By Adam Clark

Is artificial intelligence overhyped? Not a chance, according to analysts at Truist Securities. They say AI will shake up the entire economy and are recommending six stocks set to win in the new era.

"We view GenAI as a transformative, general-purpose technology with the potential to change entire industries and work as we know it," wrote Truist analyst Arvind Ramnani in a research note.

Language-learning platform Duolingo, consulting outfit Accenture, tax-preparation business Intuit, AI-powered lender Upstart Holdings and insurance-technology companies Lemonade and CCC Intelligent Solutions are stocks that will benefit, according to Ramnani. He and his colleagues initiated coverage of each with a Buy rating.

The recommendations are based on each company's ability to provide specialized AI capabilities to their customers. That should help them avoid losing their businesses to generalist models such as OpenAI's ChatGPT.

"In our view, value will migrate away from commodity capacity (such as generic APIs or undifferentiated tech) and toward platforms that have proprietary data, embedded AI and domain-specific work flows (such as Intuit, Upstart, Lemonade)," wrote Ramnani. "Companies that translate inexpensive inference into high-value outcomes (such as Duolingo, Upstart) should compound returns, while those treating AI as a bolt-on feature will face commoditization pressure.

Duolingo is a particularly interesting case because the stock has flipped between being seen as an AI winner and a loser from the technology. Early last year, the shares surged on optimism over how the language app's investment in technology could make it more efficient in creating content. But the stock was crushed in the second half of 2025 as investors focused on the threat from AI-powered competitors and translation tools.

Ramnani is backing a rebound, setting a target price of $245 for the stock. Duolingo shares were trading at around $188 a share on Tuesday.

"The company is already utilizing GenAI coding tools to develop new products, and we believe its deep user data and expertise in gamifying learning/engaging users will continue to provide defensible advantages even as AI natives enter the market," Ramnani wrote.

While recent concerns have focused on slowing growth in Duolingo's daily count of active users -- it fell to 36% in its most recent earnings report from 40% in the preceding quarter -- the Truist analyst focused on rapid increases in the subscriber base. Annual growth in subscription revenue has been at least 45% for 16 consecutive quarters, he said.

Ramnani said his base case assumes Duolingo's revenue will grow 26% to $1.3 billion in 2026 as the number of users keeps rising strongly. He also expects Duolingo to expand its adjusted earnings margin.

Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com

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January 06, 2026 11:20 ET (16:20 GMT)

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