In this article, we look at the 10 Best AI Networking Stocks to Buy According to Analysts.
AI networking has moved from a support role to one of the central investment themes in the artificial intelligence buildout. The reason is simple: AI infrastructure is scaling faster than traditional data-center networks were designed to handle. IDC reported that worldwide AI infrastructure spending reached $89.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, up 62% year over year, and expects total AI infrastructure spending to reach $758 billion by 2029. That spending is pushing demand beyond GPUs and servers into the systems that connect them.
The networking layer is now a critical bottleneck for AI workloads, especially as model training and inference require faster movement of data across large clusters. Dell’Oro Group expects 1.6 Tbps data-center switches to begin shipping in volume in 2026, driven by AI back-end networks. Meanwhile, demand is rising across Ethernet switching, optical components, high-speed interconnects, testing equipment, and communications infrastructure.
That creates a wider opportunity set for investors. The AI networking theme includes not only large switch vendors but also semiconductor, optical, broadband, and network equipment companies exposed to the growing need for faster, lower-latency, and more reliable AI data movement.
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Methodology
For this article, we screened AI networking stocks and ranked them by consensus analyst price targets. We then selected stocks with at least 25% implied upside from current levels.
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10. Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE)
Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) is one of the best AI networking stocks to buy according to analysts. On June 11, JPMorgan reiterated an Overweight rating on the stock and maintained its price target after a recent pullback in optical networking names. The firm argued that investor concerns around co-packaged optics adoption were overdone, a useful signal for a company increasingly tied to the optical layer of AI data centers.
The bull case has also been supported by Lumentum’s operating momentum. On May 5, the company reported fiscal third-quarter 2026 revenue of $808.4 million, up 90.1% year over year. Non-GAAP operating margin expanded to 32.2%, while non-GAAP diluted earnings per share rose to $2.37 from $0.57 a year earlier. Management said strength in laser chips and scale-across components helped the quarter, and pointed to co-packaged optics and optical circuit switches as future drivers of earnings power.
Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) is an optical and photonic technology company headquartered in San Jose, California. Its lasers, modules, and optical subsystems support AI infrastructure, cloud computing, data center connectivity, telecom networks, industrial manufacturing, and sensing applications.
9. Semtech Corporation (NASDAQ:SMTC)
Semtech Corporation (NASDAQ:SMTC) is one of the best AI networking stocks to buy according to analysts. The company gave investors a fresh AI infrastructure angle in mid-March when it launched a family of 224 Gbps per lane Transimpedance Amplifiers and Mach-Zehnder Modulator drivers for LRO, LPO, XPO, Near-Packaged Optics, and Co-Packaged Optics interconnect applications.
The products are designed to enable 800G, 1.6T, and 3.2T transceivers and optical engines for AI/ML clusters, hyperscale data centers, and next-generation cloud infrastructure. That makes Semtech a direct participant in one of the most important bottlenecks in AI infrastructure: moving data faster and more efficiently between accelerators, switches, and optical links. The company also said its linear interconnect architecture can remove the power-intensive digital signal processor from optical modules while maintaining link integrity, addressing power, cooling, and cost pressures in AI data centers.
The launch followed a stronger fiscal year. On March 16, Semtech reported fiscal 2026 record net sales of $1.05 billion, up 15% year over year, while non-GAAP adjusted diluted earnings per share rose to $1.71.
Semtech Corporation (NASDAQ:SMTC) provides high-performance semiconductors for AI data center networking, IoT connectivity, and intelligent connected devices worldwide.
