Analysts at Goldman Sachs expect big tech giants to spend more than half a trillion dollars on AI-related spending. Capital expenditure In 2026. And much of that money is going toward data center hardware such as AI accelerator chips, high-bandwidth memory devices, and various types of networking equipment.
Eye-popping levels of hardware spending contrast with low profits and often huge losses on the consumer-facing software side of the industry. This dynamic means investors can maximize returns by placing bets like pick-and-shovel providers. Micron Technology (name: mu) and Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO ).
Where to invest $1,000 now? Our analyst team recently revealed what they believe 10 Best Stocks Join Stock Advisor when you buy now. View Stock »
Let’s discuss why these potential millionaire makers could make great choices for February and beyond.
With shares up more than 300% in the last 12 months, Micron Technology’s bull run is already in full swing. Investors are getting more excited about the memory hardware specialist as ravenous AI continues to increase demand for its hardware. With rock-bottom valuations and memory shortages expected to continue for the next few years, the company’s long-term rally is just getting started.
While Micron’s stock is doing well now, it wasn’t always this way. In fact, stocks have been known to generate practically no growth between 2000 and the dot-com bubble in the year 2020. Share is historically weak because memory is hardware. commoditized. Micron’s products are not well differentiated from chips created by its competitors, which can lead to substantial price competition and boom-and-bust cycles as production capacity increases to meet demand.
Generative AI shakes up this old paradigm by sending demands for memory far faster than the supply can keep up. Micron is already benefiting from this trend, with fiscal first-quarter revenue up 57% year-over-year to $13.6 billion — driven primarily by purchases from cloud data centers. With the memory shortage expected to continue through 2027, Micron is poised to enjoy a near-term windfall, which it can use to reinvest in its business or return cash to shareholders. Stock buybacks.
With a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of just 12, Micron stock trades at a dramatic discount to AI hardware options. NvidiaIts forward P/E is 22. The low price tag suggests that Micron’s stock still has room for continued growth.
As noted above, the consumer-facing software side of generative AI is generally not profitable, with industry leaders like ChatGPT and Anthropic expected to burn tens of billions in 2026 alone. This dynamic can partly be blamed on high costs Nvidia Graphics processing units (GPUs) and other types of compute hardware. Broadcom’s application-specific integrated circuits (custom chips) offer an alternative.
Custom chips allow Broadcom’s customers to use hardware customized for their specific workloads, without features they don’t need. This can make them cheaper to buy and operate than general-purpose hardware. Recently, Broadcom has secured several high-profile contracts to work with AI leaders.
In October, the company announced a strategic partnership with ChatGPT maker OpenAI to deploy 10 gigawatts of OpenAI-designed accelerators. The company is also a key partner of industry leaders Alphabetwho Googlewhich designs a proprietary AI chip called Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) to compete with Nvidia’s GPU. The market for custom chips looks set to continue to expand as more customers aim to reduce costs and make their AI efforts profitable.
Broadcom’s fourth-quarter revenue jumped 28% year over year to $18 billion, driven by strength in its AI semiconductor revenue, which grew 74% due to demand for custom chips along with demand for Ethernet AI switches. With a forward P/E multiple of 31, Broadcom’s stock trades at a premium to the market average. But it seems reasonable, given the company’s relatively safe pick-and-shovel business model and the potential to wrest market share from Nvidia as the AI industry matures.
Before you buy stock in Micron Technology, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor The analyst team just identified what they believe 10 Best Stocks Investors to buy now… and Micron Technology was not one of them. 10 stocks to make the cut can produce monster returns for years to come.
Consider when Netflix Made this list on December 17, 2004… If you invest $1,000 during our recommendation, You will have $439,362!* or when Nvidia Made this list on April 15, 2005… If you invest $1,000 during our recommendation, You will have $1,164,984!*
Now, this is worth noting Stock advisor The total average return is 918% – market-crushing outperformance compared to 196% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss the latest top 10 list available Stock advisorAnd join an investment community built by individual investors for individual investors.
View 10 Stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of February 10, 2026.
Will Ibifung has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions on and recommends Alphabet and Micron Technology. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom. Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
2 Millionaire-Making AI Stocks to Buy in February was originally published by The Motley Fool.
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Three Idaho families who are U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents…
For Atlanta single mom Krishna Tucker, everything she does revolves around creating stability for her…
President Donald Trump is eager to show voters that he's making housing more affordable. But…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday he expects the federal immigration crackdown in…
00:00 George This is shaping up to be a banner tax year for tech giants…
By Kevin Lamarck and Trevor HunnicuttYEREVAN, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The White House on Tuesday…