Wedbush: Artificial intelligence monetization may have entered the next growth stage, Microsoft will usher in an 'iPhone moment'
Investment bank Wedbush stated that as artificial intelligence becomes a hot topic, the company's ability to monetize it will become a focus of investor attention. Wedbush analysts expect companies benefiting from first-quarter performance to include Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Palantir, and Meta. Microsoft is believed to be on the verge of an "iPhone moment" for artificial intelligence, with a market value exceeding $3.1 trillion. Analysts believe that artificial intelligence will change Microsoft's cloud computing growth trajectory in the coming years
According to the Zhitong Finance and Economics APP, the new round of earnings season for the US stock market is approaching, and large technology companies will disclose their latest quarterly performance to investors. Investment bank Wedbush stated that with artificial intelligence becoming a hot topic, the company's ability to monetize it will be a focus of investor attention.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives stated in an investor report, "Over the past month, we have conducted numerous on-site inspections globally, which has given us great confidence that the monetization of the artificial intelligence revolution has entered the next growth phase, as the baton has shifted from semiconductors to the software phase, with use cases experiencing explosive growth."
Analysts expect companies benefiting from first-quarter performance to include Microsoft (MSFT.US), Alphabet (GOOGL.US), Amazon (AMZN.US), Palantir (PLTR.US), and Meta (META.US). Several cybersecurity companies are also expected to benefit from first-quarter performance, including Zscaler (ZS.US), CrowdStrike (CRWD.US), Palo Alto Networks (PANW.US), CyberArk (CYBR.US), Check Point Software (CHKP.US), and Tenable (TENB.US).
Due to its collaboration with OpenAI, Microsoft is seen as one of the biggest beneficiaries of artificial intelligence, similar to Nvidia (NVDA.US). From increased cloud computing spending to generative artificial intelligence add-ons to Copilot, all of these have "boosted" Microsoft in the eyes of investors, pushing its market value over $3.1 trillion.
Analysts stated, "We strongly believe this is Microsoft's 'iPhone moment,' and artificial intelligence will change Microsoft's cloud computing growth trajectory in the coming years. Our recent survey further enhances confidence in the first-quarter performance of this trend."
The analysts added that in the past month, the adoption of Microsoft's generative artificial intelligence and Copilot has accelerated, which in turn has boosted Microsoft's Azure cloud computing business. Analysts believe that for every $100 spent on Azure in the past few years, an additional $35 to $40 may be spent on artificial intelligence in the future. Currently, the market widely expects Microsoft's first-quarter revenue to reach $608.4 billion, with earnings per share of $2.84