Prediction: 2 AI Stocks Will Be Worth More Than Apple Stock in 2026

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is the most valuable public company in the world, with a market capitalization of $2.9 trillion. However, select Wall Street analysts believe Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) can top that figure in the next year.

• Rob Sanderson at Loop Capital has set Amazon with a target price of $285 per share. That implies 62% upside from its current share price of $175. It also implies a market value of $3 trillion.
• Brian Nowak at Morgan Stanley has set Alphabet with a bull-case target price of $275 per share. That implies 83% upside from its current share price of $150. It also implies a market value of $3.3 trillion.

Here's what investors should know about Amazon and Alphabet and these predictions.

1. Amazon

Amazon reported strong fourth-quarter financial results in early February, beating estimates on the top and bottom lines. Revenue rose 10% to $187 billion, operating margin increased 3 percentage points, and GAAP earnings soared 86% to $1.86 per diluted share. Management provided disappointing first-quarter guidance, but that was due to temporary headwinds in foreign exchange rates.

The investment thesis for Amazon centers on strength in three markets. It runs the largest online marketplace outside of China, ranks as the third-largest ad tech company in the world, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the largest public cloud services provider as measured by revenue and customers.

That last point is particularly relevant where artificial intelligence (AI) is concerned. AWS has an advantage in monetizing AI because it has a larger customer base than peers like Microsoft and Google. It is also leaning into the opportunity by developing custom chips and adding new features like the generative AI development platform Bedrock.

Additionally, Amazon is using generative AI and robotics across its e-commerce business to boost revenue growth and improve operating efficiency. That includes tools that help sellers list their products, inform warehouse inventory allocation, optimize delivery routes, and enable fulfillment center workers to engage robots with natural language.

Wall Street expects Amazon's earnings to increase 13% in 2025. That makes the current price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 32 look expensive. But Amazon beat the consensus estimate by an average of 29% during the last six quarters. If that continues and the PE ratio expands to 35 (below the one-year average), Amazon will achieve a $3 trillion market value in 2026, more than Apple is worth today.

2. Alphabet

Alphabet reported mixed fourth-quarter financial results in early February, missing analysts' consensus revenue estimate. However, while total sales increased just 12% to $96 billion, operating margin still expanded 5 percentage points, and GAAP earnings soared 31% to $1.64 per diluted share.

The investment thesis for Alphabet centers on strength in advertising and cloud services. It is the largest ad tech company due to popular web properties like Google Search and YouTube, and Google Cloud is the third-largest public cloud. The company is successfully using AI to improve search and ad campaigns, and new features like Gemini led to a 20-fold increase in usage of AI cloud developer tools last year.

Also, Alphabet has a nascent opportunity beyond its core advertising and cloud businesses with Waymo, its autonomous driving technology subsidiary. Waymo already provides robotaxi services in several major U.S. cities, including a recent launch in Austin, Texas, and an upcoming launch in Atlanta. The autonomous ride-sharing market is forecast to grow at 30% annually through 2030, according to Citigroup.

As a caveat, Alphabet is currently battling two antitrust lawsuits filed by the U.S. Justice Department. Federal judges have already ruled against the company in both cases, finding it has an illegal monopoly in internet search and ad tech software. The next phase is remediation, where the judges impose solutions. The worst outcome would be a break up, but history says that is unlikely.

That headwind notwithstanding, Wall Street estimates Alphabet's earnings will grow 9% in 2025. That puts the present valuation of 19 times earnings somewhere between reasonable and expensive. But Alphabet beat the consensus estimate by an average of 8% in the last six quarters. If that continues and the P/E multiple expands to 26 (below the one-year high), Alphabet will achieve a market value of $3 trillion in 2026, which is more than Apple is worth today.

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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Citigroup is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Trevor Jennewine has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool 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.