Artificial intelligence (AI) will help create new market opportunities in the coming decades. Who knows: some of the big AI companies of the future are probably not even public yet. That said, there are some standout AI stocks that investors can already feel confident buying and holding for the long term.
Metaplatforms (NASDAQ: META) jumps off the page as a clear AI winner. The company behind Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads dominates a sticky world of social media, where users have become cash cows for digital advertisers.
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This is why Meta is one of the best AI stocks to hold forever.
Research has shown that social media is addictive, making it perhaps the digital tobacco of the 21st century. Meta’s dominance in such a lucrative industry speaks to the company’s expertise and competitive advantages in social media. It launched Threads to compete with X (Twitter) in 2023, and it took less than three years to catch up in the number of daily active users.
Its social media apps have more than 3.5 billion daily active users, making the company a global player in digital advertising. Now AI is taking Meta’s core advertising business to new heights. The company uses the technology to automate ads, target audiences more effectively and even generate content.
As a result, Meta continues to better monetize its users. The price per ad increased by 9% in 2025 and the company now converts almost 58% of its total revenue into operating cash flow. Then it turns around and pumps money into its AI efforts.
That may be the biggest reason for long-term optimism. While not every project has worked for CEO Mark Zuckerberg – (cough) Reality Labs – he recognizes that AI is a high-stakes game and that a few home runs are all the company needs to build a bright future. Aside from chatbot apps, consumer-facing AI is just getting started.
A key advantage for Meta is that it isn’t pouring billions of dollars into AI because it isn’t sure if it will see a return on that investment. The technology actively improves core operations, which helps justify expenditure. Its recently announced custom AI chips should make it even more efficient, and the company is developing a new groundbreaking AI model.
