Alphabet vs. Micron Technology: Which Is the Best AI Play Right Now?

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Alphabet (GOOGL 1.24%) (GOOG 0.90%) and Micron Technology (MU 0.99%) have both rocketed to the top of investors’ attention, benefiting from their leads in their respective artificial intelligence (AI) markets.

Alphabet stock has surged by more than 150% over the past year as the company’s cloud sales rose and its Google Gemini AI model continued to gain traction. Meanwhile, Micron stock rocketed by more than 800% as the AI infrastructure build-out drove demand for its memory chips to levels well beyond what it could supply.

I think both companies deserve spots in your portfolio, but which one has the greater potential to benefit from AI in the coming years?

Image source: Getty Images.

The case for Micron Technology’s memory play

AI investors may not need an introduction to Micron, but to the uninitiated, Micron may be a slightly obscure tech stock. The company designs memory processors that are found in everything from the storage drives you buy to your smartphone and computer to the servers in artificial intelligence data centers.

Many big tech companies (including Alphabet) are in the midst of AI spending sprees right now, competing for the most capable AI models and the computing capacity to keep their AI software running. This year alone, five tech giants plan to invest a total of about $750 billion in AI infrastructure. And they aren’t the only ones building data centers now.

As these companies do that, they’re buying up all the memory chips that Micron and its peers can produce, resulting in pricing power and big wins for Micron. In its fiscal 2026 second quarter, which ended Feb. 26, the company’s revenues surged 196% higher to nearly $24 billion, and its diluted non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) earnings spiked 682% to $12.20 per share.

The company is also bullish on emerging technologies, such as humanoid robotics, that could further boost demand for its memory chips. What’s more, Micron’s management believes that as PC and…

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