Amid the continued fervor surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) trading, Wall Street has begun searching for the next batch of "winners." Bank of America believes the next phase of AI trading will depend on autonomous intelligent agents, and five stocks, including Amazon, may lead this rally.
Despite much talk of overhyping the artificial intelligence industry, Bank of America believes the "overheated phase" is yet to come. In its latest report, the bank points out that while the past two years have seen AI focused on chatbots and large language models, 2026 will be the year of "autonomous AI," meaning software capable of performing tasks autonomously will dominate.
According to Bank of America analyst Justin Post, the AI boom won't peak until the "most high-profile AI unicorns" (AI startups valued at over $10 billion) go public. These companies include OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI, which are speculated to be going public as early as 2026.
Prior to this, investment opportunities lay in companies that could utilize agent systems capable of shopping, booking travel services, and performing other operations. Bank of America's top picks were Amazon, US mobile technology company AppLovin, online home furnishing store Wayfair, Expedia Group, and online video game platform Roblox , believing them to be the biggest beneficiaries of the AI agent technology revolution.
Amazon stands out
Among large-cap tech stocks, Amazon is Bank of America's top pick for the first quarter of 2026, with a focus on the company's potential strengths.
Post is bullish on the continued accelerated growth of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the improved efficiency of its retail business. Wall Street forecasts predict AWS will grow at an annual rate of 21%. However, Post believes this figure could be surpassed by 2026 as Amazon gains more cloud capabilities and a more robust infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Amazon has also made progress in its self-developed AI chip, Trainium, with its latest Trainium 3 product improving efficiency and computing power. The Post indicates that future versions of this chip will integrate with Nvidia's technology, potentially making AWS the lowest-cost supplier for AI workloads.
In its retail business, Amazon is driving profit margin growth through increased advertising revenue, more efficient inventory management, the use of robotics, and reduced headcount. The Post states that with over 1 million robots and more efficient fulfillment centers, Amazon's retail profit margin is projected to grow from 6.1% in 2025 to 8.3% in 2027.
Post emphasized that Amazon's retail and cloud businesses enable the company to become the default infrastructure for enterprise e-commerce. He also pointed out that Amazon's share of the US e-commerce market exceeds 40% due to its Prime service.
He added that Amazon's AI shopping assistant, Rufus, currently offers shopping recommendations and price tracking services, and may be upgraded in the future to provide "full automation capabilities." He also mentioned that Amazon and OpenAI may reach an automated shopping agreement in 2026, which Post believes will likely include advertising revenue sharing terms.
Other potential winners
Regarding other companies, Post notes that Wayfair has made significant strides in the furniture shopping sector, becoming an early partner of Google's "Smart Checkout" feature. The company has also developed an autonomous AI assistant to handle common inquiries.
Furthermore, the travel industry will be a “key battleground” for AI-powered smart agents in 2026, as it involves multi-step planning and various players are racing to automate it. The Post notes that SmartTravel is successfully transforming from a traditional booking website into an infrastructure provider for new AI-powered travel agents.
AppLovin's position in the mobile gaming industry and its expansion into e-commerce will shield it from these industry headwinds. The Post points out that advertising in mobile games receives significant attention, making it more persuasive to consumers. AppLovin's Axon product uses artificial intelligence to precisely target ads to potential buyers and is currently being widely adopted by online merchants.
Finally, Roblox is also developing an advertising program, which, although still in its early stages, promises to establish Roblox as a "significant advertising destination" given its large and highly active user base of approximately 150 million. Beyond advertising, Roblox's intelligent AI tools, such as Studio Assistant, can significantly increase the speed at which developers can release new games, thus becoming a key growth driver.
