Table of Contents
For immediate publication
Chicago, IL – July 24, 2026 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day, Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured on the blog include: Arista Networks ANET, Unity Software U, HubSpot HUBS and Samsara IOT.
Here are the highlights from Thursday’s analyst blog:
4 Software Stocks That Will Benefit from Increasing AI Adoption
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing the global technology landscape and driving a new wave of enterprise software spending. Companies across industries, from manufacturing to healthcare to retail and financial services, are increasingly investing in generative AI, large language models (LLMs), AI agents, intelligent automation, cloud platforms and data analytics to improve productivity, enhance customer experiences and streamline operations.
The AI ​​boom is benefiting a wide range of software companies including Arista Networks, Unity software, HubSpot AndSamsaraIntegrate AI into their platforms to enhance product capabilities, improve customer outcomes and strengthen competitive positioning.
Before we discuss the stocks in detail, let’s delve deeper into the trends.
Software companies are benefiting from increasing corporate AI spending
Software companies are benefiting from strong AI adoption by embedding intelligent co-pilots and automated agents into existing platforms and moving from simple subscription models to consumption-based pricing. They are also using AI to dramatically accelerate their software development lifecycles while expanding their data infrastructure capabilities to meet increasing business needs.
The continued strength of AI-driven software spending was a key catalyst. Companies are increasingly turning to solutions such as speech recognition, telehealth platforms, learning management systems, infrastructure monitoring software and spend management tools. Collaboration platforms, communication software and online education services are also seeing steady demand as workplaces and learning environments continue to evolve.
The pace of AI investment continues to accelerate. Gartner predicts global AI spending will reach $2.59 trillion in 2026, a 47% increase from last year, driven by higher investments in AI infrastructure, cloud services and enterprise software. End-user spending on AI models and platforms is also expected to reach $64 billion in 2026, up 63.4% from $39 billion in 2025.
Spending on generative AI models is expected to increase by 117%, while spending on AI platforms is expected to increase by 36.9% in 2026. The increasing adoption of AI-powered applications creates significant opportunities for software companies that offer AI-powered platforms and solutions.
Another important trend is the rise of agent AI. Software providers are adopting usage-based AI pricing models, accelerating software development with AI coding tools, and strengthening AI governance and compliance capabilities. The demand for multi-cloud interoperability is increasing so that companies can seamlessly connect AI models and business systems. These trends position leading software companies to benefit long-term from increasing AI adoption.
Our selection
Unity software is benefiting significantly from the increasing adoption of AI in the interactive content industry. Unity’s AI-driven products like Vector and Unity AI accelerate game development, improve personalization, and drive user and developer growth. With 90% of game developers already using AI in their workflows and Unity signups up 20% quarter-over-quarter, Unity is at the heart of this transformation. In the first quarter of 2026, Strategic’s revenue increased 35% year-over-year, and AI-powered tools drove both user and creator growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Zacks Rank #1 company (Strong Buy)’s fiscal 2026 earnings is $1.03 per share, which has remained unchanged over the past 30 days. This corresponds to a growth of 19.77% compared to the previous year. You can seeYou can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
HubSpot is benefiting significantly from increasing AI adoption and positioning the company for further growth. In the first quarter of 2026, the company highlighted that HubSpot’s AI-first strategy is driving measurable growth, with AI-driven products such as Customer Agent, Prospecting Agent and Data Agent seeing rapid adoption and usage. Active Core Seat users grew 90% year-over-year, and credit usage for AI features increased 67% quarter-over-quarter. Customers are integrating AI into their daily workflows, driving real results like improved CRM accuracy and higher support resolution rates.
This Zacks #1 company’s Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2026 earnings is $13.11 per share, which has remained unchanged over the past 30 days. This represents a year-on-year growth of 35.15%.
Arista Networks is benefiting from the increasing adoption of AI, which is driving unprecedented demand for high-speed network solutions. In the first quarter of 2026, Arista Networks achieved the largest market share in high-speed switching over 10 Gigabit Ethernet, primarily due to its robust cloud and AI networking strategy. With more than 100 customers deploying 800 Gigabit Ethernet and an increased AI revenue target of $3.5 billion for 2026, Arista’s innovative products such as the Etherlink portfolio and XPO Optics are driving growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company’s fiscal 2026 earnings is $3.64 per share, up a penny over the past 30 days. This corresponds to a growth of 22.15% compared to the previous year.
Samsara Benefits from increasing adoption of AI across the physical economy and positions itself for further upside. As AI moves from digital to physical applications, Samsara’s Connected Operations Platform leverages IoT hardware and AI to deliver real-time insights and automate workflows for asset-intensive industries.
Customers are increasingly turning to AI-driven solutions such as video-based security, waste intelligence and ground intelligence that help reduce costs, improve safety and increase operational efficiency. With an ARR of more than $2 billion and strong growth across major customer segments, Samsara’s focus on operational AI and new products drives sustained, scalable growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Zacks Rank #2 company’s fiscal 2026 earnings is pegged at 75 cents per share, which has remained unchanged over the past 30 days. This represents a year-on-year growth of 33.93%.
Free: Instant access to Zacks’ market-crushing strategies
Since 2000, our best stock-picking strategies have wiped out the S&P’s +7.7% average annual gain. Amazingly, they rose with average profits of +48.4%, +50.2% And +56.7% per year.
Today, you can use these powerful strategies—and the high-potential stocks they discover—for free. No conditions.
You can find out all the details here >>
Media contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext 9339
support@zacks.com
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Every investment carries the potential for losses. This material is provided for informational purposes only and nothing contained herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice or a recommendation to purchase, sell or hold any security. No recommendation or advice is given as to whether any investment is suitable for any particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investment in any security, company, sector or market identified and described has been or will be profitable. All information is current at the time of publication and is subject to change without notice. The views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the Company as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in any securities investment banking, market making, or asset management activities. These returns come from hypothetical portfolios consisting of Zacks Rank = 1 stocks that are rebalanced monthly without transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual stock portfolios. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Check out the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today you can download the 7 best stocks for the next 30 days. Click here to get this free report
Arista Networks, Inc. (ANET): Free Stock Analysis Report
HubSpot, Inc. (HUBS): Free Stock Analysis Report
Unity Software Inc. (U): Free stock analysis report
Samsara Inc. (IOT): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article was originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/zacks-analyst-blog-highlights-arista-110400415.html
