- Companies who mentioned AI in their earnings call have seen a corresponding increase in their share prices, states a report by the Stifel Think Tank Group.
- The Group followed AI keywords across non-tech companies, especially consumer-facing ones, predicting that those mentioning AI the most could experience a related boost in share price.
The Stifel Think Tank Group has outlined how non-tech companies could see a rise in shares as they leverage the AI hype. The white paper by David Schick, Vice Chairman of Investment Banking at Stifel, and David Novak, Director of the Stifel Think Tank Group, details the dominance of AI-related stocks in 2023. The innovative methodology used tracked AI-related keywords during earnings calls by company management teams. This method revealed a strong correlation between companies that frequently mention AI during these calls and increased share prices over the past year.
Key players in AI exposure, according to Stifel, include Nvidia, Alphabet, Cadence Design Systems, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft. The importance of AI exposure for driving share prices was demonstrated when Stifel compared the performance of the top 15 highest-scoring stocks on its AI Exposure Index against the equally weighted S&P 500 index; they outperformed the rest of the index by 66%.
The report also highlighted the growing trend of non-tech companies mentioning AI. The use cases for AI are broadening beyond the tech sector, with consumer-facing companies having opportunities to leverage AI innovations to improve profitability, particularly in marketing. Stifel suggests that online retailers and home-furnishings companies, both of which spend higher than average amounts on marketing, stand to gain the most benefits from AI in marketing.
Based on their analysis, Stifel listed 19 consumer companies with the highest aggregate exposure to AI as determined by mentions of AI-related keywords in their 2023 EPS transcripts. These include Amazon, Booking Holdings, Tesla, eBay, Expedia Group, Stride, Etsy, and Penske Automotive Group amongst others.