market's most prolific stock-split stocks.

Image source: Getty Images.

AI stocks have had their time in the spotlight

Unlocking the potential for AI-driven software and systems to make split-second decisions without human oversight is an addressable market that PwC's analysts estimate is worth $15.7 trillion by 2030. The hardware and software applications potential of AI has provided a clear boost to the "Magnificent Seven," which account for seven of the 12 public companies to have ever joined the trillion-dollar club.

Some of the more recent members of the trillion-dollar ranks have leaned heavily on their artificial intelligence ties.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM) first hit a $1 trillion market cap in July 2024. Although TSMC, as Taiwan Semiconductor is more commonly known, provides an array of advanced chip-fabrication services, a significant portion of its outsize growth in recent years is tied to the insatiable demand for graphics processing units (GPUs).

TSMC has been expanding its chip-on-wafer-on-substrate capacity at a breakneck pace for Nvidia and some of its external competitors -- and it still can't keep up with demand. An extensive backlog for the brains of AI-accelerated data centers should ensure sustained double-digit sales growth for TSMC.

Not long after Taiwan Semi entered rarified territory, networking specialist Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) followed suit. Broadcom launched past $1 trillion in December 2024 and is currently the eighth most valuable public company traded on U.S. exchanges.

Broadcom's accelerated growth is a function of its AI-networking solutions that are designed to connect tens of thousands of GPUs, with the goal of maximizing their compute capabilities and minimizing tail latency. Accurate, split-second decision-making is at the heart of the AI revolution, and Broadcom's solutions are facilitating these machine-driven decisions.

What's more, Broadcom has made a name for itself as a developer of specialty AI chips. These processing units are geared toward a handful of the company's hyperscale clients, which is expected to rapidly increase Broadcom's AI-based sales.

Image source: Walmart.

This should be Wall Street's next trillion-dollar stock

While nine of the 12 global stocks that have ever reached a $1 trillion market cap rely on AI as a key growth driver, the U.S. company with the most logical path to becoming Wall Street's next trillion-dollar stock is a stalwart in the retail industry, Walmart (NASDAQ: WMT).

Walmart's long-term success is reflected in its stock-split history. Including its most recent 2-for-1 forward split in February 2024, Walmart has completed 12 stock splits since going public in October 1970. Only a small handful of public companies have split as many times as the kingpin of the retail industry.

Although size isn't everything for public companies, it makes a pretty big difference for Walmart. Its sheer size and deep pockets allow it to purchase products in bulk and undercut local mom-and-pop shops, as well as most national grocery chains, on price. Walmart offers a value proposition that few other retailers can match.

To build on this point, many of Walmart's stores are considerably larger and more diverse than local stores and grocery chains. It's angled its stores as one-stop shopping destinations where people can purchase basic necessities (groceries and toiletries), as well as buy potentially higher-margin discretionary items.

Where Walmart has truly excelled throughout its history is its ability to attract shoppers during periods of economic uncertainty and/or higher inflation. Although the prevailing rate of inflation has backed off significantly since peaking above 9% in June 2022, it remains stubbornly high in select spending categories, such as shelter. The economic uncertainty and modest inflationary bump that's resulted from President Donald Trump's tariffs is a recipe for Walmart to lure new shoppers.

It should be noted that Walmart is, to some extent, leaning on artificial intelligence solutions to improve its retail-driven operating model. AI applications are being deployed to assist with supply chain management, including the restocking of top-selling goods and predicting consumer demand.

Lastly, Walmart has emphasized convenience to expand its sales and bolster its margins. The company's Walmart+ subscription service is making waves, with global e-commerce sales skyrocketing 27% from the previous year, as of the latest reported quarter. Walmart+ should be a key profit driver in the latter half of the decade.

With Walmart sporting a $913 billion market cap, as of the closing bell on Jan. 9, it would only need a roughly 10% move upward to join the trillion-dollar club. It appears to have the necessary catalysts to make this happen in the new year.

Sean Williams has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends International Business Machines, Microsoft, Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, 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.