Been thinking about where to put some cash in the market lately, and honestly, there's still a solid case for finding a good stock to buy today if you're willing to do your homework.

The S&P 500 has been on quite a run since late 2022—we're talking nearly 94% gains so far. Both Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs were calling for continued strength through 2026, which actually played out pretty well. If you've got around a grand sitting around after handling your debts and emergency fund, there are some interesting spots to look at right now.

First off, quantum computing keeps getting talked about as this future tech, but IonQ is actually building the stuff today. Yeah, I know the company is still tiny compared to traditional tech names, but the growth numbers are wild. Their revenue more than doubled in the first nine months of 2025, with Q3 alone jumping 222%. They've also been pushing hard on accuracy—hit that 99.99% two-qubit gate performance record, which basically means their quantum systems are running almost error-free now. McKinsey was projecting the quantum market could explode from $4 billion in 2024 to $72 billion by 2035, so if that timeline holds, early exposure to a company like IonQ could pay off. Fair warning though—the stock trades at a pretty steep valuation and swings around a lot. But putting a smaller chunk of your $1,000 into this could work if you're thinking long-term.

Then there's the AI infrastructure angle, which has been the real money maker. Gartner was expecting a 41% jump in AI infrastructure spending in 2026, hitting $1.4 trillion. That tailwind is showing up in companies like Celestica, which designs and manufactures the networking components that go into AI accelerator chips. Their revenue jumped an estimated 27% in 2025 to $12.2 billion, and the growth is actually accelerating from here. Trading at just 3.2 times sales, it looks like decent value considering what's ahead.

Micron Technology is another one worth considering. Memory chip demand for AI data centers is insane right now—supply can't keep up. The company's trading at less than 10 times sales with forward earnings at 11x, which is cheap for a stock posting 100% sales growth. Earnings could jump nearly 4x this year alone. The thing is, this shortage isn't going away anytime soon because building new chip capacity takes years. That means memory prices should stay elevated, which is exactly what Micron needs to keep crushing it.

So yeah, if you're looking for a good stock to buy today, these three offer different angles on where the market's heading. Quantum computing for the long shot, AI infrastructure plays for the more established growth story. Just make sure whatever you pick actually fits your risk tolerance and time horizon.