In this article, we will take a look at the 9 Best 5G Stocks to Buy Right Now.
5G, the fifth generation of wireless cellular technology, provides significant advances in speed and capacity over previous generations. By the end of 2025, the total number of 5G connections across the globe had topped 2.7 billion. This massive expansion predicts a significantly higher rate of 5G deployment than previous wireless generations. By 2030, mobile technology is expected to contribute about $1 trillion to the world’s economy, making it the fastest-growing technology yet.
According to an SNS Telecom & IT analysis, global investment in private LTE and 5G network infrastructure for vertical markets would increase at a CAGR of nearly 22% from 2025 to 2028, eventually topping $7.2 billion by the close of 2028.
This consistent, significant growth contrasts with the slow pace of infrastructure spending in the significantly larger but comparatively stable public mobile network sector, although standalone 5G core investments are increasing. According to Counterpoint Research, around 80 global mobile network providers have already introduced commercial 5G standalone services, with Europe seeing significant traction in the past year.
Our Methodology
To make our list of the best 5G stocks to buy now, we chose and selected notable names that hold favorable views among market experts and analysts. While 5G technology is the primary focus of most of these stocks, several also include cloud service providers, holding companies with 5G-related subsidiaries, and semiconductor companies that enable 5G ecosystems. These stocks are also popular among analysts and elite hedge funds.
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. Insider Monkey’s quarterly newsletter strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 599.2% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 372 percentage points (see more details here).
9. Cadence Design Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS)
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS) ranks among the best 5G stocks to buy right now. On June 9, Stifel maintained its Buy rating on Cadence Design Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS) and increased its price target from $395 to $432, citing Cadence’s announcement of a multi-year Design Technology Co-Optimization partnership with Intel Foundry aimed at Intel 14A.
Stifel sees the announcement as progressively positive to Cadence Design Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS) in a number of ways, such as confirming the strategic worth of the company’s Design IP solutions and agentic AI-based applications in developing cutting-edge operations.
Additionally, Cadence Design Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS) revealed on June 1 that it was launching the very first fully autonomous virtual engineer for semiconductor development in the field at Computex 2026. The system runs in the NVIDIA OpenShell runtime environment and is based on Cadence’s digital design automation portfolio, leveraging NVIDIA Nemotron models.
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS) states that by employing the technology, NVIDIA engineers have accelerated RTL validation cycles by 40 times, reducing typical five-week verification loops to just under a day.
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS) is a leading provider of electronic design automation (EDA) software, hardware, and IP used by semiconductor companies to design and verify advanced integrated circuits & systems. The company is well-known for its EDA (Electronic Design Automation) tools, which engineers use to create complex 5G System-on-Chip (SoCs).
8. Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT)
Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) ranks among the best 5G stocks to buy right now. On June 8, TD Cowen boosted its price target for Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) to $160 from $125, keeping a Buy rating on the company’s shares. The firm cited the company’s market position in the core network security, SASE, and security services sectors as a major reason for the price target increase.
According to TD Cowen, AI is the next phase of development for Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT), while data center expansion and sovereign SASE constitute long-term tailwinds. The firm stated that its model takes into account increased memory prices and sees Fortinet’s ASIC method as advantageous.
Meanwhile, on May 11, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted its price target for Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) to $110 from an unspecified previous level, maintaining its Overweight rating for the company. The firm cited Fortinet’s first-quarter fiscal 2026 results, which outperformed expectations across several metrics.
Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) also increased its fiscal 2026 forecast for all top-line measures. The company now anticipates revenue growth of 15%, up from 13%, and billings growth of 18%, up from 13%.
Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) provides cybersecurity and convergence of networking and security solutions worldwide.
7. American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT)
American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) ranks among the best 5G stocks to buy right now. On May 19, Bernstein boosted American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) to Outperform with a $207 price target based on long-term 5G/data center demand and diminishing rate sensitivity. The firm said that investor concerns about satellite competition, increased interest rates, and Dish Network risks were becoming exaggerated.
Bernstein emphasized American Tower’s portfolio of about 149,000 towers in developed economies, citing its consistent cash flows, long-term leases, and steady growth outlook. The firm stated that the company continues to bring in approximately 5% AFFO growth even after factoring in Dish-related activity, foreign exchange constraints, and refinancing expenses.
Given the constraints on capacity, indoor coverage, and network performance in crowded urban markets, Bernstein contended that satellite-based wireless services are unlikely to fully replace conventional infrastructure. Rather, analysts predict that further ground deployments or collaborations with mobile network providers will be necessary to ensure future satellite services.
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, American Tower Corporation (NYSE:AMT) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in data centers and telecommunications. The company, which has over 221,000 properties globally, is essential to the development of fiber-optic networks that link 5G small cell sites to the internet.
6. QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM)
QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) ranks among the best 5G stocks to buy right now. On June 9, SLB announced an agreement with QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) to collaborate on cutting-edge AI solutions for energy industry operations. The collaboration brings together Qualcomm Technologies’ power-efficient edge computing and AI processing tools with SLB’s Agora edge AI and IoT services for remote energy scenarios.
Furthermore, Bloomberg reported on May 26 that QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) has landed an agreement to deliver AI chips to ByteDance. ByteDance plans to buy millions of Qualcomm’s application-specific integrated circuits to power the company’s AI agent software.
The agreement represents a major win for QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) as it seeks to move beyond phone processors towards AI infrastructure.
Cristiano Amon, the company’s CEO, previously stated that customers are starting to line up for the company’s chips. He referred to “engagement” with many businesses during a post-earnings conference call in April, though he did not name any potential clients.
QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) is a leading manufacturer and supplier of core technologies for the wireless sector, with a product line that includes processors that enable 5G. The company has benefited from the rise in smartphones since the early 2000s by focusing on the technology behind 3G and 4G networks.
While we acknowledge the potential of QCOM to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than QCOM and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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