On November 20, Reuters shared warnings from two leading finance executives. The rise of AI has created new risks in financial markets. Investors have been rushing to tech stocks and companies are making huge investments to buy AI technology they can’t make in-house.
During a panel discussion with Citadel Chief Risk Officer Joanna Welsh at the Reuters Momentum AI 2025 conference, Matthew Danzig from Lazard pointed out that AI has become the “number one topic of conversation” among investors and business leaders. Companies are rushing to form their AI strategies while also investing in skills or proprietary datasets in order to compete.
Danzig said that “every company that’s a potential target is figuring out their AI angle.” He also noted that valuations are reaching record highs as investors focus on future gains instead of current fundamentals.
According to McKinsey & Company, the sector will require about $7 trillion in capital by 2030 just for data centers to fund its growth. Yet investors have mostly ignored the rising leverage in the system and weak revenue to support all the debt required to finance this growth.
Additionally, fears of an AI bubble keep returning, which pulls down tech stocks. Joanna Welsh said Citadel, which has $71 billion in assets under management, is ready for market drops at any given time. The hedge fund’s risk models reveal that today’s markets amplify shocks. Welsh pointed out that the “markets are just faster” and that “these volatility spikes and pulses, they hit harder, they fade faster, they repeat more often.”
With this background in mind, let’s take a look at the 15 best-performing AI stocks heading into 2026.
Our Methodology
To compile our list of the 15 best-performing AI stocks heading into 2026, we looked for the largest and most popular AI companies. We reviewed Insider Monkey’s database of prominent AI stocks and various online resources to compile a list of more than 50 AI stocks. Finally, we ranked the 15 best-performing AI stocks in ascending order based on their year-to-date performance as of November 26, 2025.
Additionally, we mentioned the hedge fund sentiment surrounding the best-performing stocks, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s Q3 2025 database of 978 elite hedge funds.
Why do we care about what hedge funds do? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).
15 Best Performing AI Stocks Heading into 2026
15. CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD)
Year-to-Date Performance: 44.39%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 66
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) is one of the best-performing AI stocks heading into 2026. On November 25, DA Davidson increased its price target on CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) from $515 to $580 and kept a Buy rating. This update comes ahead of the company’s results for its fiscal third quarter of 2026, which are to be released on December 2, 2025.
DA Davidson expects CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) to report strong results with continued growth in net new annual recurring revenue (NNARR), which should boost investor confidence. The research firm also noted that the company is on track to achieve its target of more than 20% year-over-year growth in NNARR for fiscal year 2027.
Previously, on November 19, Jefferies had also increased its price target on CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) from $515 to $600 and maintained a Buy rating. The firm expects the company’s NNARR in the fiscal third quarter to grow at a high single-digit rate compared to the previous quarter.
Jefferies also noted that based on intra-quarter checks and survey results, CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) is performing well. The firm believes the company could beat consensus annual recurring revenue (ARR) estimates by about 40 basis points.
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) is a leading cybersecurity technology company that uses AI and cloud-based architecture to offer protection across endpoints, cloud workloads, identity, and data.
14. Constellation Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CEG)
Year-to-Date Performance: 48.02%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 91
Constellation Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CEG) is one of the best-performing AI stocks heading into 2026. On November 18, Reuters reported that the Trump administration has backed Constellation Energy Corporation’s (NASDAQ:CEG) Crane Clean Energy Center in Pennsylvania with a $1 billion loan.
According to the report, Constellation Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CEG) entered into an agreement in late 2024 with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) to restart the reactor, which has been shut since 2019. However, when restarted, it will help power Microsoft Corporation’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) data centers.
The US government is supporting the company’s plan to launch the Crane Clean Energy Center, which will add 835 megawatts of new baseload power to the grid. This news comes as demand for electricity in the US is rising for the first time in 20 years, driven by new technologies such as AI. Nuclear energy is virtually free of carbon emissions, which makes it a good choice for tech companies that need uninterrupted power.
Constellation Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CEG) said that the loan will help lower financing costs and utilize private investment. This support will help restore power to the grid and support the AI industry in the US.
Constellation Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CEG) is a leading energy supplier specializing in reliable, emissions-free energy for businesses, homes, and public sector customers.
