Ditch Nvidia? These 3 AI Stocks Are the New Cool Kids

by

Oh, Nvidia, you’re like the popular kid in high school who’s great at everything but kind of a jerk. Sure, you dominate the AI chip market, but let’s be real-your risk-reward ratio is about as balanced as a unicycle on a tightrope. With institutional money flowing out faster than a Liz Lemon coffee run, tariff headwinds blowing harder than a Chicago winter, and a valuation that screams “I’m compensating for something,” maybe it’s time to look elsewhere.

Behold, three AI stocks that might just be the Mean Girls of March 2026-technically and fundamentally sharper than a Tina Fey one-liner. Plus, a high-risk, honorary pick that’s basically the Jenna Maroney of the bunch.

Nvidia (NVDA): Still the Queen Bee, But Is Her Crown Slipping?

Nvidia, the Regina George of the Technology sector (XLK) at 15.79% weightage, is reporting Q4 FY2026 earnings on February 25. Wall Street’s expecting fireworks, but let’s not forget-last time they expected fireworks, the stock barely moved. It’s like showing up to a party in a designer dress only to realize everyone’s wearing sweatpants.

NVIDIA EARNINGS: MARKET ON EDGE OVER AI OUTLOOK

Nvidia reports earnings at a pivotal moment, with investors questioning the durability of the AI-driven stock rally. Strong results are expected, but markets remain uncertain as concerns grow over heavy AI spending and disruption…

– *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) February 25, 2026

Despite being up 50% year-on-year, Nvidia’s chart looks like it’s stuck in a descending channel-basically, the stock market equivalent of a bad relationship. A breakout above $195, $203, and $212 could flip things bullish, but if it fails? Well, $190 and $179 are waiting like safety nets made of sarcasm.

The Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) is the side-eye emoji of indicators-below zero since mid-January, suggesting institutional money is leaving faster than a bad date. If it doesn’t flip positive, Nvidia’s price recovery might be as short-lived as a Tracy Jordan monologue.

Fundamentally, Nvidia’s 100% reliance on TSMC for GPUs in Taiwan is like betting your entire savings on a coin flip. Tariffs? Oh, they’re coming. China revenue? Collapsed faster than a poorly baked cake. And at 35x EV/EBITDA, Nvidia needs 60%+ sustained growth just to justify its price tag. Yikes.

Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM): The Unsung Hero of AI

TSMC is up nearly 100% year-on-year, outpacing Nvidia like a boss. Why? Because they manufacture 90% of the world’s most advanced chips. It’s like being the only coffee shop in a town of caffeine addicts.

$TSM has a monopoly on making the most advanced AI chips by controlling over 90% of production at 3nm, 5nm & 7nm.

That demand shows up in its HPC segment across:
• AI accelerators like $NVDA Blackwell & $GOOGL TPUs
• Data center CPUs like $AMD EPYC & $AMZN AWS Graviton
•…

– Shay Boloor (@StockSavvyShay) February 14, 2026

Here’s the kicker: TSMC controls Nvidia’s cost structure. They raised prices 10-20% on advanced chips, and customers paid up like it was a Black Friday sale. Intel and Samsung? Still playing catch-up. When TSMC raises prices, their margins expand. When Nvidia pays those prices, their margins shrink. Ouch.

Plus, TSMC doesn’t pay tariffs-they export, Nvidia imports. And their new Arizona fabs? Tariff-free, baby. At 18x EV/EBITDA, TSMC’s half the price of Nvidia. Last quarter, 1,945 institutions opened new positions worth $49 billion. That’s more popular than a Liz Lemon catchphrase.

Technically, TSM’s in an ascending channel since mid-December. A breakout could target $470-over 20% upside, starting in March. CMF at 0.21 confirms steady institutional inflow. Push past 0.28, and it’s party time.

Alphabet (GOOGL): The Underdog with a Secret Weapon

Alphabet’s daily chart looks weaker than a Tracy Jordan plotline, but don’t let that fool you. Since hitting the right shoulder on February 23, it’s trying to rebound. Break above $319, and the bearish pattern weakens. Above $349? Short-term bears are toast.

The CMF’s at 0.09-positive, unlike Nvidia’s. Money’s flowing in despite the weak price action. A move above 0.19 confirms institutions are piling in for Q1 2026.

Fundamentally, Google’s selling cheaper AI infrastructure to Nvidia’s own customers. Ironwood TPUs cost $15,000 vs. Nvidia’s $30,000-$40,000 GPUs. Google Cloud grew 48% last quarter, and operating margins jumped from 17.5% to 30.1%. Plus, zero tariff exposure. Take that, Nvidia.

TPU v7 costs around $15K for Google.
Capital costs for Google are 1/3rd on TPUs compared to Nvidia hardware.
Interconnect bandwidth 600 GB/s (ICI), 1000W, 4.6 PFLOPS fp8, 192GB HBM3E.
Google can squeeze out higher MFU on TPUs due to JAX/XLA compared to Nvidia on GPUs.
(U won’t…

– Zephyr (@zephyr_z9) November 26, 2025

Broadcom (AVGO): The Dark Horse of AI Inference

Broadcom’s up 64% year-on-year but flat over the last week. An inverse head and shoulders pattern is forming-classic reversal setup. Break above $350, and it’s off to the races toward $420. Earnings on March 4 could be the catalyst.

Broadcom’s ASICs are 3-5x more energy-efficient than Nvidia’s GPUs for AI inference. They’re designing for Google, Meta, ByteDance, and OpenAI. As inference scales, Broadcom’s the one to watch.

The Money Flow Index (MFI) confirms accumulation on dips. Since February 10, MFI’s trending higher while prices trended lower-bullish divergence. MFI at 67 means there’s room to run. Retail’s picking up shares like they’re on sale.

Honorable Mention: Palantir Technologies (PLTR) – The Risky Bet

Palantir’s like the Jenna Maroney of AI stocks-high risk, high drama. The chart’s flashing reversal signals: lower low in price, higher low in RSI. CMF’s trending up while prices trend down. If $126 holds, targets are $143 and $170.

Fundamentally, Palantir’s turning AI into real revenue-$1.41 billion last quarter, up 70% year-on-year. Zero debt, $4 billion in cash, and zero tariff exposure. But at 200x P/E, it’s priced for perfection. Any stumble, and it’s curtains.

Palantir reports Q4 2025 revenue growth of 70% Y/Y, rule of 40 score of 127%; issues FY 2026 revenue guidance of 61% Y/Y growth and U.S. commercial revenue guidance of 115% Y/Y growth, crushing consensus estimates.

Q4 U.S. commercial revenue grew 137% y/y and adjusted operating…

– Palantir (@PalantirTech) February 2, 2026

So, there you have it. Nvidia’s still the queen, but these three (and one risky bet) are ready to steal the crown. Just remember, in the stock market, as in life, always expect the unexpected-and never trust a stock that can’t handle its tariffs.

Read More

2026-02-25 23:32