Key Points
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The Nasdaq has fallen since September, but Alphabet, Amazon, and Netflix are benefiting from AI and everyday consumer behavior across searching, shopping, and streaming.
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Alphabet trades at about 18 times forward earnings after a 19% drop, with Search ad revenue up 12%.
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Amazon and Netflix trade at about 23x and 17x forward earnings, with analysts expecting 23% and 21% annual growth, respectively.
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The Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) is down about 5% since the end of September, as of Nov. 2, 2026. The sell-off comes as Wall Street worries about big tech’s spending on artificial intelligence (AI). But leading tech stocks remain some of the best ways to build wealth over the long term.
Over the last 10 years, Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) each grew revenue at least fivefold, and hundreds of millions of people use their services daily. Each is benefiting from AI, making them three of the best internet giants to hold for the next 10 years. Here’s why they are worth buying now for the long term.
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1. Alphabet
Alphabet runs Google Search and YouTube, and its Gemini app just hit 1 billion users. Yet the stock is down 19% since Sept. 30, trailing the Nasdaq. That dip could be an opportunity, since fears that AI chatbots will replace Google may be overblown.
AI is actually helping Alphabet grow Search ad revenue. During the third-quarter earnings call, CEO Sundar Pichai said query growth is the fastest in five years, partly driven by increasing usage of AI Mode, Google’s chatbot-style search feature. Now Google is rolling out AI Mode ads globally, giving it more search queries to monetize.
Growing usage of AI features helped push Search revenue up 12% year over year to $63 billion last quarter. Pichai said the trust Google has built “with scale in billions of users” will “end up being a huge differentiator” in AI.
One risk is that AI Mode ads currently earn less per search, which management said weighed on results. Still, the stock looks reasonably priced at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of about 18 times 2027 earnings estimates, below its five-year average trailing P/E of about 24, and analysts expect about 17% annual earnings growth over the next five years.
2. Amazon
Amazon leads online shopping with hundreds of millions of Prime members and also leads the cloud computing market with Amazon Web Services (AWS). The stock is down just 0.9% since Sept. 30 and up 7% year-to-date as of Nov. 2.
AI is a big opportunity for these businesses. More than 400 million customers used Alexa for Shopping, Amazon’s agentic AI assistant, in the past year, and U.S. users spend 50% more per order. In AWS, revenue commitments for its Graviton and Trainium chips each rose more than 20 times year over year, and customers using them saved more than $2 billion last quarter. Those savings are why companies stick with AWS.
CEO Andy Jassy believes AWS can deliver 40% annualized growth through 2028 and be a trillion-dollar revenue business in the next five to 10 years. AWS growth helped Amazon post its highest operating margin ever last quarter.
The risk is spending: Amazon’s capital spending hit $77 billion last quarter, pushing free cash flow (cash from operations minus capital expenditures) to negative $47 billion on a trailing-12-month basis. If demand for AWS slowed, that spending could take longer to pay off.
Still, at about 23 times 2027 earnings estimates, Amazon stock trades at a reasonable price relative to growth expectations, with analysts expecting about 23% annual earnings growth.
3. Netflix
Netflix has more than 325 million paid memberships, serving an audience approaching 1 billion people. Yet the stock is down 10.6% since Sept. 30 and 33% year-to-date, which could be a buying opportunity.
AI helps Netflix serve that audience at lower cost. Generative AI tools helped make about 300 titles this year, speeding up production and cutting costs. AI also help members find shows they’ll like, which can contribute to lower cancellations and greater customer satisfaction.
AI can also help Netflix grow its subscriber base and earnings. Co-CEO Greg Peters said, “We aspire to entertain literally the whole world,” and speeding up content production with AI can help the company do that. Revenue from each new subscriber helps Netflix expand margins, since the content is already paid for. Management aims to expand its operating margin each year, thereby driving earnings.
A risk is that viewing hours rose just 2% in the first half of 2026. Management said it needs more global hits to lift that number. If it doesn’t execute on its content slate, it could be harder to grow revenue. Still, the stock trades at about 17 times next year’s earnings estimates — a modest valuation with analysts still expecting about 21% annual earnings growth.
Tech stocks might remain volatile in the near term. But as people continue to search, shop, and stream every day, Alphabet, Amazon, and Netflix will benefit and continue to grow in value for the next 10 years and beyond.
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John Ballard has positions in Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, and Netflix. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
