Times of investing

By The Times of Investing Research Team

The investment world is being revolutionized by Artificial Intelligence. From algorithmic trading to complex market forecasting, AI tools are processing petabytes of data faster and more objectively than any human could. But what happens when you turn that powerful analytical lens back on the stock market and simply ask: “What five stocks should I buy and hold for the long term?”

We posed this very question to a sophisticated AI model trained on decades of financial data, market trends, and company fundamentals. The goal was to remove human bias and tap into pure, data-driven conviction.

The results point overwhelmingly to companies that are not just using AI, but are fundamental to the AI infrastructure itself—the “picks and shovels” of the AI gold rush.

Here are the top 5 long-term stock picks, according to the AI:

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The AI’s Top 5 Long-Term Stock Picks

1. NVIDIA (NVDA) – The Engine of AI

It’s perhaps the least surprising but most essential pick. NVIDIA’s Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) are the undisputed workhorses for training large language models (LLMs) and powering the world’s data centers.

• The AI Rationale: The model sees NVIDIA as holding an almost unassailable ecosystem advantage, built on its superior hardware and the crucial CUDA software platform. As long as the world is building, training, and running AI models, demand for NVIDIA’s chips will remain high, making it a foundational long-term hold regardless of short-term volatility.

2. Microsoft (MSFT) – The AI Integrator

Microsoft’s early, aggressive, and highly strategic investment in OpenAI has paid massive dividends, but the AI’s conviction goes deeper than just a single partnership.

• The AI Rationale: Microsoft is embedding AI into its entire product suite (Office 365, Teams, etc.) via its “Copilot” strategy, creating a compelling reason for enterprise customers to upgrade and remain sticky. Furthermore, its Azure cloud division is a dominant platform for AI deployment. The AI sees this comprehensive integration across business software and cloud infrastructure as a powerful, compounding long-term growth driver.

3. Alphabet (GOOGL/GOOG) – The Data & Research Powerhouse

The parent company of Google and Waymo is not just playing catch-up; it is a long-term winner due to its unparalleled data and cutting-edge research.

• The AI Rationale: The model highlights two key factors: Alphabet’s decades-long data advantage in search and video (YouTube), which feeds its AI models (like Gemini), and its extensive cloud offering, Google Cloud. The AI views Alphabet’s wide moat in search, coupled with its “moonshot” divisions like Waymo and its internal AI hardware (TPUs), as a diverse, long-term bet on the entire future of computing.

4. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) – The Manufacturer of Tomorrow

TSMC is the world’s leading contract chip manufacturer and holds a near-monopoly on producing the most advanced, cutting-edge semiconductors—including the ones designed by NVIDIA and AMD.

• The AI Rationale: This is a classic “picks and shovels” play. The AI recognizes that no matter which tech company wins the design race, they all rely on TSM’s fabrication excellence. The long-term thesis is tied to the constant need for smaller, faster, and more power-efficient chips, a demand that TSM is uniquely positioned to meet for the foreseeable future.

5. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) – The Primary Challenger

AMD is consistently cited as the main challenger to NVIDIA in the high-performance computing and data center GPU market.

• The AI Rationale: The AI suggests that the explosive growth of the AI infrastructure market is large enough for more than one winner. AMD’s focus on both GPUs for inference (running AI models) and its EPYC server CPUs provides multiple avenues for growth. The model forecasts that even a small but growing share of this rapidly expanding market can translate into substantial long-term returns for the company.

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Key Takeaway for Long-Term Investors

What’s clear from the AI’s top selections is a distinct focus on the infrastructure layer of the AI revolution. The model largely ignores speculative AI startups and instead prioritizes businesses with:

1. Massive Scale: Companies with multi-billion-dollar revenue streams that can reinvest heavily in AI R&D.
2. Wide Moats: Advantages rooted in proprietary software ecosystems, manufacturing dominance, or an unparalleled data edge.
3. Fundamental Necessity: Businesses that are essential for the creation and deployment of all AI models, regardless of which application becomes the most popular.

While an AI model can offer an invaluable, unbiased perspective, remember that no investment tool can guarantee future performance. These picks represent a highly data-driven, long-term thesis on the companies building the foundation for the next generation of global technology.

Disclaimer: This blog post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Investors should conduct their own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.