The Best Stocks to Invest $10,000 in Right Now

Why It Matters

Broadcom’s AI momentum and IBM’s hybrid‑cloud resurgence signal strong earnings potential, while valuation differences highlight distinct risk‑reward trade‑offs for investors.

Key Takeaways

• Broadcom AI chip sales up 65% to $20B.
• AI chips represent 31% of Broadcom revenue.
• Broadcom projects 52% revenue growth FY2026.
• IBM hybrid‑cloud revenue rose 8% in 2025.
• IBM trades near 21× forward earnings, suggesting upside.

Pulse Analysis

The AI accelerator market has become a battleground for semiconductor firms seeking to capture the lucrative inference workload that powers everything from large‑language models to recommendation engines. Broadcom’s strategy of designing custom chips optimized for hyperscale data centers allows it to offer higher performance‑per‑dollar than Nvidia’s general‑purpose GPUs when deployed at scale. The company’s FY2025 results show AI chip sales climbing 65% to $20 billion, representing nearly a third of total revenue, and analysts now expect revenue and adjusted EPS to accelerate by more than 50% in FY2026. This rapid expansion positions Broadcom as a potential beneficiary of the broader AI spending surge.

IBM’s resurgence hinges on its hybrid‑cloud and AI proposition, a niche that larger public‑cloud providers often overlook. By leveraging the Red Hat acquisition, IBM delivers open‑source workloads that seamlessly bridge on‑premise private clouds with public platforms, appealing to enterprises with multi‑cloud strategies and strict data‑sovereignty requirements. The 2025 financials reflected an 8% increase in revenue and a 12% jump in adjusted EPS, while forward earnings are priced at roughly 21×, indicating modest valuation headroom. Analysts project steady 5% revenue growth in 2026, suggesting IBM could continue to capture incremental market share as corporations modernize legacy infrastructures.

For investors allocating $10,000, both stocks present distinct risk‑reward profiles. Broadcom’s high forward multiple of 32× reflects strong growth expectations but also leaves limited margin for error if AI demand softens or competitive pressure from Nvidia intensifies. IBM, trading at a lower multiple, offers a more defensive play with predictable cash flows and a clear path to incremental earnings through hybrid‑cloud contracts. Nonetheless, Motley Fool’s Stock Advisor excludes Broadcom from its top‑ten list, underscoring the importance of diversifying sources of analysis. A balanced portfolio might combine Broadcom’s aggressive AI upside with IBM’s steady cloud dividend to mitigate sector volatility.

The Best Stocks to Invest $10,000 in Right Now

By Leo Sun · Feb 19, 2026 at 3:50 PM EST

Key Points

• Broadcom’s AI chip sales are soaring.

• IBM’s hybrid cloud and AI business is expanding.

• 10 stocks we like better than Broadcom ›

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Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO)

Broadcom produces a wide range of wireless chips, networking switches, optical equipment, and custom AI accelerator chips. It also expanded its infrastructure‑software business through several significant acquisitions—including the cloud giant VMware—over the past few years.

Most of Broadcom’s recent growth was driven by its soaring sales of custom AI accelerator chips for hyperscalers, which can process AI inference tasks at a more cost‑efficient rate than Nvidia’s (NVDA) general‑purpose data‑center GPUs when deployed at scale.

In fiscal 2025 (which ended last November), Broadcom’s AI chip sales rose 65 % to $20 billion, accounting for 31 % of its top line and offset slower growth in its non‑AI chips and infrastructure‑software business. Its revenue and EPS grew 24 % and 40 %, respectively.

Analysts expect Broadcom’s revenue and adjusted EPS to grow 52 % and 51 %, respectively, in fiscal 2026—impressive growth rates for a stock trading at about 32 × forward earnings.

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IBM (NYSE: IBM)

IBM struggled with declining sales for a decade before its cloud chief, Arvind Krishna, took over as CEO in 2020. Under Krishna, IBM spun off its slow‑growth managed‑infrastructure services segment as Kyndryl (KD) and expanded its hybrid‑cloud and AI businesses.

Instead of going head‑to‑head with public‑cloud giants like Amazon (AMZN), IBM used its Red Hat acquisition (2019) to launch open‑source applications that can process data flowing between on‑site private clouds and public‑cloud platforms. This “hybrid” approach appeals to large companies not ready to migrate all data to the public cloud and is valuable for firms with multi‑cloud deployments.

IBM’s revenue and adjusted EPS grew 8 % and 12 %, respectively, in 2025. Analysts expect revenue and adjusted EPS to rise another 5 % and 7 %, respectively, in 2026. The stock still looks reasonably valued at about 21 × forward earnings, leaving room for upside.

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Should You Buy Broadcom Right Now?

Before you buy Broadcom, consider this:

The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Broadcom wasn’t one of them. Their analysts argue the ten stocks they selected have the potential to produce “monster” returns in the coming years.

Historical examples illustrate the power of their picks:

• Netflix (2004) – a $1,000 investment would be worth $420,595 today.

• Nvidia (2005) – a $1,000 investment would be worth $1,152,356 today.

• Tesla (2012) – up 19,278 %.

• CrowdStrike (2020) – up 333 %.

To see the full “Top 10” list, you must join Stock Advisor.

Stock Advisor returns are as of February 19, 2026.

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About the Author

Leo Sun is a contributing Motley Fool stock‑market analyst who has worked with the company since 2013, covering technology, consumer goods, industrial, and financial sectors. He became a self‑made millionaire by age 40 through long‑term investing, crediting lessons from Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch. Leo is a regular guest on CNBC Asia providing stock analysis on Chinese technology companies, including Tencent, Baidu, and Alibaba. He previously wrote for InvestorGuide and holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin.