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The 5 Best Names to Play AI in 2026, According to Wall Street’s Loudest Tech Bull

Dec 30, 2025 15:37:00 -0500 by Mackenzie Tatananni | #AI #Street Notes

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives named Microsoft, Apple, Tesla, Palantir, and CrowdStrike as his top names to play the “AI Revolution” in 2026. (Myunggu Han/Getty Images for Eightco ($ORBS))

Key Points

Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, known for his colorful attire and ultra-positive coverage of tech stocks, has ranked his top names linked to the artificial-intelligence trade as Wall Street gears up to head into 2026.

While Nvidia —the leading supplier of semiconductors for an “AI revolution” that Ives says is just getting started—remains a winner in tech, Wedbush’s report focused on other players in the space.

One name is Microsoft . The company, known best for its Windows operating system, Microsoft Office suite, and Xbox videogame consoles, has pushed increasingly into artificial intelligence. It described itself as a creator of “platforms and tools powered by AI” in an earnings report earlier this year.

Ives and the Wedbush team believe “the Street is underestimating the Azure growth story,” referring to the potential for Microsoft’s cloud computing platform to benefit from rising demand for AI infrastructure. They say 2026 “remains the true inflection year of AI growth” for the company.

Apple made the list as well, even though Wall Street has extensively criticized the iPhone maker’s AI strategy as it repeatedly delayed the rollout of a highly anticipated upgrade to its Siri voice assistant.

While Ives said that Apple has pursued a “head scratching AI strategy” this year, he thinks the company will be able to monetize the technology, with Tim Cook staying on as CEO through at least the end of 2027 to oversee the process.

“The elephant in the room remains the invisible AI strategy,” Ives wrote. “With the biggest consumer installed base in the world of 2.4 billion iOS devices and 1.5 billion iPhones, the time is now for Apple to accelerate its AI efforts.”

Wedbush is also bullish on Tesla, citing the company’s prospects in self-driving technology and robotics, two areas of intense focus for investors. The firm believes the Cybercab, which is slated to enter production in early 2026, will be “the golden goose” for the company and could drive Tesla to a $2 trillion market capitalization next year. That compares with about $1.5 trillion as of Tuesday afternoon.

Palantir, one of the foremost beneficiaries of the AI boom, was an unsurprising addition to the list. Despite concerns over a stretched valuation, the stock remains up 144% this year, outstripping a 17% gain for the S&P 500 and a 22% gain for the Nasdaq Composite .

In his note Monday, Ives cited sustained demand for Palantir’s flagship AI platform. “With the company making strategic moves to remain at the forefront of AI, we believe that PLTR has a golden path to become a trillion-dollar market cap company and will grow into its valuation,” he wrote.

CrowdStrike Holdings is yet another name whose growth potential is underestimated by the Street, Ives argued. Cybersecurity, in Wedbush’s view, remains a “derivative beneficiary of the AI Revolution.” The cybersecurity provider has worked to integrate AI across its product portfolio.

All of the stocks mentioned here are included in the Dan Ives Wedbush AI Revolution ETF , an exchange-traded fund launched by Wedbush Fund Advisers earlier this year.

The fund is based on Ives’s research. A spokesperson told Barron’s at the time of its launch that Ives is barred from holding the ETF, as well as the stocks it owns.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com