In this article, we will explore the 8 Best Cloud Computing Stocks to Buy in 2026.
Cloud computing continues to take center stage in the stock market as AI infrastructure spending grows, showing no signs of slowing. While investors previously asked about AI spending ROI, they’re now wondering why their company can’t spend more. The demand is so high that specialized cloud computing companies have emerged, offering only compute capacity for AI and high-performance computing workloads.
These companies, also referred to as ‘neoclouds’, prove that the demand for cloud computing services is skyrocketing. Some are taking on billions of dollars in debt just to capitalize on this enormous opportunity. Talking on the CNBC show ‘Squawk on the Street’, CoreWeave CEO Mike Intrator mentioned how we are still early into the cloud computing demand while calling out the risks involved in scaling to meet that demand:
That ramp comes with an enormous opportunity to drive margins as we continue to grow, but we need to have an opportunity to scale, and scaling is expensive.
Without a doubt, cloud computing will flourish as AI technologies develop. To benefit from this, we decided to create our list of the 8 best cloud computing stocks to buy in 2026.
Our Methodology
To come up with our list of 8 best cloud computing stocks to buy in 2026, we looked at various cloud computing ETFs to compile a list of companies in the industry. We then filtered out companies with a market cap of at least $2 billion and reasonable upside over the next 12 months, according to analysts. These companies have reported recent investor-worthy news and are ranked in ascending order of their potential upside.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? 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 498.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 303 percentage points (see more details here).
Note: All share price data in the article is as per market close on May 1.
8. Procore Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:PCOR)
Potential Upside: 21.4%
On April 21, Andrew Sherman, an analyst at TD Cowen, maintained a Buy rating on Procore Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:PCOR) while lowering the firm’s price target to $75 from $85. The firm’s revised price target implies an additional 26.4% upside from the current levels. This update has come just before the company is set to announce its Q1 2026 earnings. TD Cowen expects improved sales and increased guidance for fiscal year 2026, together with a 20% increase in the company’s remaining performance obligation (RPO).
On April 20, Procore Technologies added a new member to its board by appointing Columbia University computer science professor and AI leader, Vishal Misra, as an independent Class III director. According to the company, Misra was hired to strengthen its AI capabilities and support its AI-powered construction management plan. Misra is an experienced leader in technology and digital media. By appointing him, Procore is strengthening its position as the market leader as demand for infrastructure and smart, modern construction grows.
Procore Technologies, Inc. offers a cloud-based construction management platform, along with related products and services. It operates across the United States and international markets. The company’s platform allows architects, owners, engineers, and general and specialty contractors to coordinate on construction projects.
7. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Potential Upside: 33.3%
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) reported its third-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings on April 29. Earnings per share came in at $4.27, marking a 21% increase. Revenue from Azure and other Cloud Services grew 40%. The company reported a gross margin of 68%, which declined year-over-year due to continued spending on AI infrastructure and higher usage of AI products. Strong cloud billings and collections pushed operating cash flow up 26% to $46.7 billion.
Heading into earnings week, Moody’s Corporation announced the next phase of its strategic alliance with Microsoft Corporation, in which the firm’s decision-grade intelligence is directly integrated into Microsoft AI solutions. The agentic workflows and decision-grade intelligence are incorporated into Microsoft 365 Copilot via the Model Context Protocol. In addition, tools like Copilot Chat and the Researcher agent can be used to conduct financial analysis and retrieve company data, making it easier to research without switching between programs.
Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company that develops and sells a wide range of software, cloud services, devices, and business solutions, serving both individual users and enterprise customers worldwide. Its flagship products include Windows, Microsoft 365, Azure, LinkedIn, and Xbox.
6. HubSpot Inc. (NYSE:HUBS)
Potential Upside: 35.5%
Over the last few trading sessions, HubSpot Inc. (NYSE:HUBS) has seen positive momentum. On April 16, J. Parker Lane, an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus, maintained a Buy rating and set a target price of $325. Two days prior to this, Needham set a price target of $300 and also maintained a Buy rating. HubSpot’s international and partner growth is set to improve in 2026, according to the research firm. Analysts led by Joshua Reilly said that self-service facilities are now available for the pricing and sales and marketing front, as part of a multi-year sales and marketing program.
Reilly and his team remarked:
Additionally, we highlight trends around international and partner sales outperformance in 2025, and our view that these trends continue and possibly accelerate in 2026 as international momentum is driven by larger multihub deals and strength in EMEA [Europe, the Middle East, and Africa], while partner activity is benefiting from AI complexity, international bias towards partner channel and overall up-market shift for the company, which drives greater partner activity.
HubSpot’s latest plan is to charge customers for their use of Breeze AI agents, helping it improve how it generates revenue. Breeze Agents are AI-powered agents developed by HubSpot Inc. to automate complex, multi-step marketing, sales, and service workflows.
Moreover, the company has started to disclose the number of customers who are using their Breeze Agents, more specifically, the customer, prospecting, and data agents. This gives analysts better visibility into future earnings.
HubSpot Inc. provides cloud-based customer relationship management software. Its platform includes marketing, sales, service, operations, and a content management system, as well as other tools, integrations, and native payment solutions.
5. Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)
Potential Upside: 36.5%
According to an investor presentation shared on May 1, Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) plans to revamp its revenue reporting structure from FY27. The move is aimed at better aligning its reporting with the company’s AI-led Agentic Enterprise strategy. Under the new structure, revenue will be divided into two main segments: “Agentforce Apps” and “Data 360, Platform & Other.” The company will group products such as Slack, Sales, Tableau, and MuleSoft under broader AI-driven categories. Revenue from major acquisitions, such as Informatica, will be reported separately for one year after closing.
During FY27, Salesforce Inc. will provide both the existing and revised reporting formats to support comparison, before fully shifting to the new structure in FY28. While this does not necessarily change the company’s outlook, it does give investors a good idea of how much growth is coming from the AI initiatives rather than the legacy offerings.
The company’s stock has halved from its all-time high and continues to struggle amid fears of AI-related disruption. Since the beginning of this year, almost all analysts covering the stock have lowered their price targets, resulting in a median price target of $251. While this still suggests a healthy 36% upside, most of it is due to the stock’s poor first quarter.
Salesforce Inc. is a global enterprise software company that provides customer relationship management (CRM) and cloud-based business applications across sales, service, marketing, commerce, and data analytics. Its Customer 360 platform, powered by data tools and trusted AI, enables organizations to unify customer data and drive personalized engagement.
4. Wix.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:WIX)
Potential Upside: 36.5%
On April 21, Bank of America lowered its price target on Wix.com Ltd. (NASDAQ:WIX) from $135 to $109 and maintained a Buy rating on the stock. The update came after the firm revised its estimate for the commerce group’s first quarter, citing higher AI risk.
In addition to BofA, Barclays also lowered its price target on Wix.com Ltd. to $155 from $160 and kept an overweight rating on the shares on April 09. The firm notices “another mixed setup” for web tools in the first quarter. WIX needs to increase the speed at which it signs up new users and monitor profitability by bringing in more cash to meet its profit goals, the analyst stated in a note to investors.
As is evident from the differences among the above price targets, analysts remain divided on the prospects of software stocks like WIX. Consequently, this can cause volatility in the stock, which is already out of favor among investors after falling 45% in the last 6 months.
Wix.com Ltd. provides a web development platform for creators, delivering services through a software-as-a-service model. Its products include website templates, website builders, website designs, an app market, web hosting, domain names, website accessibility, a mobile app builder, and an AI website builder.
3. Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)
Potential Upside: 41.4%
On April 16, Robin Zhu, an analyst at Bernstein, lowered the firm’s price target on Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) from $190 to $180 while maintaining a Buy rating. A day before the price target cut, Bloomberg reported that Alibaba Group Holding Limited’s Amap unit is planning to launch its first robot to compete with high-growth companies such as Tesla in the robotics industry. Amap’s robot is comparable to Unitree’s Go series and resembles a humanoid robot, according to Bloomberg.
Spokesperson for Amap remarked:
We have already made in-depth investments in the field of embodied intelligence, continuously releasing multiple embodied models, and actively exploring hardware product forms such as quadruped robots and humanoid robots. We expect to release our first quadruped robot soon.
Moreover, the Cainiao Smart Logistics Network of Alibaba Group Holding Limited launched ZeeBot, a robot capable of climbing storage racks up to 5 levels in just 10 seconds. The ability of the robot to move both horizontally and vertically throughout the warehouse helps save time and enables the eventual end-to-end intelligent operations through AI.
Alibaba Group Holding Limited operates as a technology infrastructure and marketing solutions provider. It operates both within the People’s Republic of China and internationally. The company was founded by Jack Ma and Chung Tsai in June 1999 and is headquartered in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.
2. ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE:NOW)
Potential Upside: 53.6%
On April 19, J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Murphy maintained a Buy rating on ServiceNow Inc. (NYSE:NOW) and set a target price of $195. The firm’s price target implies an additional 116% upside from here. On a more bearish note, TD Cowen lowered its price target to $140 from $185 while maintaining a Buy rating. The firm’s channel checks show growing trends, increased use of AI products, large deal activity, and extended platform reach. The stark difference in price targets suggests how uncertain the environment is for software stocks at the moment.
Despite the uncertainty, there was one positive on the acquisition front. The company completed the acquisition of Armis on April 20, briefly causing the stock price to go up. Armis supplies cyber exposure management and security solutions. ServiceNow’s market opportunity for security and risk solutions is expected to increase 3x after the acquisition. The settlement was made for $7.75B in cash back in December 2025. This builds on the company’s March purchase of Veza, an AI identity security platform, for approximately $1 billion. Amit Zavery, who is president, chief operating officer, and chief product officer at ServiceNow, remarked:
Armis gives us real-time, contextual awareness into the cyber risk of every connected asset, including the devices and systems that conventional tools were never built to see. Combined with Veza’s identity intelligence, that signal flows into ServiceNow’s Context Engine and AI Control Tower, turning exposure into automated remediation with governance and a full audit trail built in at every step.
ServiceNow Inc. provides cloud-based and AI-embedded end-to-end workflow automation solutions for enterprises. The company is located in Santa Clara, California, and was founded in June 2004 by Frederic B. Luddy.
1. Zscaler Inc (NASDAQ:ZS)
Potential Upside: 53.8%
On May 1, Citizens analyst Trevor Walsh lowered his price target on Zscaler Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS) stock from $290 to $210 while keeping the Outperform rating. Heading into Q1 earnings, the firm revised its financial models in light of upcoming industry data. The demand for zero-trust and SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) solutions continues to be high. However, concerns about cybersecurity risks stemming from advanced AI models have led to a re-rating of the sector, according to the analyst.
The valuation revision isn’t the only factor driving the stock’s price down. While Trevor Walsh cites the strong SASE demand as a bullish factor, JPMorgan on April 21 cited competition in the same to lower the stock’s price target from $200 to $155, suggesting the firm is even more bearish on the stock than Citizens. JPMorgan’s Meta Marshall also added that the firm’s original bull thesis on the stock revolved around platform expansion, which it does not see materializing anymore.
Zscaler Inc is a provider of cloud security through products and solutions such as the Zero Trust Firewall, Cloud Sandbox, Zero Trust Browser, and Zscaler Internet Access. The company was incorporated in 2007 and is based in San Jose, California.
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