A new year of trading and investing is officially underway, and optimism across markets is running high. Risk appetite has returned, speculation is elevated, and retail investors are once again leaning into bold ideas for the year ahead. But unlike prior cycles, retail enthusiasm is no longer dismissed as noise. In recent years, retail-driven stock selection has proven effective, often outperforming the broader market and even institutional benchmarks.
Gone are the days when retail attention was defined solely by short squeezes and viral trades. The GameStop (NYSE: GME) era marked a turning point, but what followed has been far more consequential. Retail investors have increasingly identified durable growth stories early, with names like Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR), Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD), and NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) becoming long-term winners rather than short-term trades.
That evolution was on full display again in a recent poll on the WallStreetBets subreddit, where members voted on their top stock picks for the year ahead. The same community ran a similar survey in 2025, and the basket of top-voted stocks delivered a cumulative return of roughly 76% for the year. Of course, past performance never guarantees future results, but it does underscore why retail sentiment is worth paying attention to.
As 2026 begins, here is a closer look at retail’s five most upvoted stock picks for the year ahead, and why each one has captured the imagination of everyday investors.
First Place: Amazon Tops the List With Strong Retail Conviction
Taking the top spot for 2026 is Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), a result that may surprise some, given the forum’s reputation for favoring speculative growth names. Instead, retail investors have rallied behind one of the largest and most established companies in the world. That alone speaks volumes about how sentiment around Amazon has shifted.
Retail enthusiasm aligns closely with Wall Street’s view. Amazon carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating, and the average price target of $295.50 implies nearly 31% upside from current levels. In other words, Main Street and Wall Street are largely in agreement heading into 2026.
From a technical perspective, the setup is constructive. Amazon has spent several months consolidating above the $220 level, tightening its range while maintaining a clear higher-timeframe uptrend. A sustained move above $240 would likely signal a breakout, putting the stock back into momentum mode after digesting prior gains.
Fundamentals continue to support the bullish case. Amazon reported third-quarter 2025 earnings on Oct. 30, delivering earnings per share of $1.95, well above the consensus estimate of $1.57. Revenue rose 13.4% year-over-year (YOY) to $180.17 billion, also beating expectations. While the headline numbers were solid, the real focus remains on profitability trends.
Amazon’s valuation has normalized after years of compression and expansion. Both its current and forward price-to-earnings ratios now sit closer to peer averages, making future stock performance increasingly dependent on earnings execution.
The key driver heading into 2026 remains operating leverage. As long as Amazon Web Services and advertising services continue to deliver strong growth, operating profit should grow faster than revenue. That dynamic is already visible. In the third quarter, AWS revenue rose 20% YOY, its fastest growth rate in multiple years. AWS accounted for almost two-thirds of Amazon’s operating profit during the quarter, making its reacceleration particularly significant.
With its most profitable business regaining momentum and advertising continuing to boost commerce margins, Amazon enters 2026 with a credible path to renewed outperformance.
Second Place: Rocket Lab Combines Momentum With Strong Fundamentals
Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) claimed second place, and its inclusion reflects sustained retail conviction rather than short-term hype. Shares of the aerospace and defense company have surged by more than 2,000% over the past three years. Those returns are extraordinary by any measure, yet retail investors remain focused on what lies ahead rather than what has already occurred.
That optimism stems from the company’s unusually deep pipeline of catalysts. Rocket Lab is entering one of the most pivotal phases of its growth story, combining flawless execution in its core business with transformational opportunities on the horizon.
The most crucial long-term catalyst remains Neutron. Designed as a medium-lift rocket capable of carrying payloads of up to 13,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit, Neutron would dramatically expand Rocket Lab’s addressable market. It would allow the company to compete for larger defense contracts, constellation deployments, and commercial missions that are not accessible with its Electron rocket. If Rocket Lab can replicate Electron’s reliability at a larger scale, Neutron has the potential to reshape the company’s revenue profile beginning in 2026 and beyond.
Another tailwind lies outside Rocket Lab’s direct control but could have an outsized impact. Ongoing speculation around a SpaceX IPO has renewed investor interest across the public space sector. With SpaceX widely rumored to be preparing for a public listing as early as mid-2026, valuations across the industry could be repriced. As one of the few publicly traded, vertically integrated space companies, Rocket Lab would likely be a primary beneficiary.
Wall Street has taken notice. Following an $816 million Space Development Agency contract to build 18 satellites, analysts sharply raised price targets. Needham increased its target to $90, while Stifel raised its target to $85, both citing Rocket Lab’s evolution into a defense prime contractor. Heading into 2026, the stock carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating with a price target near $61.
Third Place: AST SpaceMobile Emerges as the Most Polarizing Pick
AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) represents one of the more polarizing picks on the list. The company is developing a space-based cellular broadband network that connects standard mobile phones directly to satellites, eliminating the need for specialized hardware.
Shares surged more than 260% in 2025, putting ASTS firmly on retail radar. However, analyst sentiment is far more cautious. Based on 11 analysts, the stock carries a consensus Hold rating, and the average price target of $45.66 implies more than 45% downside from current levels.
That disconnect reflects valuation concerns. AST SpaceMobile currently sports a market capitalization north of $30 billion, remains unprofitable, and trades at an extreme price-to-sales multiple. For institutions, those metrics demand caution.
Retail investors see something different. The stock is consolidating above key moving averages, short interest sits near 15%, and the broader space sector appears poised for renewed attention in 2026. For retail, ASTS represents optionality rather than certainty.
For optimism to translate into sustainable upside, the company will need to deliver tangible progress. That includes successful BlueBird satellite deployments and high-profile contract wins that validate its technology and revenue model. Without that, valuation risk remains elevated.
Fourth Place: Alphabet Wins Over Retail, Analysts, and Institutions
Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) claimed fourth place, reflecting a rare alignment among retail investors, institutions, and analysts. After a period of underperformance and skepticism, Alphabet staged one of the most impressive mega-cap turnarounds of 2025.
The company delivered multiple staggering earnings reports, including its third quarter, in which revenue exceeded $100 billion, underscoring the scale and diversification of its business. Growth has extended well beyond advertising, with Google Cloud emerging as a meaningful profit engine.
Artificial intelligence has become a central pillar of the story. Products like Google Overviews and the launch of the Gemini 3 large language model have reshaped market perception. Alphabet’s long-standing investment in proprietary TPU hardware has given it a head start in training and deploying AI models at scale.
Institutional flows reflect that shift. Over the past 12 months, Alphabet attracted $140 billion in inflows, compared with $74 billion in outflows. The stock carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating, and its forward P/E of 28 appears reasonable given its growth trajectory.
For retail investors, a pullback toward support near $300 could represent an attractive entry point heading into 2026.
Fifth Place: Nebius Emerges as an AI Infrastructure Powerhouse
Rounding out the list is Nebius Group N.V. (NASDAQ: NBIS), a name still unfamiliar to many investors but one that is increasingly difficult to ignore. The company operates a diversified ecosystem of AI-driven platforms, including Nebius AI cloud infrastructure, Toloka AI data services, autonomous vehicle technology through Avride, and tech education via TripleTen.
Nebius has rapidly emerged as a major player in AI computing power. Its infrastructure is optimized for high-intensity workloads, making it an attractive partner for companies scaling AI operations.
After surging 234% over the past year, the stock now carries a consensus Buy rating from 10 analysts, with a price target implying more than 60% upside.
Institutional interest has followed. Over the last 12 months, Nebius recorded $3.4 billion in inflows, compared with $821 million in outflows. The growth outlook is equally striking, and it’s what retail investors will be hoping materializes. Management expects annual run-rate revenue of $7 billion to $9 billion in 2026, compared to a current run rate of $551 million at the end of Q3 2025.
The significant increase is due to long-term contract wins with hyperscalers such as Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). And if those projections materialize, current analyst targets may prove conservative.
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The article "5 Stocks Retail Investors Are Betting on for 2026" first appeared on MarketBeat.
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