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NVIDIA and Micron Stand Out as Likely Profitable AI Winners for 2026
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Key Takeaways
NVDA and MU are highlighted as profitable AI picks driven by strong net income ratios.
The screen favored stocks with higher-than-industry sales and net income growth over the past year.
NVDA posts a 12-month net profit margin of 53%, underscoring its strong profitability.
Artificial intelligence (AI) stocks have performed extremely well this year, and the momentum is likely to continue into the next year. After all, MarketsandMarkets projected the global AI market to reach US$2,407.02 billion by 2032, driven by a strong 30.6% CAGR beginning in 2025.
However, savvy investors should focus on AI companies that generate solid profits after deducting all operating and non-operating expenses. That’s why it’s important to invest in a profitable company rather than one that is losing money. To evaluate this, we rely on key accounting ratios to assess a company’s profitability. Among various profitability ratios, we choose the most reliable and widely recognized metric to gauge a company’s bottom-line strength.
To that end, NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) and Micron Technology, Inc. (MU - Free Report) have been selected as top profitable AI picks for 2026 and beyond due to their high net income ratios.
The Net Income Ratio, Clearly Explained
The net income ratio gives us the exact profitability level of a company. It reflects the percentage of net income to total sales revenues. Using the net income ratio, one can determine a firm’s effectiveness in meeting operating and non-operating expenses from revenues. A higher net income ratio usually implies a company’s ability to generate ample revenues and successfully manage all business functions.
Screening Parameters Using Research Wizard:
The net income ratio is not the only indicator of future winners. So, we have added a few more criteria to arrive at a winning strategy.
Trailing 12-Month Sales and Net Income Growth Higher than X Industry: Stocks that have witnessed higher-than-industry sales and net income growth in the past 12 months are positioned to perform well.
Trailing 12-Month Net Income Ratio Higher than X Industry: A high net income ratio indicates a company’s solid profitability.
Percentage Rating Strong Buy greater than 70: This indicates that 70% of the current broker recommendations for the stock are Strong Buy.
These few parameters have narrowed the universe of more than 7,685 stocks to only 15.
Here are two of the 15 stocks that qualified for the screening:
You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.
The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.
Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.
Image: Bigstock
NVIDIA and Micron Stand Out as Likely Profitable AI Winners for 2026
Key Takeaways
Artificial intelligence (AI) stocks have performed extremely well this year, and the momentum is likely to continue into the next year. After all, MarketsandMarkets projected the global AI market to reach US$2,407.02 billion by 2032, driven by a strong 30.6% CAGR beginning in 2025.
However, savvy investors should focus on AI companies that generate solid profits after deducting all operating and non-operating expenses. That’s why it’s important to invest in a profitable company rather than one that is losing money. To evaluate this, we rely on key accounting ratios to assess a company’s profitability. Among various profitability ratios, we choose the most reliable and widely recognized metric to gauge a company’s bottom-line strength.
To that end, NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) and Micron Technology, Inc. (MU - Free Report) have been selected as top profitable AI picks for 2026 and beyond due to their high net income ratios.
The Net Income Ratio, Clearly Explained
The net income ratio gives us the exact profitability level of a company. It reflects the percentage of net income to total sales revenues. Using the net income ratio, one can determine a firm’s effectiveness in meeting operating and non-operating expenses from revenues. A higher net income ratio usually implies a company’s ability to generate ample revenues and successfully manage all business functions.
Screening Parameters Using Research Wizard:
The net income ratio is not the only indicator of future winners. So, we have added a few more criteria to arrive at a winning strategy.
Zacks Rank equal to #1: Whether the market is good or bad, stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) have a proven history of outperformance. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Trailing 12-Month Sales and Net Income Growth Higher than X Industry: Stocks that have witnessed higher-than-industry sales and net income growth in the past 12 months are positioned to perform well.
Trailing 12-Month Net Income Ratio Higher than X Industry: A high net income ratio indicates a company’s solid profitability.
Percentage Rating Strong Buy greater than 70: This indicates that 70% of the current broker recommendations for the stock are Strong Buy.
These few parameters have narrowed the universe of more than 7,685 stocks to only 15.
Here are two of the 15 stocks that qualified for the screening:
NVIDIA
NVIDIA is a worldwide provider of graphics, computing and networking solutions. NVDA’s 12-month net profit margin is 53% (read more: 3 Reasons to Buy NVIDIA After Its Massive 62% Revenue Surge).
Micron
Micron manufactures and sells memory and storage products worldwide. MU’s 12-month net profit margin is 22.9% (read more: Micron or NVIDIA: Which AI Stock Looks Attractive and Worth a Buy?).
You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.
The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.
Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today.
Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.
Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance.