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In late 2025, there was a lot of concern within the investment community that growth shares in the artificial intelligence (AI) space were in a bubble. I don’t see this bubble people are talking about however.
I actually think now could be a good time to consider buying some AI stocks. Here’s why.
This isn’t a bubble
To my mind, asset bubbles have two key features. One is a level of euphoria among investors. As a result of this euphoria, asset prices rise consistently, no matter the news or the valuations. The other is sky-high valuations. In a bubble, valuations are usually completely detached from fundamentals.
Now, looking at the AI space today, I don’t see euphoria. Sure, there’s investor enthusiasm (for what’s possibly the most disruptive technology of all time), but it isn’t euphoria.
Ultimately, we’re not seeing stocks shoot up indiscriminately. Right now, plenty of well-known AI stocks are well off their highs. AI infrastructure powerhouse Oracle, for example, is currently trading about 40% off its highs. It’s fallen on the back of concerns over debt and a lack of free cash flow.
So investors are discerning about their AI stock selections. This is the sign of a healthy market – not a bubble.
As for valuations, they’re high but they’re not outrageously so. Big Tech giants Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon, for example, trade on price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios of between 25 and 30.
I’ll point out that there are a few stocks in the AI space that actually look pretty cheap. Nvidia, for example, is on a P/E ratio of 25 right now (despite the fact that analysts expect 60% earnings growth this year). Meanwhile, Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) is on 20. These are relatively low multiples.
AI opportunities today
It’s these lower valuations that lead me to believe it could actually be a good time to consider buying some AI stocks. Because there appears to be some value on offer right now.
Going back to Salesforce, I think there could be an opportunity here as we start 2026. It’s been having recent success with its agentic AI platform, Agentforce, but no one’s giving the company credit for it at the moment.
In December, Salesforce told investors it had 9,500 customers paying for Agentforce at the end of its Q3, up from 6,000 at the end of Q2. At the end of the period, annualised recurring revenue (ARR) from the technology was $500m, up 330% year on year.
Now, it’s worth pointing out that there are many companies developing agentic AI solutions today. So there’s no guarantee Salesforce will be a winner in the AI space in the long run.
One thing the company has going for it however, is that it holds a lot of data for its customers. This data provides the context for the agentic AI technology, making it far more valuable.
Looking at price targets for this stock, I’m not the only one who’s bullish here. Currently, the average price target is $325 – about 22% above the current share price. In light of this price target, I think the stock’s worth a closer look right now.
But it’s not the only AI stock that looks attractive to me as we start 2026.
