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As 2026 unfolds, investors are eyeing growth stocks that combine strong business momentum with expanding earnings power. While growth leaders can be volatile in the short term, the right names can deliver outsized returns for long-term shareholders as revenue expands faster than costs — particularly for investors focused on building long-term financial fitness.
Three stocks in particular continue to draw attention for their earnings potential in 2026: Amazon, Apple, and Nvidia. Each benefits from powerful secular trends, cloud computing, services, and ecosystem growth, and artificial intelligence that analysts believe can translate into meaningful earnings gains this year and beyond.
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Amazon (AMZN)
Amazon (AMZN) has had a mixed performance so far in 2026, moving modestly higher after a sluggish 2025, followed by renewed optimism. The stock remains within a broader technical base and has shown modest gains this year despite geopolitical pressures and tariff concerns.
Wall Street remains broadly bullish on Amazon's future earnings. According to the latest consensus data, a large majority of analysts rate the stock a Buy, with the average AMZN price target near $300, suggesting roughly 20% upside over the next 12 months from its current share price.
Bullish catalysts include continued growth in Amazon Web Services (AWS), one of the highest-margin segments of the business, along with ongoing cost discipline in retail operations. Cloud revenue remains a critical driver of earnings expansion as adoption of enterprise and generative AI workloads continues. Analysts also point to Amazon's expanding advertising business as another source of high-margin revenue.
That said, near-term risks remain. Rising input costs and new trends such as "agentic commerce," where autonomous agents may shift shopping behavior away from traditional browsing, create uncertainty around retail margins and long-term monetization.
Still, for investors focused on earnings growth potential in 2026, Amazon's combination of cloud leverage, diversified revenue streams, and consensus Buy ratings makes it one of the most watched names in large-cap growth.
Apple (AAPL)
Apple (AAPL) has also had a choppy start to 2026, with shares pulling back amid broader tech volatility and geopolitical tariff concerns. Despite near-term pressure, Wall Street remains constructive on Apple's earnings trajectory thanks to strong product demand and expanding services revenues.
Analysts at Evercore, for example, see significant upside, with a $330 price target predicted as Apple reports key quarterly results, with services, iPhone, and wearable sales expected to support earnings beats. Investors watching Apple's earnings note that the higher-end iPhone lineup and services ecosystem, including subscriptions, payments, and cloud offerings, help improve margins and recurring revenue.
Another factor in Apple's favor is its robust cash flow, which supports dividends and share buybacks, reducing share count and boosting earnings per share over time. While Apple's core product sales may not grow as fast as AI-centric names, the combination of steady hardware demand and rapidly expanding higher-margin services makes its earnings profile appealing for 2026.
Despite concerns that Apple is losing relative influence in the broader tech supply chain to pure AI players, it remains one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world. This structural strength supports the thesis that Apple's earnings can continue to grow even in an uneven macro environment.
Nvidia (NVDA)
Nvidia (NVDA) arguably sits at the center of the long-term growth narrative for 2026. While shares have been volatile of late, dipping in reaction to broader tech sell-offs and geopolitical news, Nvidia's performance over the last year remains strong, and analysts continue to highlight its earnings potential.
For context, despite recent pullbacks, Nvidia has delivered solid long-term gains and remains well up on a year-over-year basis (25%), reflecting the market's enduring belief in its role as the dominant supplier of AI accelerators and data-center GPUs.
Analysts point to Nvidia's expanding product lineup, including new AI platforms and chips like Blackwell and Rubin, as key engines for revenue and profit growth in 2026. Recent forecasts suggest that Nvidia's outlook could add tens of billions of dollars above consensus revenue expectations as next-generation products scale.
Even as competition increases and market share dynamics evolve, some analysts, including on Jefferier's coverage desk, argue that a plateau in near-term enthusiasm is a buying opportunity rather than a structural threat, 'the stock remains pretty cheap' with a $275 price target, given Nvidia's entrenched position in cloud and enterprise AI compute.
Importantly, Nvidia's earnings growth has historically outpaced many of its peers, and most forecasts maintain a strong growth outlook for fiscal 2026 as data-center demand continues for the world's biggest company by market cap. That combination of market leadership, new product cycles, and scale keeps Nvidia at the top of earnings growth conversations for the year ahead.
Bottom line
While no investment outcome is guaranteed, Amazon, Apple, and Nvidia, despite being household names, each combine near-term catalysts with long-term structural advantages to a stocks portfolio that could translate into explosive earnings potential in 2026. For investors looking to put these ideas into action, using one of the best investment apps can make it easier to research, track, and manage a growth-focused portfolio.
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