In 2026, some stocks have overtaken Nvidia (NVDA 3.39%) as the best artificial intelligence (AI) stock to buy. One of those has been longtime rival AMD (AMD 4.63%).
AMD's stock has risen around 130% so far in 2026, leaving Nvidia's 12% gains in the dust. For longtime Nvidia bulls like myself who have championed Nvidia's stock over AMD's, this is disappointing. However, a change in market sentiment could signal a new regime taking over, and Nvidia may no longer be as good an investment as it once was.
Still, there are high expectations baked into AMD's stock. So, which one of these makes the most sense to buy right now? Let's take a look.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
AMD and Nvidia compete in the GPU segment. Both companies make GPUs, which are widely used in AI data centers because they can perform multiple calculations in parallel. While Nvidia has owned the data center market in the AI arms race so far, AMD's growth rates are also ramping up.
Up until a few weeks ago, AMD had a diversification bonus to itself. It makes several other types of computing chips, like embedded processors and CPUs.
However, Nvidia recently announced it would enter the consumer CPU market as well. In collaboration with Microsoft, it announced a Windows PC purpose-built for the "age of AI" that includes a full Nvidia stack. This may disrupt some of AMD's other business units, but we'll have to see how the product is received first.
While Nvidia is making efforts to diversify its business solely away from GPUs, AMD is already there. I think this makes AMD a more balanced business, so I'll give it the win here.
Winner: AMD
With AMD up so much in 2026 and Nvidia trailing it, you may think that AMD's growth rates have surpassed Nvidia's and it's stealing market share. While that's a logical assumption, it's not reality.
In its most recent quarter (ended April 26), Nvidia's overall revenue grew 85% year over year to $81.6 billion, and its data center revenue increased 92% year over year to $75.2 billion. Those are impressive figures for any business, let alone the world's largest company.
It also blows away AMD's results. AMD's revenue was $10.3 billion in Q2, up 38% year over year, with data center revenue rising 57% to $5.8 billion. AMD's data center division is far smaller and growing more slowly than Nvidia's, and the overall business follows the same trend.
AMD's growth isn't even close to Nvidia's, easily allowing Nvidia to take this category.
Winner: Nvidia
There is more than one way for a stock to deliver outstanding returns. However, some are more sustainable than others. Probably the least sustainable is increasing the stock price due to its valuation rising, without business results matching the performance. That's exactly what we're seeing with AMD's stock right now: Its valuation is sky-high compared to Nvidia's.
AMD PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts
AMD's stock trades for nearly 70 times forward earnings, while Nvidia's trades for 23. If you utilize 2027's earnings projections for AMD, it's still 50% more expensive than Nvidia is today.
What does that mean for investors? Nvidia investors get one to two years' worth of growth for free compared to buying AMD's stock right now. There is a ton of future growth already priced into AMD's stock, while Nvidia has far less priced in. This makes Nvidia the better buy from a valuation perspective and also gives Nvidia the title of best stock to buy today.
Winner: Nvidia
Keithen Drury has positions in Microsoft and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.
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AMD has had a solid year, but Nvidia could catch up quickly.
