Investment bank Wedbush identified Microsoft (MSFT.US), Palantir (PLTR.US), Apple (AAPL.US), Tesla (TSLA.US), and CrowdStrike (CRWD.US) as the top five most compelling investment opportunities in the artificial intelligence sector for 2026, alongside NVIDIA (NVDA.US). An analyst team led by Dan Ives stated, "In our view, Wall Street is underestimating the growth prospects of Azure and the impending AI-driven transformation at Redmond as we head into 2026, making Microsoft one of our favorite large-cap tech stocks for the coming year." "Although AI use cases expanded significantly in fiscal 2025, it is clear that fiscal 2026 will be the true inflection year for AI growth at Microsoft as CIOs schedule deployment projects." Regarding Palantir, Wedbush believes the software company, led by Alex Karp, remains on track to evolve into a $1 trillion company, driven by its continued impressive progress with both government and commercial clients. Meanwhile, CrowdStrike is expected to benefit from AI as its product suite continues to expand in the enterprise market over the next year. "We believe Wall Street is underestimating CrowdStrike's growth potential; cybersecurity remains a second or third-order beneficiary of the AI revolution, which is why we are bullish on the name," Ives noted. For Tesla, Wedbush anticipates its market capitalization will reach $2 trillion in the coming months, with a potential rise to $3 trillion by the end of 2026 in a bull case scenario, fueled by the rise of autonomous vehicles and robotics. "AI valuations will begin to be unlocked; we believe Tesla's march to an AI-driven valuation has already begun over the next 6 to 9 months. In our view, the penetration of FSD and autonomy within Tesla's existing user base, coupled with the acceleration of Cybercab in the U.S. market, represents the 'golden egg' for Musk and company," Ives added. Finally, Wedbush believes Apple is well-positioned to monetize AI by leveraging its massive consumer base of over 2.4 billion iOS devices and 1.5 billion iPhones globally. "We believe this segment could add $75 to $100 per share to Apple's value over the coming years, as the AI monetization chapter finally begins after a puzzling AI strategy from Cupertino this year," Ives said. "We also believe Tim Cook will remain CEO of Apple at least through the end of 2027 to lead Cupertino through this critical AI technology transition."