So here’s the thing about AI stocks right now: everyone’s either screaming “BUBBLE!” or throwing money at anything with “artificial intelligence” in the company description. But Dan Ives from Wedbush Securities? He’s basically that friend who’s been right about tech since the ’90s and isn’t buying the doom-and-gloom narrative.
Ives dropped his top 10 AI picks this week, and his reasoning is pretty solid. He’s not saying we’re in some magical wonderland where stocks only go up. Instead, he’s arguing we’re more like 1996 than 1999 – you know, before everyone lost their minds and started valuing companies based on how many times they could say “dot-com” in a sentence.
His logic? We haven’t even scratched the surface yet. Consumer AI is barely getting started, autonomous vehicles are still figuring out how not to hit things, and most companies are still using AI about as effectively as your dad uses TikTok. Plus, robotics is mostly stuck in labs, probably still trying to figure out how to open doors without looking like they’re having an existential crisis.
The Top Contenders:
Microsoft (#1) – The enterprise AI king. While everyone else is fighting over who has the coolest chatbot, Microsoft is quietly becoming the go-to for businesses that actually want to get stuff done with AI.
Palantir (#2) – Up 117% this year because, according to Ives, “AI use cases start and end with Karp & Co.” Translation: these guys know data like Gordon Ramsay knows how to make you feel bad about your cooking.
Nvidia (#3) – Still the “one chip in the world fueling the AI Revolution.” Basically, if AI was a car, Nvidia would be the engine, the transmission, and probably the fuzzy dice hanging from the mirror.
The rest of the list reads like a who’s who of tech royalty: AMD (gaining market share and “compelling valuation” – analyst speak for “not crazy expensive”), Tesla (because Elon’s robot army is apparently “on the doorstep”), Apple (the consumer AI revolution goes through Cupertino, obviously), Meta (“way oversold on cap-ex concerns”), Alphabet (Gemini is “the real deal”), CrowdStrike (cybersecurity AI plays), and Palo Alto Networks (platformization + AI = profit).
Look, nobody has a crystal ball, and Ives could be wrong. But his track record is pretty decent, and his argument makes sense: we’re still in the early innings of this AI thing. Most companies haven’t even figured out how to use it properly yet, which means there’s still plenty of room for the smart money to make… well, smart money.
The key takeaway? Don’t panic about bubble talk just yet. We’re probably not at the “pets.com selling dog food at a loss forever” stage of insanity. But also, maybe don’t bet the farm on AI stocks just because some analyst says they’re the future. Diversification is still a thing, even in the age of artificial intelligence.
Remember: This isn’t financial advice, just one guy’s take on another guy’s stock picks. Do your own research, or at least pretend to before throwing money at the market.