As consumers head online this Cyber Monday to take advantage of the final bargains before Christmas, investors continue to be drawn to the compelling opportunities within technology – with the sector extending its recent dominance this year.
Below, seven investors highlight the industries and individual stock names they expect to shine in 2025 and beyond.
The next era of AI opportunities
By Dom Rizzo, portfolio manager of the T. Rowe Price Global Technology Equity strategy
The first phase of the AI cycle, which centred on firms providing infrastructure and those with the most direct AI use cases, is nearing an end. However, we still believe AI will prove to be the biggest productivity enhancer for the global economy since electricity and the technology opportunity set remains a rich one.
Investors looking to navigate the next phase of the AI investment cycle responsibly should seek to identify those key linchpin companies innovating within secular growth markets. Improving fundamentals are also crucial. Firms with accelerating revenues, increasing operating margins, and/or improving free cash flows are worth looking at closely. Finally, it is important to ensure that any valuations paid are reasonable.
Among software firms, data infrastructure companies, vertical application vendors, and cybersecurity vendors are well-placed to capitalise on the advancements in AI. Finally, in fintech, generative AI is being used to improve the customer experience in areas such as personalised banking, fraud detection, and credit risk assessment.
Canada’s compelling tech community
By Greg Eckel, portfolio manager of Canadian General Investments Ltd
When investors think of Canada, they envision oil reserves, expansive woodland, and a world-class banking system. Yet Canada offers more than these ‘Jurassic Park’ industries. Its technology sector has been a driving force in 2024, helping the Canadian S&P/TSX Composite Equal Weight Index outpace its US equivalent year-to-date.
A standout example is Shopify. Unlike Amazon, where vendors operate under the shadow of the marketplace’s branding, Shopify empowers businesses to build their online storefronts at an affordable monthly cost. This straightforward design supports over 4.5 million businesses across 175 countries, from multinationals such as Mattel and Nestlé to independent brands. Shopify also provides a comprehensive ecosystem of services, offering everything from marketing and analytics to stock management and business loans, helping it retain companies as they grow.
Shopify’s technology has democratised one’s ability to build a business. When shares sold off sharply in 2022, many investors fled – but we held firm to our conviction. Its turnaround story is a testament to the power of patient investing.
Stars aligned for space technology
By Charlotte Cuthbertson, co-manager of MIGO Opportunities Trust
At MIGO, we seek out undervalued investment trusts with clear catalysts for growth. Our value-oriented approach meant we previously avoided growth equity trusts due to the prevailing sky-high valuations. However, as these sectors sold off amid rising interest rates, opportunities have emerged. Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) is one example.
Though space tech investing might seem exotically risky at first glance, SSIT’s portfolio is deeply embedded in rapidly maturing industries like defence – where spending is accelerating sharply. Since the start of 2024, as this development became more understood, investors have been buying the shares, helping to sharply narrow the discount from its extreme of 70%.
Looking ahead, SSIT stands to rise further from a favourable interest rate environment that could boost high-growth valuations and the IPO market. Additionally, government contract wins for portfolio companies promise stable, recurring revenue. Currently on a 37% discount, SSIT presents a compelling value opportunity.
AI to revolutionise industrial automation
By Mark Baribeau, portfolio manager of the PGIM Jennison Global Equity Opportunities Fund
The move to generative artificial intelligence (AI) is the fourth era of computing that will likely create new businesses and winners.
AI and cloud computing continue to revolutionise industries, amplifying demand for increasingly intelligent software and infrastructure. Emerging new developments in generative AI will be a leading structural driver within technology as productivity-enhancing business applications impact our daily lives, including how we work, consume, and interact digitally.
In addition, A boom in manufacturing and high-tech facilities leveraging AI is fuelling advanced automation of industrial processes to enhance efficiencies. We expect US manufacturing capacity growth to continue to accelerate, driven by the US CHIPS Act. A large group of industrial, factory automation, and semiconductor companies are poised to benefit from the megatrend of AI-enabling infrastructure expansion over the next several years.
Alphabet is more than just AI
By Alison Savas, investment director at Antipodes Partners
Alphabet is the only tech stock today to have an integrated AI stack from proprietary large language models and custom hardware to the application layer. Despite this, its stock performance has only matched the S&P 500, lagging peers. Core search has remained resilient since ChatGPT’s launch two years ago, and Alphabet is well-placed to ride the next wave of AI-enabled search. It benefits from an unrivalled pool of first-party data from over two billion users across its platforms and a vast web index. Additionally, Alphabet’s Gemini is powered by its custom AI chips, reducing reliance on costly Nvidia GPUs, unlike its competitors.
But Alphabet is not just an AI story. YouTube captures 26% of total US streaming TV time, outpacing Netflix; the Android ecosystem has more total users than Apple and continues to win share; Google Cloud grew faster than hyperscale rivals Microsoft and Amazon last quarter.
Despite its advantages, Alphabet is priced at 17x 2026 earnings, with earnings growing mid-teens per annum. It is not only cheaper than the market with a much better growth profile, but it is cheap versus its own history and peers.
Capturing innovation in UK tech
By Cassie Herlihy, associate director, public equity at Gresham House
IntelliAM is an intelligent engineering asset management company addressing a critical challenge for global manufacturers: improving operational efficiency to meet growing demand in a more energy-efficient way. Despite a subdued IPO market, IntelliAM was one of the most exciting UK technology listings this year, with the Baronsmead VCTs as cornerstone investors.
By combining deep manufacturing industry expertise with advanced technology, IntelliAM’s platform processes vastly more data from manufacturing assets than traditional solutions. For instance, a customer previously limited to capturing a few hundred data points from machinery can now collect millions of data points in real-time through IntelliAM’s platform. These are analysed using machine learning models to deliver actionable insights, significantly boosting operational efficiency and delivering proven ROIs for its customer base. IntelliAM is essentially powering a new industrial revolution through its use of technology.
The company is led by a driven, entrepreneurial executive team with extensive domain expertise and a clear growth strategy to capitalise on its early-mover advantage in a large and growing market. IntelliAM already serves a roster of blue-chip FMCG customers, including half of the world’s top 10 food and beverage producers, demonstrating the strength of its offering.
Semiconductors still seeing gains
By Kwai San Wong, global equities analyst at Sarasin & Partners
The semiconductor industry has dominated the investment headlines in 2024, and much of the focus has been on Nvidia. From its formative years in creating graphics cards for gaming and multimedia, the company has grown into a multi-trillion-dollar market capitalisation. Today its graphics processing units are used extensively to power the development of artificial intelligence (AI).
The pace of AI development has surpassed even the most optimistic predictions since the launch of ChatGPT, which kickstarted a new investment cycle. Nvidia and its suppliers have benefited significantly from this; the PHLX Semiconductor Index has climbed around 25% to 30 September, beating the 20% performance from the S&P 500 in the same period.
In 2025, Nvidia is predicted to earn $160bn from sales to the data centre market, almost 10 times higher than in 2022. This spectacular growth makes it more challenging to forecast the next inflection point in the industry, and so every quarterly result is now closely watched by investors.
See also: US anticipated as top 2025 performer by 40% of fund groups
