The AI Winners You’re Not Hearing About

AI’s most durable investment returns may come from established companies that embed AI into existing businesses rather than from the headline semiconductor and data-center winners.

• AI-linked technology stocks have driven almost all of the S&P 500’s gains this year, while the rest of the market has been flat or negative, creating a concentration the authors do not expect to persist.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific is partnering with NVIDIA and OpenAI to use AI for experiments that can run, analyze results, and adjust protocols with minimal human intervention, potentially accelerating drug discovery.
• Agilent Technologies is embedding AI across its product portfolio to help researchers extract more value from instruments, strengthen customer relationships, and expand its services opportunity.
• Carrier Global supplies cooling technology for AI data centers, where computing generates substantial heat; hyperscaler capital expenditure is expected to approach $800 billion in 2026 and exceed $1 trillion in 2027.
• Thermo Fisher, Agilent, and Carrier are described as overlooked and out of favor relative to semiconductor stocks, while offering durable competitive positions, strong management, and AI exposure without requiring a fully speculative outcome.

Takeaway: Investors should look beyond chips, data centers, and hyperscalers for AI beneficiaries, focusing on companies whose existing businesses can become more productive through AI, while recognizing that the thesis depends on the technology delivering lower costs, faster processes, and better customer outcomes.