AI spending is moving into its next phase, and Wedbush analysts expect it will mark the start of a major monetization cycle beginning next year
The analysts pointed to a pickup in deal activity across cloud providers, noting that around 20% of the AI-related projects it tracks at hyperscalers have sped up in recent weeks.
“2026 will be another strong year for the tech trade with the AI Revolution front and center,” the analysts wrote, pointing to infrastructure built throughout 2025 that they expect will enable “transformational monetization opportunities into 2026 and beyond.”
Wedbush described enterprise AI adoption as still at an early stage. They believe that as more CIOs define the technology’s role within their organizations, spending could enter a new deployment cycle.
Big Tech capital expenditure is projected in the range of $550 billion to $600 billion next year, alongside what the firm expects will be additional AI investment from governments, Global 2000 companies and buyers in Asia and the Middle East.
The analysts forecast tech stocks could rise about 20% in 2026 as monetization matures, with large US technology companies positioned as primary beneficiaries.
They also addressed recent volatility and concerns about overheating in AI markets. “We get the AI Bubble talk worries loud and clear,” they wrote, but argued that the current environment differs from past speculative periods.
They also highlighted low enterprise penetration, emerging autonomous and robotics applications, and an early-stage consumer AI cycle as supporting further growth.
“This is NOT an AI Bubble in our view,” the analysts wrote, viewing the ongoing investment cycle as part of a multi-year buildout. Wedbush believes the market is entering Year 3 of what it sees as a 10-year AI adoption curve.
Alongside its outlook, the firm adjusted its “IVES AI 30” list, removing SoundHound, ServiceNow and Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM, XETRA:FOO), and adding CoreWeave, Iren Ltd (NASDAQ:IREN) and Shopify Inc (TSX:SH., NYSE:SHOP).
“In a nutshell, this AI Revolution is just beginning today,” the analysts concluded.