2 Top AI Stocks to Buy With $1,000
Super Micro Computer is an affordable way to bet on the AI infrastructure opportunity.
AMD's diversified business model could boost its stability.
10 stocks we like better than Super Micro Computer ›
There is a lot you can do with $1,000. But if you want to get a step closer to sustainable wealth, consider putting that money to work in the stock market. The burgeoning generative artificial intelligence (AI) industry gives investors an excellent opportunity to bet on a megatrend that may eventually rival the internet in its impact on global productivity.
Let's explore why Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ: SMCI) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) look like solid long-term bets.
Super Micro Computer
Popular consumer-facing AI apps like OpenAI's ChatGPT rely on a vast supply chain of enabling infrastructure. And while chipmakers like Nvidia or AMD produce the graphics processing units (GPUs) needed to train and run these algorithms, Supermicro supplies the computer servers that make these chips usable for the end client. The company's business is booming as demand for AI hardware continues to accelerate.
Third-quarter revenue jumped a respectable 20% year over year to $4.6 billion, helped by demand for Nvidia's new Blackwell GPUs and Supermicro's proprietary liquid cooling solutions designed to help clients prevent their massive data centers from overheating.
As a middleman in the AI hardware industry, Supermicro doesn't have the strongest economic moat. Its AI servers face stiff competition from foreign rivals in lower-cost nations like Taiwan (Inventec, for example). However, Supermicro's extensive U.S. manufacturing footprint will allow it to benefit from made-in-America policies and incentives, which include tariffs and tax benefits for domestic production under the recently signed spending bill.
With a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of just 16, Supermicro shares are remarkably affordable compared to the S&P 500 index average of 24 and alternative AI hardware company Nvidia, which trades for 38 times forward earnings.
Advanced Micro Devices
Like Supermicro, AMD operates on the hardware side of the AI industry, competing with its main rival, Nvidia, to produce off-the-shelf hardware solutions for training and running AI algorithms. While AMD is in a distant second place (with an estimated market share of just 14.5% in AI chips compared to Nvidia's 85.2%), its more diversified business model could give it protection against a potential AI industry downturn.
In some ways, Nvidia has become the victim of its own success. In the first quarter, its data center segment represented a whopping 89% of total revenue, making the company a one-trick pony. On the other hand, AMD gets just half of its sales from its data center segment. And AMD still enjoys a healthy contribution from different business verticals like its client segment (CPUs for laptops) and gaming hardware.
That said, AMD's data center segment will be its long-term growth engine as the company competes with its larger rival by offering better value for money. First-quarter revenue jumped 36% year over year to $7.4 billion, driven by sales of its new EPYC CPU and Instinct GPU chips, designed to handle advanced AI workloads. While net income grew 55% year over year to $1.57 billion, the stock is a little pricey with a forward P/E of 39.
Which stock is best for you?
Supermicro and AMD are both great picks for AI-focused investors seeking alternatives to Nvidia in the hardware side of the industry. But Supermicro looks like the better pick because of its rock-bottom valuation and potential to benefit from the federal protectionist economic policies. While AMD also looks like a winner, it already trades at a significant premium over the alternatives.
Should you buy stock in Super Micro Computer right now?
Before you buy stock in Super Micro Computer, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Super Micro Computer 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 $652,133!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,056,790!*
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*Stock Advisor returns as of July 15, 2025
Will Ebiefung has positions in Super Micro Computer. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
2 Top AI Stocks to Buy With $1,000 was originally published by The Motley Fool
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