These two stocks may not be as well-known as the big tech giants, but each has a compelling buying proposition.
Symbotic is a key player in AI-driven robotic warehouse solutions.
Applied Digital acts as an AI landlord and GPU-as-a-service provider.
10 stocks we like better than Symbotic ›
Bull markets, which are periods of rising stock prices (including a 20%-plus gain from recent lows), are a normal part of market cycles that come and go with fair regularity. Stick to your long-term plan and avoid emotional reactions to short-term market noise or daily fluctuations.
It’s often best as a long-term investor to invest a fixed amount of money at regular intervals in both market ups and downs. Regardless of market conditions, prioritize companies with strong fundamentals. A focus on quality will inevitably help you weather downturns and ensure that you are setting your portfolio up for profitable growth.
On that note, if you want to invest in the future of artificial intelligence (AI) and are thinking ahead about your portfolio’s growth potential in the coming years through both bull and bear markets, here are two stocks to consider.
Image source: Getty Images.
Symbotic(NASDAQ: SYM) is an automation technology company that provides AI-powered, end-to-end robotic warehouse solutions. Initially founded to optimize supply chain logistics for retailers and wholesalers, the company uses fleets of autonomous robots and proprietary software to manage the storage, retrieval, and palletization of goods.
Symbotic outsources the manufacturing of its robot components to established automotive suppliers. This allows the company to scale rapidly without the capital intensity of owning large-scale factories.
The company’s primary revenue driver is the sale of modular, end-to-end automation systems. These turnkey solutions are often integrated into massive distribution centers for major clients like Walmart, Target, and Albertsons. The company also recently entered the healthcare vertical through a client relationship with Medline, which could further open up new market opportunities.
Once a system is installed, Symbotic generates ongoing revenue through sources like software maintenance and support fees, and ongoing technical support and operational assistance for the deployed hardware. Through its GreenBox warehouse-as-a-service joint venture with SoftBank, Symbotic is expanding into a service-based model. GreenBox offers automated warehousing to smaller companies that may not want to own the hardware, and this could prove to be a massive, long-term recurring revenue stream in the coming years.
Walmart remains a cornerstone partner that owns a notable stake in the company (approximately 15% as of 2024). In 2025, Symbotic acquired Walmart’s Advanced Systems and Robotics business to further integrate its technology.
Currently, Symbotic’s contracted backlog stands at approximately $22.5 billion, which represents roughly 10 times its annual sales and provides exceptional revenue visibility for years to come. Much of that backlog is attributable to its GreenBox joint venture and Walmart. Symbotic has also demonstrated strong revenue growth, with full-year 2025 revenue surging 26% to nearly $2.3 billion.
Symbotic has struggled with consistent profitability, but it did report about $788 million in free cash flow in its recent fiscal year, a significant turnaround from a negative free cash flow of $102.45 million in the prior one. Investors who have a healthy risk tolerance and are searching for a growth-oriented AI and robotics stock with a tremendous runway ahead might want to take a second look at this business.
Applied Digital (NASDAQ: APLD) designs, develops, and operates next-generation digital infrastructure and cloud services for the AI and high-performance computing (HPC) industries. Its business model primarily involves acting as an AI landlord where it provides specialized data center facilities and power infrastructure to major hyperscalers under long-term contracts. The company strategically locates its data centers in areas with access to abundant, cost-effective power, often near renewable energy sources to maximize efficiency and minimize operational costs.
Its business model relies heavily on the company’s ability to rapidly design, construct, and bring online large-scale, specialized data centers to meet the explosive demand for AI compute capacity. The company operates through two main business segments. Its data center hosting business involves leasing purpose-built AI factories (high-density, liquid-cooled data centers) to large hyperscalers like CoreWeave, which often supply their own computing equipment like graphics processing units (GPUs) and servers.
Its other major business is its cloud services segment, which offers on-demand GPU power as a secure, scalable, and managed GPU-as-a-service solution. This allows businesses needing HPC capabilities to access the necessary compute resources without the significant capital investment and operational burdens of building and managing their own infrastructure. The company generates revenue through multiyear lease agreements and service contracts.
Its partnership with CoreWeave alone represents approximately $11 billion of its $16 billion in contracted revenue over the next 15 years (the remaining $5 billion is contracted by an unnamed hyperscaler client). By building facilities in locations with low electricity costs and leveraging natural or innovative cooling methods, Applied Digital achieves a lower total cost of ownership, which it passes on to customers, and that makes its services highly competitive.
The company uses partnerships, such as its significant $5 billion financing facility with Macquarie Asset Management (part of Macquarie Group), to fund the capital-intensive construction of new data centers at the project level. The company also has an active development pipeline of 4 gigawatts for AI data centers, which are in high demand from hyperscalers and AI companies facing a severe shortage of purpose-built data centers for AI workloads.
Applied Digital has managed its supply chain effectively to secure the necessary land, power, and equipment. This has enabled the company to reduce its data center construction timelines from 24 months to 12 to 14 months, a significant competitive advantage in a market with traditionally high demand and long lead times.
The company has been operating at a net loss due to high upfront costs for data center construction, increased depreciation expenses, and costs associated with facilities not yet generating revenue, but its top line grew 84% in the recent quarter to $64.2 million. For investors who want to invest in an emerging player in the HPC and AI infrastructure landscape and capitalize on the explosive demand for data centers driven by AI and cloud computing, Applied Digital could be well worth considering.
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Rachel Warren has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Macquarie Group, Symbotic, Target, and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
2 Artificial Intelligence Stocks That Could Soar in the Next Bull Market was originally published by The Motley Fool
