These Are the AI Trades I'd Make Today if I Were Starting My Portfolio From Scratch

I'm not necessarily unhappy with the artificial intelligence stocks I've added to my portfolio so far. As the old adage goes, though, hindsight is 20/20. If I were picking these stocks today, my exposure to the AI industry would probably look a little different. Here's what I'd buy today, knowing what I know and seeing what I see now.

1. Qualcomm

You primarily know it as a maker of high-performance processing chips for mobile phones, although some investors may also know it's tiptoed into the laptop space with its power-efficient AI-capable Snapdragon processors. What most investors may not realize, however, is that Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) is now entering the artificial intelligence data center processing market.

Although it's far from dethroning Nvidia on this front, in October, the company unveiled its AI200 and AI250 chip-based accelerator cards meant for AI inference. And just last month, it confirmed it's got at least one hyperscaler customer on board. More are almost certainly in the works, as the industry clamors for more supply at lower price points and more cost-effective operations.

That being said, perhaps the top reason Qualcomm is such an underestimated AI investment opportunity is that it's bridging the gap between people and remote data centers. As CEO Cristiano Amon explained in an interview with the Wall Street Journal earlier this year, "the biggest opportunity [of 2026] is the opportunity that exists on the edge." The "edge" is wearables, smart meters, connected automobiles, medical monitoring devices, and even autonomous robotics -- tech that doesn't necessarily need to do heavy-duty computing, but technology that does need to be capable of handling specific logic tasks without constant monitoring.

The thing is, Amon is exactly right. An outlook from Precedence Research predicts the worldwide edge AI industry is poised to grow at an average annual pace of more than 20% through 2035. Qualcomm is perfectly positioned to capture at least its fair share of this growth.

2. Dell

You're reading that right. Dell (NYSE: DELL), best known for making computers, is also in the artificial intelligence business.

It's obviously not nearly as well-known as Broadcom or Nvidia. Nvidia only makes high-performance processors, though, while Broadcom only makes networking solutions. Both still need something to attach their technology to, and these attachment points still need to be able to be physically tethered together within a data center. That's what Dell AI Factory brings to the table. This operating arm helps companies establish the physical infrastructure needed to begin utilizing artificial intelligence.

It's still not a particularly big business for the company -- at least not yet. Of last quarter's total revenue of $33.4 billion, only $9 billion of it came from sales of AI-optimized servers. This arm is growing quickly, though, with a massive amount of future business already lined up. As COO Jeff Clark noted in February's full-year wrap-up, "we closed more than $64 billion in AI-optimized server orders, shipped more than $25 billion throughout the year, and are entering FY27 with a record backlog of $43 billion -- powerful proof that our engineering leadership and differentiated AI solutions are winning."

Dell's stock has doubled since the late-February release of these numbers -- a rally that might give many would-be investors pause. Just don't get too stingy or insist on waiting for a major pullback. You may not get it. Dell shares are still only priced at about 22 times this year's projected per-share earnings of $12.97. That's cheaper than plenty of other artificial intelligence stocks.

3. ServiceNow

Last but not least, I'm adding ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) to my list of artificial intelligence stocks I'd buy today if I were starting from scratch.

ServiceNow offers a range of workflow solutions. That just means its software allows workers to create their own computer automation scripts to handle repetitive, time-consuming tasks so they can devote more time to higher-level work that can't be automated. It's been around since 2003, even before artificial intelligence as we understand it today became common and easy to use. The advent of AI, of course, has dramatically improved the company's technological capabilities.

Artificial intelligence has also allowed rivals into the mix, including names like Workday and UiPath. ServiceNow has an arguable edge on all of these current and prospective rivals, though. That's its age, and the marketplace's resulting familiarity with the brand and trust in its solutions. Technology research and consulting firm Gartner consistently ranks ServiceNow as one of the very best names in the AI apps and IT service management business, and underscoring this bullish argument is last quarter's results. Revenue improved to the tune of 19% year over year on a constant-currency basis, while operating income grew 11%. Yes, ServiceNow is profitable, and consistently so.

This strong fiscal performance hasn't prevented ServiceNow's stock from more than halving since its July peak. However, this weakness is more about broader concerns regarding AI stocks' valuations that materialized around that time; this ticker's fantastic run-up in the midst of 2023 and 2024 also left it vulnerable to profit-taking.

Most, if not all, of this weakness seems to have run its course, though. Analysts seem to think so anyway. The vast majority of them rate this stock a strong buy right now, with a consensus price target of $ 140.63, which is 40% above the ticker's current price.

James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Broadcom, Nvidia, Qualcomm, ServiceNow, UiPath, and Workday. The Motley Fool recommends Gartner. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.