Been watching the recent tech pullback and honestly, some of the best ai stocks are looking pretty attractive right now if you're thinking long-term. The noise around geopolitical stuff and rate expectations has shaken a lot of people out, but the fundamentals underneath are still solid.

Here's what's actually moving the needle: earnings are still strong and interest rates aren't going crazy. AI spending isn't slowing down—it's accelerating. We're talking about hyperscalers deploying roughly $530 billion in capex this year, and that number keeps climbing. Taiwan Semi already raised their guidance to $52-56 billion for 2026 capex. That's the kind of signal that tells you the AI arms race is real, not a bubble.

I've been looking at two plays that caught my attention. First is ServiceNow (NOW). Yeah, it's down almost 50% from its January peak, which means there's potentially serious upside if it recovers. The stock got crushed because people worry AI will cannibalize software companies. But here's the thing—ServiceNow isn't sleeping on this. They've been integrating AI into their platform for years and just deepened their partnership with OpenAI to build agentic AI experiences. They're also expanding Claude integration through Anthropic. So they're not a victim of AI disruption; they're riding it.

The numbers back this up. ServiceNow hit $13.28 billion in revenue last year with consistent 21-24% growth. They had 244 deals over $1 million in Q4 2025, up 40% year-over-year. GAAP earnings grew 22% to $1.67 per share. Management is projecting 20% revenue growth for 2026 and 18% for 2027. The CEO just bought $3 million worth of shares himself, which usually means insiders see value. Analysts see roughly 70% upside from here.

Then there's Celestica (CLS), which is basically the pick-and-shovel play for AI infrastructure. They design and build the servers, networking gear, and data center hardware that hyperscalers actually use. This stock is down about 25% from November highs, so it's on the dip right now.

CLS is the real deal though. Revenue jumped 29% last year to $12.39 billion and they've more than doubled revenue since 2021. Adjusted earnings grew 56% in 2025. They're guiding for 37% revenue growth in 2026 and 39% in 2027. That's the kind of best ai stocks trajectory that catches attention. The company is investing $1 billion in capital expansion this year because they're confident demand will sustain. 15 out of 18 analyst recommendations are "Strong Buy."

What makes this interesting is that both of these companies are benefiting from real, structural demand in AI infrastructure and enterprise software. It's not hype—it's actual spending and guidance from the companies building this stuff. Q1 2026 tech sector earnings estimates have jumped to 24% growth from 18% just a couple months ago.

So if you've got a longer time horizon and can handle volatility, the recent weakness in these best ai stocks might be exactly the kind of entry point smart money looks for. The pullback doesn't change the underlying thesis; it just changes the price you pay.