Retail investors kicked off 2026 with familiar habits, diving right back into AI-linked stocks as trading activity surged in the first week of the year.
According to JPMorgan strategist Arun Jain, retail buying hit its second-highest weekly level in nearly eight months. Daily purchases have consistently landed above the 85th percentile compared with the past year since January 2, signaling aggressive early-year positioning.
AI names dominate single-stock buying
While ETFs remain the top destination overall, retail traders’ single-stock purchases are heavily concentrated in last year’s favorites tied to artificial intelligence. JPMorgan data shows the most bought names so far in 2026 include Tesla $TSLA ( ▼ 0.23% ) , Nvidia $NVDA ( ▲ 3.08% ) , Amazon $AMZN ( ▼ 1.56% ) , Palantir Technologies $PLTR ( ▲ 6.65% ) , Advanced Micro Devices $AMD ( ▼ 1.72% ) , and Micron $MU ( ▼ 0.67% ) .
The pattern suggests retail investors are doubling down on themes that worked in 2025 rather than rotating into new trades.
Energy stocks also saw notable inflows, with Halliburton $HAL ( ▲ 1.08% ) and Chevron $CVX ( ▲ 1.47% ) attracting retail interest following geopolitical developments tied to Venezuela.
Options profits fueling fresh demand
One reason for the early surge may be leftover firepower from last year. Citadel Securities’ Scott Rubner noted that retail investors earned more than $20 billion in options profits on the platform in 2025, leaving many traders well capitalized heading into January.
That capital, Rubner said, is helping create steady upside pressure in the market, amplifying early-year flows and reinforcing momentum as retail traders return to the same AI-heavy playbook.
So far, 2026 is shaping up to look a lot like 2025, at least from the retail crowd’s point of view.