As the AI boom continues to reshape investment strategies, Nancy Tengler, CIO and CEO of Laffer Tengler Investments, has released her highly anticipated stock picks for 2026. Managing $1.6 billion in assets, Tengler’s “six for ‘26” list reflects the evolving landscape of AI-driven growth opportunities beyond the usual suspects.
AMD emerges as a standout AI play on Tengler’s list, positioned to capitalize on the industry’s shift from training to inference computing. Under CEO Lisa Su’s leadership, AMD has captured significant market share in high-tech chip hardware, with shares surging 76% year-to-date in 2025. Tengler believes AMD is “uniquely positioned to thrive during the shift to inferencing,” as demand transitions from clusters designed for training large language models to inference computing chips—an area where AMD maintains a strong product lineup.
Tesla takes center stage as “the primary AI company in the world” according to Tengler, despite lagging behind other Magnificent 7 members. She emphasizes that Tesla has never been a valuation-driven purchase, but rather an investment in CEO Elon Musk’s vision and execution. The CIO expects Tesla’s full self-driving technology and humanoid robot development to drive substantial growth over the coming decade, positioning the company at the center of the next technological revolution.
Walmart’s AI integration earned it a spot on the list, with the retail giant successfully leveraging artificial intelligence while growing e-commerce at 27% and overall revenue at 6%. The company’s recent move from NYSE to Nasdaq as part of a rebranding effort signals its tech-forward approach.
CrowdStrike Holdings represents the intersection of AI and cybersecurity, with Tengler noting the company is “in the sweet spot of AI/cyber.” Despite high valuations, she expects 20%-30% growth as the platform continues leveraging AI capabilities. The cybersecurity firm reported 22% year-over-year revenue growth and is up 48% year-to-date.
Quanta Services rounds out the AI-adjacent picks, positioned to benefit from datacenter buildouts driven by AI infrastructure demands. The company has surged 46% in 2025, capitalizing on electrification and the massive infrastructure requirements of AI data centers.
Tengler’s list notably excludes Nvidia, instead focusing on companies positioned for the next phase of AI development and infrastructure scaling.
Key Quotes
We think AMD is uniquely positioned to thrive during the shift to inferencing. Demand will shift from clusters designed to assist in training large language models to inferencing. AMD has a strong lineup of inference computing chips.
Nancy Tengler, CIO of Laffer Tengler Investments, explains why AMD made her top picks list for 2026. This quote is significant because it identifies a major transition point in the AI industry—from model training to deployment—and positions AMD as a key beneficiary of this shift.
TSLA has never been a valuation driven purchase. This is a stock you to own for the vision and execution of CEO Elon Musk. We believe TSLA is at the center of the next stage of this technological revolution and is the primary AI company in the world.
Tengler makes a bold claim positioning Tesla as the world’s primary AI company, emphasizing its full self-driving technology and humanoid robotics as drivers of the next technological revolution. This reframes Tesla from an EV company to an AI platform company.
The stock is expensive but in the sweet spot of AI/cyber. The company remains the gold standard for cybersecurity and in the early innings of its multi-year growth story as its platform consolidation strategy.
Tengler’s assessment of CrowdStrike highlights the convergence of AI and cybersecurity, suggesting that despite high valuations, companies at this intersection represent compelling long-term opportunities as AI security becomes increasingly critical.
PWR is perfectly positioned to capitalize on ongoing electrification, datacenter buildouts, and the return of domestic manufacturing.
This quote about Quanta Services reveals the often-overlooked infrastructure requirements of AI expansion. As AI datacenters proliferate, companies providing the physical infrastructure and power systems become critical enablers of AI growth.
Our Take
Tengler’s stock picks reveal a sophisticated understanding of AI’s evolution beyond the obvious plays. The exclusion of Nvidia while including AMD is particularly telling—it suggests the market for AI chips is maturing and diversifying, with opportunities emerging for companies specializing in inference rather than training. The characterization of Tesla as “the primary AI company in the world” may seem hyperbolic, but it reflects a broader recognition that AI’s most transformative applications may be in robotics and autonomous systems rather than chatbots and content generation. The inclusion of infrastructure plays like Quanta Services underscores a critical reality: the AI revolution requires massive physical infrastructure investments that will benefit traditional industrial companies. Most intriguingly, Walmart’s presence on this list demonstrates that AI integration capability is becoming a key differentiator even for century-old retailers, suggesting the real winners may be established companies that successfully deploy AI rather than AI-native startups.
Why This Matters
This investment analysis signals a critical shift in AI market dynamics as institutional investors look beyond first-generation AI winners toward companies positioned for the next phase of artificial intelligence deployment. The emphasis on inference computing over training reflects the maturation of AI technology, as the industry moves from developing large language models to deploying them at scale.
Tengler’s picks highlight three key AI investment themes: the infrastructure layer (AMD chips, Quanta Services datacenter buildouts), application layer (Tesla’s autonomous driving and robotics), and security layer (CrowdStrike’s AI-powered cybersecurity). This diversification strategy acknowledges that AI’s impact extends far beyond pure-play AI companies to encompass the entire technology ecosystem.
The inclusion of Walmart demonstrates AI’s penetration into traditional industries, showing how established companies leveraging AI for operational efficiency and customer experience are becoming attractive investment opportunities. For businesses and investors, this suggests that AI integration capabilities may matter more than being an AI-native company. The focus on inference computing and practical AI applications indicates the market is transitioning from hype-driven speculation to fundamentals-based investing in sustainable AI business models.
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/stocks-to-buy-in-2026-wmt-tsla-amd-nancy-tengler-2025-12