So I've been watching the tech selloff lately and honestly, some of the best ai stocks are looking pretty attractive right now if you've got a long-term horizon. The market got spooked by geopolitical noise mid-March, but here's the thing—the fundamentals driving AI spending haven't changed. Earnings and interest rates are still the two things that actually move markets, and both are pointing in the right direction for tech.

Nvidia already confirmed what everyone suspected. The AI capex spending spree is real and accelerating. Taiwan Semi raised 2026 capex guidance to 52-56 billion back in January, way up from 40.9 billion in 2025. The hyperscalers are projected to drop roughly 530 billion in capex this year versus 400 billion last year. That number's probably going higher after the guidance we've seen from the Mag 7 and others. Q1 2026 Tech earnings estimates have jumped to 24% growth from 18% just two months ago. Fifteen out of sixteen sectors are expected to post year-over-year earnings expansion in 2026.

Let me break down two best ai stocks worth considering right now. ServiceNow (NOW) took a beating, down nearly 50% from its January 2025 highs. That's actually interesting because the company has been aggressively integrating AI into everything it does. They deepened their partnership with OpenAI in January to power agentic AI experiences. They're also expanding with Anthropic to integrate Claude models deeper into their platform. Wall Street might worry about AI disrupting software, but NOW is actually using AI to transform itself.

The numbers back this up. ServiceNow posted 21-24% sales growth for the fourth straight year in 2025, hitting 13.28 billion—more than double 2021. They had 244 deals over 1 million in net new annual contract value in Q4, up 40% year-over-year. GAAP earnings grew 22% to 1.67 per share. For 2026-2027, they're guiding 20% and 18% revenue growth respectively, with adjusted earnings expanding 18% and 20%. CEO Bill McDermott bought 3 million worth of shares recently, saying there's no better entry point. The stock has tripled the broader Tech sector since its 2012 IPO, and at current levels you're looking at roughly 70% upside to previous highs.

Then there's Celestica (CLS), which is basically the pick-and-shovel play in the AI infrastructure arms race. This company designs and builds the servers, switches, and data center hardware that hyperscalers actually need. Revenue jumped 29% in 2025 to 12.39 billion, more than doubling since 2021. Adjusted earnings grew 56% last year, with GAAP EPS up over 90%. Management issued strong 2026 guidance in late January, expecting demand for AI data center tech to keep strengthening. They're investing 1 billion in capital for 2026, fully funded through operating cash flow.

Projections show CLS growing revenue 37% in 2026 and 39% in 2027, reaching 23.66 billion. Adjusted earnings are expected to expand 46% and 43% respectively. The stock is down about 25% from November highs, and analyst price targets suggest 34% upside from current levels. CLS has climbed roughly 3,000% over the past five years, crushing the broader Tech sector's 100% gain. Fifteen of eighteen brokerage recommendations are Strong Buys.

Here's my take: these aren't sexy stories anymore, they're just solid companies executing in a structural uptrend. The best ai stocks right now aren't the ones making headlines—they're the ones actually benefiting from real capex spending and earnings growth. If you've got cash and patience, dips like these are exactly when long-term investors should be looking at quality names.