My Top 4 Stocks to Buy in Early 2026

Selecting winning stocks in early 2026 requires looking beyond short-term noise, as U.S. equities respond to easing inflation, shifting interest rate expectations, and continued investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. With fewer stocks driving most market returns, it has become essential for investors to choose the right businesses with robust fundamentals, sustained earnings growth, and exposure to long-term secular tailwinds.

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Here are four stocks that can compound value in the coming years.

Alphabet

Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) offers investors a relatively low-risk way to gain exposure to AI technologies, while relying on businesses that already generate durable cash flows.

The company's core Search business is already seeing higher query volume, including commercial queries, thanks to the improved experience provided by Gemini-powered AI Overviews and AI Mode features. At the same time, Google Cloud is benefiting dramatically from increasing adoption of generative AI, and saw revenue soar 34% year over year to $15.2 billion in the third quarter. Google Cloud exited the third quarter with a $155 billion backlog. The company boasts of a diversified revenue base, with 13 product lines generating over $1 billion in annual revenue.

Finally, Alphabet is also investing heavily to strengthen its position in the AI infrastructure market. All these factors make it an attractive pick for patient investors.

Nvidia

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) stands out as an exceptional way to bet on the AI trend, supported by stellar earnings growth and continued dominance in next-generation accelerated computing systems. At CES 2026, management highlighted that the revenue potential for its Blackwell and the next-generation Rubin systems through 2026 exceeds $500 billion.

While demand for Blackwell systems is immense, the company appears to be making meaningful progress in meeting that demand. Reports indicate that Nvidia has booked more than half of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's advanced packaging capacity for 2026, helping to ease key bottlenecks tied to chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) and other packaging processes. Increasing focus on selling entire AI server systems, including GPUs, CPUs, networking solutions, and software instead of just chips can further boost the company's margins.

Recently, Nvidia entered into a non-exclusive licensing agreement with AI start-up Groq to secure access to its language processing unit (LPU)-based technology, which is faster and more cost-effective than alternatives in specific inference applications.

Against this backdrop, Nvidia is a worthwhile pick in 2026.

AbbVie

AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) is well positioned for 2026, with its core immunology portfolio proving far more resilient even after the loss of Humira's patent exclusivity. Skyrizi and Rinvoq have become primary growth drivers in the immunology portfolio. In the third quarter, Skyrizi's revenue rose 46% year over year to $4.7 billion, while Rinvoq's revenue rose 34% to $2.2 billion. Management expects combined Skyrizi and Rinvoq sales to be roughly $31 billion by 2027.

AbbVie has also meaningfully diversified its portfolio and pipeline beyond immunology. AbbVie is working with Regenxbio to develop ABBV-RGX-314, a gene therapy, as a potential one-time treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy, with phase 3 readouts for the wet AMD indication expected in late 2026. Both wet AMD and diabetic retinopathy represent multibillion-dollar market opportunities worldwide.

In oncology, Epkinly, co-developed by AbbVie and Genmab, has secured the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval in follicular lymphoma indications. According to GlobalData's analyst average estimate, Epkinly can reach annual sales of roughly $3.94 billion by 2031, while Elahere strengthens AbbVie's solid tumor footprint.

Combined with 3.2% dividend yield and steady share buybacks, AbbVie is an exceptional income and value pick for 2026.

Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers (NASDAQ: IBKR) also looks like a standout 2026 pick, as it continues to benefit from still-elevated interest rates, expanding client balances, and accelerated account growth. In the third quarter of fiscal 2025, net interest income (NII) soared 21% year over year to $967 million, as client cash balances reached $150 billion and securities lending opportunities increased.

Interactive Brokers also increased its customer count to 4 million, while client equity reached more than $750 billion, and daily trades averaged 3.6 million. All these milestones were achieved without promotional incentives. The company has a strong balance sheet with no long-term debt. The company is also letting retail clients fund their accounts with stablecoins, further attracting crypto-native traders.

Looking ahead, a key catalyst for the company is its application for a U.S. national trust bank charter, disclosed in late 2025. If approved, it will expand the company's custodial and securities lending services, deepen client relationships, and expand its addressable market. Combined with S&P 500 index inclusion, which has dramatically increased institutional demand for the stock, Interactive Brokers is a smart pick for retail investors.

Manali Pradhan, CFA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends AbbVie, Alphabet, Genmab A/s, Interactive Brokers Group, Nvidia, Regenxbio, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2027 $43.75 calls on Interactive Brokers Group and short January 2027 $46.25 calls on Interactive Brokers Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.