AI Investor Outlook for 2026 and Beyond

Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing

The Motley Fool

Business, Investing

4.3 • 3.1K Ratings

🗓️ 6 January 2026

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Emily Flippen is joined by Motley Fool analyst Asit Sharma and Head of AI Donato Riccio to break down our 2026 AI Investor Outlook Report and what it means for investors heading into the new year. In particular, we discuss: - What real investors are doing: 9 in 10 AI investors plan to hold or add to AI stocks - What changes are coming in 2026: faster, cheaper models, and accelerating adoption - How to invest without over-indexing your portfolio to a volatile sector Companies discussed: ALAB, MU, NVDA, AMD, PSTG, MSFT, AMZN, GOOGL Access the The Motley Fool 2026 AI Investor Outlook Report here: fool.com/research/ai-investor-outlook Host: Emily Flippen, Donato Riccio, Asit Sharma Producer: Anand Chokkavelu Engineer: Dan Boyd Disclosure: Advertisements are sponsored content and provided for informational purposes only. The Motley Fool and its affiliates (collectively, “TMF”) do not endorse, recommend, or verify the accuracy or completeness of the statements made within advertisements. TMF is not involved in the offer, sale, or solicitation of any securities advertised herein and makes no representations regarding the suitability, or risks associated with any investment opportunity presented. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and consult with legal, tax, and financial advisors before making any investment decisions. TMF assumes no responsibility for any losses or damages arising from this advertisement. We’re committed to transparency: All personal opinions in advertisements from Fools are their own. The product advertised in this episode was loaned to TMF and was returned after a test period or the product advertised in this episode was purchased by TMF. Advertiser has paid for the sponsorship of this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Topps of an AI bubble are as prevalent as ever, but real-world investors are still bullish.
0:10.3	We're digging into the next phase of AI today on Motley Fool Money.
0:20.8	Today is Tuesday, January 6th. Welcome to Motley Fool Money. I'm your host, Emily Flippen, and today I'm joined by full analyst, Asset Sharma, and the head of AI here at the Motley Fool, Donato Riccio, to discuss the investor outlook for AI and 2026 report. So I have you both on today because the Fool recently published an interesting report
0:38.7	around real-world AI usage of which you two were obviously integral to its creation. This report,
0:44.3	which is called the Motley Fool's 2026 AI Investor Outlook report, is available for free at
0:49.8	fool.com backslash research, backslash AI-investor-outlook for anyone who wants to read it. But don't worry, we do have that link in the show notes for easy access, so you don't have to memorize it. But for anybody who can't read it or just hasn't yet, I'm really excited to dig into some of the findings here today on the Motley Full Money podcast. And I want to start with what the report says about real world investors and what they're
1:10.9	doing with AI today. And then we'll move to where Donato, you think the industry is heading,
1:15.7	and then wrap with Asset's framework for investing in AI, including where the opportunities
1:20.3	may be the most ripe. Now, the Motley Fool's 2026 AI Investor Outlook report did survey around
1:26.4	2,600 American adults in November 2025,
1:29.7	and the headline is pretty simple, right?
1:31.7	Amongst people who already own AI stocks, 36% plan to increase their holdings,
1:37.3	57% plan to keep it the same, and only 7% plan to reduce.
1:42.0	Moreover, a whopping 62% of respondents
1:44.9	said their confident AI-heavy companies will deliver strong long-term
1:48.7	returns, and that number grows to 93% amongst those who already
1:52.5	have exposure.
1:53.5	So the gist of this report is there's still a lot of excitement around AI,
1:57.1	even with the hype.
1:58.1	Now, Ascent, I know there's always going to be biases in this type of self-reported data, right? Those who are most excited about AI, even with the hype. Now, Ascent, I know there's always going to be biases in this type
2:01.2	of self-reported data, right? Those who are most excited about AI are probably also the ones
2:06.0	who are most likely to respond to a survey about it, for instance. But when you see that people
	...

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