The Best Stocks to Buy With $1,000 in 2026: Three Underrated Opportunities

Got $1,000 burning a hole in your pocket that you’re ready to invest? While the market’s biggest names grab most of the headlines, some of the best stocks to buy right now operate quietly in the background. These aren’t household names yet—but they could reshape entire industries over the next few years. Rather than chasing the latest trends, consider these three contrarian picks that combine near-term catalysts with long-term growth potential.

Infrastructure Recovery: Why Fluor Deserves Your Attention

Construction megaprojects have spent years in limbo. The COVID-19 pandemic initially froze development, but more recently, inflation and sluggish economic conditions have kept major initiatives on the shelf. However, the dam is breaking. Infrastructure investment that was authorized back in 2021 is finally getting deployed. The U.S. Department of Transportation reports that as of last year, only about 40% of its allotted funding has actually been distributed, with roughly one-fourth not yet committed to any specific projects.

Fluor (NYSE: FLR)—a heavy-equipment construction firm specializing in mega-scale projects like highways, shipping terminals, and drug manufacturing facilities—stands to be one of the primary beneficiaries. The company even constructs nuclear power plants, an increasingly critical investment as energy demands surge faster than renewable alternatives can keep pace.

The numbers tell the story. Fluor recently landed $3.3 billion in new contract awards over just three months, bringing its backlog to $28.2 billion. Put this in perspective: the company generated only $3.4 billion in quarterly revenue recently. That pipeline represents nearly eight quarters of work already secured.

Admittedly, this won’t be a rocket-ship growth story—construction operates on razor-thin margins with logistical complexity built into every project. But the stock’s recent stumble significantly undervalues what’s coming next. As projects finally break ground, revenue and profits should begin a meaningful upswing through 2026 and beyond.

The AI Chip Wars: Advanced Micro Devices’ Moment is Now

Nvidia has stolen all the spotlight in artificial intelligence hardware. Its processors power most of the world’s AI data centers. But a genuine competitor has emerged—and it’s worth your attention.

Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) makes a compelling case for why it belongs in the conversation. While traditional computer chips from Intel can handle AI workloads, they lack the raw computing muscle required for heavy-duty machine learning tasks. Nvidia’s specialized graphics processors excel precisely because they’re built for parallel computing—exactly what AI demands. Here’s where AMD gets interesting: the company manufactures both conventional processors and graphics cards. Evolving that graphics expertise into AI-optimized solutions represents a natural extension of existing capabilities, not some experimental moonshot.

The company is already gaining traction with major cloud infrastructure operators like Oracle, OpenAI, and Vultr. During a recent investor conference, AMD’s CEO Lisa Su emphasized the company’s trajectory: “AMD is entering a new era of growth fueled by our leadership technology roadmaps and accelerating AI momentum.” Translated into concrete terms, this means revenue growth exceeding 35% annually over the next three to five years, primarily driven by AI-specific processors.

Will AMD dethrone Nvidia? Almost certainly not in the near term. It doesn’t have to. According to TD Cowen analyst Joshua Buchalter, “investors should own the stock ahead of the new product launch ramp because AI compute spending will prove durable and AMD has cemented itself as a winner.” When an industry analyst frames competition as a long-term tailwind for both players, that’s when the upside story becomes compelling.

The Crypto Payments Problem Solver: Circle Internet Group

Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL) likely flies under your radar. With a market capitalization hovering around $20 billion, it barely registers on mainstream investment radars. Don’t let that fool you—this company tackles one of cryptocurrency’s most stubborn practical challenges.

The problem Circle solves is deceptively simple but profound: cryptocurrencies can’t easily be spent in the real world without converting back to traditional government money—a friction point that undermines mainstream adoption. Circle provides payment acceptance infrastructure to banks and merchants, along with consumer-friendly digital wallets. Think of it as the PayPal of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, earning revenue primarily through interest on digital assets held in trust for customers and financial institutions.

Currently, Circle focuses exclusively on two stablecoins: USD Coin (USDC) and Euro Coin (EURC)—digital currencies designed to maintain parity with their underlying fiat equivalents. These stablecoins attract users seeking flexibility beyond conventional bank deposits. As of the most recent quarter, USDC in circulation had reached nearly $74 billion, representing 108% growth year-over-year. That explosive adoption translated into 66% revenue growth for Circle to approximately $740 million.

Risks undoubtedly exist. But the stock’s decline from June highs exaggerates those dangers. Much of that weakness stems from the typical post-IPO pullback amplified by Bitcoin price movements that bear no relationship to Circle’s core business operations. When you separate noise from signal, Circle’s position in the emerging digital payments infrastructure looks surprisingly resilient.

The Bottom Line: Quality Over Hype

Finding the best stocks to buy requires looking beyond the noise of market darlings. Each of these three companies addresses genuine market needs—infrastructure revival, AI hardware competition, and cryptocurrency utility—with established pathways to profitability. A $1,000 investment in any of these positions you to benefit from multi-year trends that are only beginning to unfold.