Top 3 Stocks to Own in 2026

Key Points

Alphabet has a diverse range of tech-driven businesses and a strong moat in its search engine traffic. Nu is expanding its presence by adding new locations to its platform. Taiwan Semiconductor produces the chips that power nearly every kind of technology. These three stocks are worth considering for investors looking for growth opportunities in 2026 and beyond.

The S&P 500 and Portfolio Diversification

With less than three weeks left in the year, the S&P 500 is thriving, up nearly 17%. While it's unclear whether it will manage a fourth year of double-digit gains in 2026, investors should focus on diversifying their portfolios with growth stocks and solid value stocks to benefit from strong gains and protect against market volatility.

Alphabet, Nu Holdings, and Taiwan Semiconductor are three stocks that offer strong growth opportunities in 2026 and beyond.

1. Alphabet: Multiple Businesses, Including AI

Alphabet is more than just the Google search engine today. It has a wide range of products and services driving growth, and it benefits from tailwinds in artificial intelligence (AI) development. Although it trades at a premium compared to the S&P 500 average and its own recent averages, it's still fairly cheap for a growth stock, trading at a P/E ratio of 32.

Google Search remains the most-used internet search engine, with around 90% of the market. This gives Alphabet a significant edge in a space used by millions of daily users. The company has developed the powerful Gemini large-language model (LLM) to generate valuable content for searchers, and it also provides Gemini, along with many other generative AI tools, to its cloud services clients.

Although Google Cloud ranks third in global cloud services behind Amazon's AWS and Microsoft's Azure, it's growing at a pace similar to Microsoft and faster than AWS on a percentage basis. Alphabet also has other segments, including hardware like phones and autonomous vehicles. These varied business streams align with what Warren Buffett values, and Berkshire Hathaway took a position in Alphabet in the third quarter.

Whether or not AI continues to drive growth, Alphabet has a stable and growing business that can keep expanding in 2026 and the long term.

2. Nu: Expanding into New Regions

Nu is a former Buffett stock and continues to be an incredible investment for shareholders, with a 61% gain in 2025. The company operates an all-digital financial services business and has strong tailwinds. It currently serves more than 60% of the population in its headquarters in Brazil, but management believes there is significant potential in monetizing this base through cross-selling and upselling.

Nu is also just beginning its expansion into Mexico and Colombia, which, along with Brazil, make up the three largest countries in Latin America. This leaves a long-term growth runway as the company captures more of the population and monetizes them over time, similar to the trajectory in Brazil.

The company also has major ambitions in entering new geographic locations, including the U.S. Like Alphabet, it trades at only 32 times trailing-12-month earnings, which is a great price given its growth and long-term prospects. Investors can expect Nu to continue launching new products in new places in 2026, and its stock is likely to reflect this growth.

3. Taiwan Semiconductor: Powering All Kinds of Technology

Taiwan Semiconductor is an excellent stock for almost any investor, offering tremendous growth prospects and a solid, established model that can benefit from diverse trends. It manufactures semiconductors designed by companies like Nvidia and Alphabet, and it is benefiting from robust AI tailwinds. However, it also makes the chips that power smartphones, autonomous vehicles, and other technologies, which protects its business in case one technology type is overtaken by something new.

In fact, it's likely to benefit from any new type of technology, making it well positioned to keep churning out strong growth regardless of what happens with AI. It is also extremely profitable, with a 50.6% operating margin in the third quarter of 2025 and a 39% increase in earnings per share (EPS).

Like the other stocks on this list, Taiwan Semiconductor stock isn't expensive; it's actually the cheapest of the three, with a P/E ratio of 30. That gives the stock even more room to grow next year.

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