Choosing what not to own matters just as much as choosing what to buy.
That feels especially true heading into 2026.
US technology shares have delivered huge gains over the last few years. But leadership is narrowing. Valuations are no longer cheap. And not every big name deserves a place in a long-term ISA.
If I were starting fresh today, I wouldn’t try to be clever.
I’d look for durability, pricing power, and businesses that can keep compounding even if markets get choppy.
Here are three US tech stocks I’d be comfortable building an ISA around for 2026 and beyond.
Before getting specific, it’s worth remembering this: an ISA rewards patience, not excitement. The goal is steady compounding, not bragging rights.
1. The core holding: Microsoft
If I had to pick just one US tech stock for an ISA, it would still be Microsoft.
Not because it’s exciting.
Because it’s reliable.
Microsoft sits at the centre of enterprise software, cloud infrastructure, and now artificial intelligence. But what really matters is how those pieces fit together.
Azure keeps growing. Office keeps printing cash. And AI is being layered into existing products rather than bolted on as a gamble.
That makes Microsoft different from many AI names. It doesn’t need AI hype to justify its valuation. It already earns huge profits.
For an ISA, that matters. You want a company that can grow earnings steadily, absorb mistakes, and keep paying shareholders back through buybacks and dividends.
Microsoft does all three.
2. The platform bet: Alphabet
Alphabet feels less comfortable than Microsoft right now. And that’s exactly why it’s interesting.
Search is changing. AI is expensive. Margins are under pressure.
But strip away the noise and Alphabet still owns one of the most powerful advertising engines ever built. YouTube alone would be a massive business if it were listed separately.
The market’s concern is fair: AI search costs more than traditional search.
What I’m watching is whether Alphabet can monetise usage, not just grow it. If it can, today’s worries may look short-term in hindsight.
For an ISA, Alphabet is not a momentum play. It’s a platform bet on data, distribution, and scale.
At the right price, that’s a risk I’m comfortable taking.
3. The infrastructure play: Broadcom
This is the least talked about of the three. And arguably the most important.
Broadcom doesn’t sell stories. It sells components that the modern digital world quietly depends on.
Its chips sit inside data centres, networks, and enterprise systems. Its software business throws off recurring revenue. And demand is driven by infrastructure spending, not consumer fashion.
AI is a tailwind here, but not the whole thesis. Even if AI enthusiasm cools, data traffic, cloud usage, and network complexity continue to rise.
For an ISA, Broadcom offers something rare in US tech: a mix of growth and income, with a business model that benefits from scale rather than disruption.
What I’m deliberately avoiding
I’m cautious on highly speculative AI names.
I’m also wary of companies where valuation assumes perfect execution for the next decade. That’s a dangerous place to be when building an ISA.
This doesn’t mean those stocks won’t go up. It just means they don’t fit my risk tolerance for tax-sheltered, long-term capital.
How I’d think about 2026
For these three to work, a few things need to hold true.
Enterprise spending must stay resilient. AI investment needs to translate into revenue, not just cost. And regulation must nibble, not bite.
If those assumptions break, I’d reassess. That’s part of investing.
But if they hold, these businesses don’t need a roaring bull market to do well. They just need time.
Final thought
That’s exactly what an ISA gives you.
Big technology themes tend to dominate the headlines.
But the strongest returns often come from companies quietly building the infrastructure behind those themes, before the story becomes obvious.
We’ve outlined this thinking in a free research report that looks at seven technology stocks we believe are positioned to outperform as the AI and digital infrastructure cycle evolves toward 2026.
If you’d like to read it, you can access the report here.