3 Best Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy in February

Artificial intelligence (AI) investing experienced a shakeup at the end of January with the release of DeepSeek's R1 model. This model was reported to have been trained far more cheaply than its U.S. counterparts and performed similarly in some areas. This caused a short-term panic in some AI stocks, but some have recovered.

Still, I think the AI investing realm has some great stocks to buy, and the DeepSeek breakthrough shouldn't be seen as a showstopper. Instead, it should be viewed as a catalyst. Here's a look at three stocks to consider in February.

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1. Nvidia

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) was one of the hardest-hit AI stocks after the DeepSeek announcement, because everyone assumed that companies wouldn't need as many high-powered graphics processing units (GPUs) from Nvidia. However, I think that's the wrong way of looking at it.

DeepSeek used Nvidia H800 GPUs because of U.S. export restrictions to China. As a result, it was forced to use these GPUs more efficiently than its U.S. counterparts. However, efficiency isn't the goal of the U.S. AI companies (although DeepSeek's breakthroughs will undoubtedly be incorporated). Instead, U.S. AI firms are going for the most powerful model, which requires loads of Nvidia GPUs to train.

This direction hasn't changed, making this dip in Nvidia's stock a strong buying opportunity. Nvidia is still projected to have a fantastic 2026 fiscal year, with revenue growth of 52% expected. After the sell-off, the stock trades for just 27 times forward earnings, making it a reasonably priced big tech stock. This sale won't last forever, and I'd suggest investors take advantage of it before Nvidia reports fourth-quarter FY 2025 results later this month.

2. Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) also sold off following the DeepSeek release, but quickly recovered thanks to incredibly strong Q4 results. Meta is the parent company of dominant social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads, and Messenger, and it derives nearly all its revenue from advertising. Ad revenue increased 21% in Q4, which dramatically boosted Meta's profits. Meta's earnings per share (EPS) rose 50% thanks to revenue increasing and expenses only growing a mere 5%.

This is an incredibly strong company, and those profits come on top of its hefty AI spending. For 2025, Meta plans to spend between $60 billion and $65 billion on capital expenditures, which will mostly be focused on AI. This clearly indicates that Meta won't be focused on making the most efficient model -- it's focused on making the most powerful one.

In 2025, CEO Mark Zuckerberg anticipates it will be possible to create an AI engineering agent with the equivalent coding and problem-solving skills of a good mid-level engineer. This would be a huge breakthrough, rapidly accelerating the pace of innovation at Meta and propelling it to become an AI leader.

There are a lot of great things happening at Meta, and even though the stock is near all-time highs, I'm convinced that it will continue to march higher with the various breakthroughs that will occur throughout 2025.

3. ASML

ASML (NASDAQ: ASML) is far less known than Meta or Nvidia, but its role in AI may be even more important than these two. ASML makes extreme ultraviolet lithography machines that are crucial in the manufacturing process of high-end chips. It's the only company in the world with this technology. None of the advanced chips that make these AI models possible would be viable without its machines.

As a result of its positioning, ASML has strict export controls on its machines, which has hurt its China business. This caused the stock to plummet in October when the company cut FY 2025 guidance from the range of 30 billion to 40 billion euros to 30 billion to 35 billion euros. Still, this indicates 15% revenue growth at the midpoint, which is a strong figure considering ASML's size.

ASML's Q4 net bookings were more than 7 billion euros, far exceeding the 2.63 billion euros it booked in the third quarter and the 3.99 billion euros that Wall Street analysts expected. This indicates strong growth ahead for ASML and eases fears that its business is struggling.

Lastly, during an interview with CNBC, ASML's CEO Christophe Fouquet stated that low-cost AI models are actually a positive thing for the chip business, not a drawback. This is because low-cost AI now opens its usability up to the masses, which will require more computing hardware to satisfy. This is a bullish sign for all chip companies, and with ASML providing vital machines to every player, it makes for a no-brainer buy in February.

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Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Keithen Drury has positions in ASML and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends ASML, Meta Platforms, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.