Here’s Why Analysts Consider Microsoft (MSFT) a Top AI Play for 2026

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the 8 best American stocks to buy and hold in 2026. On December 29, Wedbush released a report highlighting its top five artificial intelligence investment picks for 2026. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) remains one of Wedbush’s top five AI picks. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives called the company the “clear front-runner” in enterprise-scale AI.

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Wedbush analyst Dan Ives expressed his optimism in an investor note by saying:

”The Street is underestimating the Azure growth story in our view, and the AI-driven shift about to happen in Redmond heading into 2026, making Microsoft one of our favorite large-cap tech names to own over the coming year. While AI use cases built markedly in FY25, it’s clear that FY26 for Microsoft remains the true inflection year of AI growth as CIO lines build for deployments.”

In addition to Wedbush, Microsoft is also ranked among Evercore’s top enterprise software stocks for 2026 on December 22. The firm highlighted MSFT’s deep integration in enterprise IT spending through its software offerings, AI products, and cloud platform. Evercore said that the firm’s extensive presence across AI services, Azure, and productivity tools positions it to remain a priority for customers.

Evercore analysts stated in an investor note:

”While we see the party broadening out in 2026, we do not see investors fleeing the infrastructure trade in software. As such, MSFT, SNOW, and ORCL remain three of our top ideas for next year.”

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is a developer and provider of services, solutions, software, and devices. The company operates through the Intelligent Cloud, Personal Computing, and Productivity and Business Processes segments.

While we acknowledge the risk and potential of MSFT as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MSFT and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.