Three Potential Stocks to Buy in Early 2026: An Analysis of the Ad-Tech Sector

With $1,000 ready to deploy in early 2026, investors face an interesting decision point. The stock market dynamics have shifted as we enter a new year, with artificial intelligence spending patterns and consumer behavior both shaping where capital flows. Three companies stand out as potential stocks to buy right now, each commanding significant positions in the advertising ecosystem: Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG/GOOGL), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), and The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD).

The Advertising Sector’s Resilience in an AI-Driven Economy

The advertising business operates in cycles, expanding and contracting based on broader economic conditions. Currently, corporate spending priorities have shifted—companies are allocating substantial budgets toward artificial intelligence infrastructure rather than scaling back consumer-focused initiatives. This creates a favorable environment for advertising platforms, as businesses continue deploying marketing budgets at a steady pace.

This dynamic is directly reflected in the earnings reports of companies that derive substantial revenue from advertising channels. These three firms each have unique positions within the ad-tech ecosystem, making them interesting candidates for investors evaluating potential stocks to buy in 2026.

Alphabet’s Search Dominance and AI Integration

Alphabet generated $74.2 billion in advertising revenue from its $102.3 billion total revenue in Q3 2024, with Google Search serving as the cornerstone of this business. The company faced significant regulatory scrutiny earlier in 2024 regarding alleged search monopoly practices, but successfully navigated these challenges and emerged with its core operations largely unimpeded.

Beyond regulatory clarity, Alphabet has demonstrated substantial competitive advantage through its generative AI capabilities. The company integrated AI search overviews into Google Search, delivering a hybrid experience that has resonated strongly with users and reinforced Google’s position atop the search engine hierarchy. Meanwhile, Alphabet’s Gemini model has advanced to a degree that prompted competitive concern from OpenAI, signaling the company’s technical leadership in AI development.

These elements—regulatory security, user engagement through AI features, and technical prowess—position Alphabet as a stock with both near-term catalysts and longer-term growth potential.

Meta’s Social Media Dominance and Infrastructure Investment

Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook, operates a nearly pure-play advertising business. The company reported $50 billion in advertising revenue from its total $51.2 billion in Q3 2024 revenue, demonstrating the concentration of its business model. The company’s portfolio includes Facebook, Instagram, and Threads—a dominant constellation of social media properties that collectively serve billions of users globally.

While concerns about competition from platforms like TikTok have emerged periodically, Meta has clearly established itself as the preeminent force in social media advertising. However, Meta’s stock experienced recent weakness due to investor concerns about its planned capital expenditures for data center development in 2026, as the company builds out AI infrastructure.

This spending agenda, while appearing costly in the near term, reflects a strategic commitment to maintaining technological competitiveness. As several major tech executives have communicated to investors, the downside risk of underspending in AI infrastructure substantially exceeds the risk of near-term margin pressure from investment.

The Trade Desk’s Platform Model and Recovery Potential

The Trade Desk represents a fundamentally different business model compared to Alphabet and Meta. While both larger competitors operate closed ecosystems controlling advertising information and placement, significant portions of the digital advertising ecosystem remain independent. The Trade Desk operates the infrastructure layer that enables ad buyers to target consumers across this open internet ecosystem, providing data and placement intelligence that competitors cannot directly control.

This platform faces competition from other ad agencies and networks, yet it demonstrated 18% revenue growth in Q3 2024 despite recent operational challenges. The company launched its Kokai AI-powered platform with mixed initial reception, contributing to weak quarterly performance. This has manifested in The Trade Desk’s stock performance—the company experienced a 65% decline during 2025, creating a valuation reset.

At current levels, The Trade Desk trades for less than 20 times forward 2026 earnings, representing a significant discount to its historical multiples. Such depressed valuations often precede substantial recovery moves once operational challenges resolve.

Valuation and Investment Positioning

A comparative valuation analysis reveals interesting positioning across these three potential stocks to buy:

The Trade Desk currently trades at less than 20x forward earnings, representing attractive entry pricing following its 2025 decline. This valuation suggests limited downside risk and substantial recovery potential.

Meta Platforms trades at approximately 22x 2026 projected earnings, offering reasonable pricing for a company with dominant market positioning and near-term AI infrastructure investments that should drive longer-term growth.

Alphabet, trading at a premium to both peers, commands higher valuation multiples reflecting the strength of its AI capabilities and the regulatory stability it has secured for its core search business.

Conclusion: Strategic Positioning for 2026

Each of these stocks presents distinct investment characteristics aligned with the advertising sector’s evolution in an AI-intensive economy. For investors with $1,000 to allocate, the choice ultimately depends on individual risk tolerance and time horizon. The Trade Desk offers recovery upside at depressed valuations, Meta provides exposure to advertising dominance with structured investment in competitive moats, and Alphabet combines regulatory security with technical innovation leadership.

The advertising sector’s continued resilience, coupled with the sector’s importance in the AI infrastructure buildout, suggests these potential stocks to buy offer compelling risk-reward profiles as 2026 unfolds.