In this article, we will discuss Cathie Wood’s 2026 Portfolio: 10 Best Stocks to Buy.
Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood quickly became a Wall Street favorite back in the pandemic days with her disruptive investing and impressive returns. Her ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) posted impressive gains of about 35% in two years through December 2021. But as macroeconomic conditions shifted and interest rates rose, the market rotated away from speculative plays, hitting ARK hard. According to Bloomberg, the fund has seen $120 million in net outflows in 2026 through Feb. 17. It’s down about 10% so far this year.
But Wood insists that ARK’s performance should be evaluated over the long term, as the fund invests in companies positioned to disrupt their industries years down the line. That claim is not unfounded. Stretching the lens to three years, her innovation ETF has delivered roughly 18% annualized returns, according to a Bloomberg report. While its five-year returns are less impressive, the fund has generated more than 17% annually over a period of ten years. This makes it important to examine her portfolio and see some of the best stocks to buy for 2026, according to the 70-year-old fund manager.
For this article, we scanned Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest’s latest portfolio updated as of the fourth quarter of 2025 and picked her 10 biggest positions. For each stock, we briefly explained the bull case that may be driving interest from Wood and other 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. 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).
Cathie Wood 2026 Portfolio: 10 Best Stocks to Buy
10. Tempus AI (NASDAQ:TEM)
ARK’s Stake Value: $446.3 Million
Tempus AI (NASDAQ:TEM) uses AI to analyze and process large datasets to find patterns that help doctors treat patients more efficiently. ARK increased its stake in Tempus AI (NASDAQ:TEM) by 6% in the fourth quarter to about $446.28 million. Of the 1041 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 41 had stakes in Tempus AI (NASDAQ:TEM) as of the end of last year, up from 32 funds as of Sept. 30.
Why are hedge funds piling into Tempus AI (NASDAQ:TEM)?
Tempus AI (NASDAQ:TEM) shares are up about 17% over the past year. The company is seeing an increasing demand for its genomic testing and data tools. Its platform is now connected to over 5,000 healthcare providers in the U.S. Last month, Tempus AI (NASDAQ:TEM) posted Q4 results that showed its revenue rose by more than 80% year over year while adjusted EBITDA turned positive. For 2026, its revenue outlook indicates growth of 25%, which was slower than the pace last year but still came in just ahead of Wall Street’s estimates.
9. Teradyne (NASDAQ:TER)
ARK’s Stake Value: $456.1 Million
Automated test equipment and robotics company Teradyne (NASDAQ:TER) ranks ninth in our list of the best stocks to buy for 2026 according to Cathie Wood. ARK has a $456.08 million stake in Teradyne (NASDAQ:TER) as of the end of December. A total of 77 hedge funds in Insider Monkey’s database of over 1,000 funds had a stake in the company as of the end of the December quarter, sharply up from 58 funds the prior quarter.
What’s causing hedge funds to load up on Teradyne (NASDAQ:TER)?
Once seen as a cyclical play, Teradyne (NASDAQ:TER) is transitioning away from the smartphone chip market to testing equipment for AI infrastructure. Its UltraFLEXplus and Magnum 7 testing systems are seeing strong demand, resulting in revenue and margin growth. With AI data centers starting to hit limits due to copper electrical connections, Teradyne (NASDAQ:TER) is positioned to benefit from the industry’s shift towards optical interconnects and silicon photonics. Why? Teradyne (NASDAQ:TER) testing systems can verify these complex next-generation chips before they are deployed in crucial data centers.
Carillon Eagle Mid Cap Growth Fund stated the following regarding Teradyne, Inc. (NASDAQ:TER) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter:
“Teradyne, Inc. (NASDAQ:TER) is a semiconductor testing equipment supplier. Shares rose after the company reported very strong results on the back of strong demand for test equipment for artificial intelligence (AI)-related semiconductors. The company is also seeing potential market share gains that likewise could support revenue growth in 2026.”
