The Best Under-the-Radar AI Stocks to Buy in 2026
The Best Under-the-Radar AI Stocks to Buy in 2026
James Brumley, The Motley FoolSun, May 10, 2026 at 4:20 AM UTC
0
Key Points -
You know it first and foremost as a personal computer company, but Dell is making a big splash in the artificial intelligence platform space too.
To make the most of AI’s capabilities, the world needs a means of gathering physical data and then doing something mechanical with it. ON Semiconductor has solutions for both.
Astera Labs solves problems that AI data center developers didn’t initially realize they’d be facing.
10 stocks we like better than Astera Labs ›
You're certainly familiar with names like Nvidia and Palantir Technologies. The former remains the world's chief supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) data center processors, while the latter is one of the most-used decision-intelligence platforms. Both stocks have performed very well of late thanks to AI mania.
The problem with stepping into such well-known names, however, is simply that these trades can be very crowded and therefore very expensive. As Warren Buffett famously advises, "You can't buy what is popular and do well." Oh, there are clear exceptions to his argument -- both Palantir and Nvidia continued rallying well after both tickers became well-known must-haves. Plenty of investors understandably suspect that these two stocks' highest-growth phase is in the rearview mirror. Smart investors are looking for the next unknown AI gem that's yet to be discovered and subsequently fully valued.
Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »
To this end, three under-the-radar AI stocks to buy this year before their underlying companies become a more important part of the AI conversation are Dell (NYSE: DELL), ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ON), and Astera Labs (NASDAQ: ALAB). Here's why.
Yes, Dell is waist-deep into the AI solutions business
Dell is not only still around as a major brand in the desktop and laptop space, but is also inching into the AI space with a platform called Dell AI Factory.
In simplest terms, Dell AI Factory allows organizations to harness the power of artificial intelligence in a way that's easy to implement and easy to use... using Dell's hardware of course (although often paired with Nvidia-made processors). Formula 1 racing team McClaren, energy and chemical outfit Worley, and retailer Lowe's are just some of the organizations that have been able to do something constructive with otherwise abstract and difficult-to-build AI tech.
And it's working! Last fiscal year's top line grew 19% to a record-breaking $113.5 billion, led by 40% growth from its infrastructure solutions group, which was led by an explosion of sales of its AI-optimized servers. Analysts are looking for comparable top-line and bottom-line growth this year as well. Its practical, turnkey offerings are the option that many companies not interested in piecing together their own AI solution have been waiting for.
Just be careful if you're interested. While most investors don't yet think of Dell as a participant in the AI revolution, enough of them have found and plowed into a stake in this $160 billion company to push shares up to a price that's 30% above Wall Street's consensus target of $191.21.
Much of this gain has occurred only recently, so analysts may not have had a chance to update their stances. Still, if you can hold out for a slightly better entry point, Dell is one of the stock market's better-kept AI secrets.
ON Semiconductor makes AI-powered automation possible
Creating a powerful AI platform is one thing. Doing something constructive with it is another. AI still needs a way to convert physical information into digital data and then do something mechanically useful with its computed information.
ON Semiconductor is quietly bridging that gap.
Simply put, ON makes a range of industrial sensors, wireless antennas, and microcontrollers, along with power controllers, high-capacity semiconductors, and motor controllers that are used in everything from driver-assistance tech to medical diagnostic equipment to factories to wearables, and more. The company's current developmental partners include electric vehicle (EV) makersGeely and Nio, but it's also working with China's Sineng Electric on energy-storage solutions. It's even partnered with Nvidia to develop new 800-volt power solutions that the next generation of AI data centers is likely to utilize to improve power efficiency.
An investor is sitting at a desk in front of a laptop reviewing AI investment prospects.
Image source: Getty Images.
It's not a high-growth business yet, for the record; double-digit revenue growth is still a very good year for this company. Its revenue and earnings growth are apt to accelerate in the foreseeable future, however, driven by its soup-to-nuts offerings at a time when factories, automobiles, healthcare, and even cities are becoming more AI-automated.
Advertisement
ON's a consistent grower in the meantime and usually profitable. And when it isn't, it's often for non-operational reasons like last quarter's restructuring impairment charge. This fiscal viability makes it something of a standout compared to many of its direct competitors like Navitas and Wolfspeed.
Astera Labs hardware helps AI data centers function faster
Last but not least, add Astera Labs to your list of overlooked or unknown AI stocks to buy in 2026 before the crowd discovers its potential.
In the industry's infancy, AI data centers were built using existing, off-the-shelf components like Nvidia's graphics processing units (GPUs), networking hardware from Cisco, and PC memory chips from Micron. And it was fine... in the beginning. It didn't take the business very long to realize it was consuming and creating more digital information than this generation of equipment could handle. It needed more, but it also needed cost-effective solutions capable of integrating older hardware with newer components.
Astera Labs answered the call.
In simplest terms, Astera designs and manufactures entire systems that interconnect an AI data center's thousands of processors. Specifically, its Aries retimers and cables receive and deliver high-speed signals from processors, its Scorpio fabric switches make the most of available bandwidth, its Leo memory controllers improve the existing memory capacity of legacy physical interfaces, while its Taurus ethernet cards dramatically improve traditional networking solutions. Astera Labs also offers the software that makes all of this hardware work together to achieve some pretty amazing optimization. That's why its list of customers and partners consists of hyperscalers like Microsoft and Amazon.
The company's time is finally here. Last fiscal quarter's revenue of $308.4 million was 14% better than the previous quarter's and 93% higher year over year. Analysts expect comparable revenue growth this year and next to drive even more explosive earnings growth. Yes, Astera Labs is profitable too, on pace to report nearly $3 per-share profit in 2026, en-route to an expected $4.33 for 2027.
It's not a cheap stock, priced at 45 times next year's projected earnings. That's not terribly expensive, however, given the long-term opportunity at hand. Industry research outfit Global Market Insights expects the worldwide data center infrastructure market that Astera serves to grow at an average annual pace of 13.4% through 2034.
Should you buy stock in Astera Labs right now?
Before you buy stock in Astera Labs, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Astera Labs wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $471,827!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,319,291!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 986% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 207% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of May 10, 2026.
James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Cisco Systems, Micron Technology, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends Astera Labs, Lowe's Companies, ON Semiconductor, and Wolfspeed. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Source: “AOL Money”
