Global internet equities are expected to deliver stronger performance in 2026 as artificial intelligence transitions from the 2024–25 “Frenzy” into a more mature phase of “Synergy,” according to a recent note from Cantor.
Analyst Deepak Mathivanan said the firm is heading into the year “with a significantly more optimistic outlook for Global Internet stocks,” arguing that AI is poised to enter “the golden age of ‘Synergy’ in the next 12–24 months.”
Cantor expects revenue growth to pick up across a wide range of internet subsectors, supported by “compute unlocks, AI deployments, and value capture.” The firm added that innovation at the AI model layer remains robust and that “the emergence of model segmentation by primary use case should help investors underwrite LT ROIC of capex with greater clarity.”
Despite beating the Nasdaq by roughly nine percentage points in 2025, Cantor noted that its internet coverage universe is still trading “~20% below medium-term valuation ranges.” As a result, the analyst sees scope for the sector to outperform next year “with positive estimate revisions and improving sentiment.”
Mathivanan identified Meta (NASDAQ:META) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) as top picks, with GOOGL upgraded from Neutral to Overweight. Among large-cap names, Cantor favors MercadoLibre (NASDAQ:MELI) and DoorDash (NASDAQ:DASH), while Wix (NASDAQ:WIX) stands out in the SMID-cap space.
The firm also pointed to a broad-based acceleration ahead across several segments, citing potential top-line momentum in digital advertising at Google and Meta, hyperscalers such as GCP and AWS, mobility platforms UBER (NYSE:UBER) and LYFT (NASDAQ:LYFT), and subscription-based businesses including Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) and Wix. Cantor added that deeper AI integration into user experiences at UBER, DASH, CART and Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) should “enable strong volume growth.”