Evercore ISI analysts have identified eight companies positioned to benefit from accelerating artificial intelligence adoption, singling out Microsoft, Amazon, Booking Holdings, and others as having durable strategies despite recent market volatility. The firm argues that indiscriminate selling has created opportunities in companies with strong business models and competitive moats.

Julian Emanuel, an analyst at Evercore ISI, notes that AI is fundamentally reshaping corporate strategy across all sectors, with adoption broadening beyond early infrastructure providers. The firm believes companies that build protections around orchestration, secure enterprise guardrails, and agentic execution across siloed data are set to outperform as AI enters what they call a "critical acceleration phase" in 2025-2026.

Among the highlighted companies, Palo Alto Networks is viewed as "best positioned within cybersecurity to be a primary beneficiary of enterprise AI adoption," while Amazon is deploying AI to boost both its cloud and retail businesses. Evercore notes that C.H. Robinson has generated substantial market share gains and margin expansion during the longest freight market downturn in history by applying Lean AI principles. The firm expects most investors to take a "wait and see" approach despite data points suggesting a disconnect between market views and software fundamentals.