For all of the “bubble” discuss on the AI commerce, the reality is that it continues to defy gravity. That’s exhibiting up within the tape, with earnings, and with Wall Avenue’s prime voices concurring that the present growth has legs.
Let’s begin with the scoreboard.
The S&P 500 is up almost 13% in 2025, and AI-powered tech giants have pushed near 80% of these positive factors, led by firms corresponding to Nvidia, Microsoft, and Alphabet. Additionally, there’s the wealth impact, the place 30 AI shares have added near $5 trillion to U.S. family wealth up to now yr, in response to JPMorgan.
Additional, on earnings, the mathematics speaks for itself.
FactSet successfully pegs 2025 S&P EPS development at an outstanding 11%, with Q3 monitoring at a stellar 8% to 9%, because the “Magnificent 7” delivered 27% EPS development in Q2, with each single one beating estimates.
Nvidia alone is among the many prime contributors to Q3 bottom-line development, proving that AI is exhibiting up in money and is not only hype. Moreover, with TSMC’s bullish AI demand outlook and ASML’s sturdy outcomes, the availability chain continues to verify it.
The focus is actual, although, and that pattern is exhibiting up within the income as properly.
Some strategists anticipate Nvidia could quickly account for a double-digit proportion of the S&P 500, however that’s more likely to be extra of a mirrored image of actual capital expenditures, not dot-com vapor. Even Goldman Sachs and Citi see AI publicity broadening throughout almost 50% of the index.
That stated, veteran tech analyst Dan Ives, who’s betting that this momentum gained’t be fading anytime quickly, simply refreshed his Huge Tech “buy” record heading into year-end.
The names sound acquainted, however his reasoning would possibly shock you.
Dan Ives sees contemporary upside as AI momentum builds throughout Huge Tech.
Photograph by Tasos Katopodis on Getty Photos
Dan Ives doubles down on AI, pinpoints Apple, Tesla, Salesforce in Huge Tech’s subsequent leg greater
Daniel Ives isn’t shopping for the “AI bubble” narrative. The Wedbush tech analyst even argues that the AI commerce is coming into its subsequent leg greater.
He likens the second to a “1996, not 1999 moment,” saying there’s an actual industrial-scale transformation occurring in digital infrastructure.
Regardless of international tensions and valuation noise, Ives feels it is crucial to concentrate on the sheer AI demand, use instances, and supply-chain suggestions that underscore the sustainability of the pattern.
We consider tech shares will likely be very sturdy into year-end and may very well be up one other 10%+ as the following a part of this AI Revolution takes maintain.
Dan Ives
Regardless of international tensions and valuation noise, Ives feels it is crucial to concentrate on the sheer AI demand, use instances, and supply-chain suggestions that underscore the sustainability of the pattern.
Taking that view ahead, he simply refreshed his Huge Tech “buy” record for the remainder of 2025, highlighting that Apple, Tesla, and Salesforce stay the three firms he sees because the spine of the AI financial system’s subsequent part.
Apple’s AI potential remains to be untapped
- Ranking: Outperform (purchase)
- Value Goal: $310 (25% upside)
Regardless of the flak Apple has acquired, it is nonetheless Ives’ quiet favourite, a tech big sitting on a 2.35 billion-device ecosystem that may successfully monetize AI throughout {hardware} and providers.
The corporate’s fiscal Q3 2025 outcomes confirmed report quarterly gross sales of $94 billion, which is up 10% yr over yr, whereas its EPS of $1.57 has skyrocketed 12%. These numbers, Ives argues, type a launchpad for the corporate’s subsequent act.
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“The elephant in the room has been the invisible AI strategy,” Ives stated. He feels that with 2.4 billion iOS gadgets and 1.5 billion iPhones, Apple has the impetus to supercharge its AI efforts by way of exterior partnerships. That lacking piece of the AI monetization puzzle may probably add $75 to $100 per share to the Apple story.
Apple’s “Apple Intelligence” suite, which is layered with iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, is simply the beginning. For Ives, the shortage of an “AI premium” in Apple’s inventory makes it maybe one of the crucial compelling undervalued names to personal into year-end and 2026.
Tesla is popping the AI hype into {hardware}
- Ranking: Outperform (purchase)
- Value Goal: $600 (40% upside)
For Ives, Tesla isn’t only a carmaker, but in addition a sturdy AI platform in movement. With a whopping $1.4 trillion market cap, it’s constructing a parallel financial system constructed on autonomy and robotics.
“The AI valuation will start to get unlocked in the Tesla story,” Ives wrote, forecasting that the EV big could hit a $2 trillion market cap by early 2026 and $3 trillion by year-end 2026.
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Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) and Robotaxi applications are important to that thesis.
The Robotaxi service is at the moment reside in Austin and the Bay Space, and is increasing testing to Arizona and Nevada, with plans for Chicago and Aurora, Illinois. On the robotics entrance, Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robotic, could finally account for as a lot as 80% of revenues, in response to Musk’s projections.
Although Q2 2025 income dropped 12% yr over yr to $22.5 billion, Tesla nonetheless comfortably beat market estimates, and Ives feels that pullback is generally short-term.
“We believe the march to an AI-driven valuation for Tesla has now begun,” he stated. “Cybercab and autonomy penetration are the golden goose for Musk & Co.”
Salesforce is quietly constructing the enterprise AI spine
- Ranking: Outperform (purchase)
- Value Goal: $375 (52.5% upside)
Ives rounded out his record with Salesforce, hailing it as arguably probably the most underappreciated AI play amongst enterprise software program giants.
The corporate successfully transitioned from CRM to full-scale enterprise AI by way of Agentforce, a digital-agent suite that’s tailored to effectively automate gross sales, service, and workflows.
Current partnerships with OpenAI and Google are deepening Salesforce’s moat.
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Customers achieve entry to Agentforce 360 by way of ChatGPT, whereas Google’s Gemini fashions seamlessly plug into Salesforce knowledge for smarter personalization.
The payoff is already right here with fiscal 2026 income hitting a whopping $10.2 billion, up 10% yr over yr, with non-GAAP EPS of $2.91 blowing previous expectations by 13 cents.
“CRM has grown sales capacity by 20% year over year while boosting productivity across accounts,” Ives stated. “With 40% of Fortune 1000 work elevated by AI by 2029, Salesforce is positioned to steer.”
Ives feels that Salesforce is reaching 20,000 paying Agentforce customers by FY26, which should drive a powerful new wave of subscription and service growth.
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