Nvidia will remain a winner this year, says Constellation Research's Ray Wang

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  January 02, 2026 at 13:56  |  5:20  |  CNBC
Speakers
Ray Wang — Analyst at SemiAnalysis. Fundamental research on AI infra/semis

Summary

Ray Wang of Constellation Research discusses his 2026 tech and AI outlook. He expects strong chip demand and AI-enabled software winners, and he highlights a basket of 2025 Nasdaq outperformers—NVIDIA, Google, AMD, Intel, and Palantir—that could continue momentum. He also gives specific long-term cases for NVIDIA, Google, and Oracle, while warning that AI-native companies could disrupt Accenture and legacy SaaS incumbents.

  • Ray Wang forecasts strong AI chip demand in 2026.
  • He sees AI-enabled apps and software producing exponential growth with small teams.
  • He selected NVIDIA, Google, AMD, Intel, and Palantir as 2025 outperformers that could beat Nasdaq again.
  • NVIDIA thesis centers on the shift from training to inference.
  • Google thesis centers on full-stack integration and proprietary data.
  • Oracle is viewed positively long term as a potential AI cloud winner.
  • AI-native lean companies could disrupt Accenture and legacy SaaS winners.
  • Private AI startups such as Midjourney, Lovable, and Cursor are mentioned as possible IPOs.
Ideas
Ray Wang Analyst at SemiAnalysis. Fundamental research on AI infra/semis 0:47
Strong chip demand continues in 2026
Ray says the AI trade will again see strong demand for chips in 2026.
Ray Wang Analyst at SemiAnalysis. Fundamental research on AI infra/semis 0:50
AI-enabled software can scale exponentially
He expects a bifurcation in apps and software, with winners being companies that use AI to create 'AI exponentials' that can grow 10x, 100x, or 1000x with very few employees.
Ray Wang Analyst at SemiAnalysis. Fundamental research on AI infra/semis 1:29
Momentum outperformers continue beating Nasdaq
Ray keeps NVIDIA as a 2026 winner because the ROC acquisition/licensing deal confirmed that training is peaking while inference is picking up, and the deal helps NVIDIA move into the GPU market that powers inference.
Ray Wang Analyst at SemiAnalysis. Fundamental research on AI infra/semis 1:29
Momentum outperformers continue beating Nasdaq
He favors Google because it is a full-stack, vertically integrated player from TPU chips to agents; Gemini 3 keeps improving because Google controls all the data sources and can apply AI across almost every direction, giving it a huge data advantage.
Ray Wang Analyst at SemiAnalysis. Fundamental research on AI infra/semis 1:29
Momentum outperformers continue beating Nasdaq
Ray's 2026 screen looked at 2025 Nasdaq outperformers and selected NVIDIA, Google, AMD, Intel, and Palantir as five names that could continue their momentum and beat the Nasdaq again.
Ray Wang Analyst at SemiAnalysis. Fundamental research on AI infra/semis 4:15
AI-native firms disrupt large incumbents
He predicts AI-driven scale will let a 1,000-person company take out the likes of Accenture and a 100-person company take out big SaaS winners over the next three years, making those incumbents vulnerable.
Ray Wang Analyst at SemiAnalysis. Fundamental research on AI infra/semis 4:48
Oracle is a long-term AI cloud winner
He is positive on Oracle in the long run because Larry Ellison's track record, Oracle's relationships in the administration, TikTok moving to Oracle, and Oracle's cost advantage position it as a potential winner among AI cloud hosts.
Up Next

This CNBC video, published January 02, 2026, features Ray Wang discussing SMH, AI-enabled software, NVDA, GOOG, AMD, INTC, PLTR, ACN, Legacy SaaS, ORCL. 7 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Ray Wang  · Tickers: SMH, AI-enabled software, NVDA, GOOG, AMD, INTC, PLTR, ACN, Legacy SaaS, ORCL