Key Takeaways
- The artificial intelligence (AI) industry is expected to provide some of the best investment returns in 2026, particularly in overlooked areas such as cybersecurity and AI development tools.
- SentinelOne and Datadog are two companies that are not directly known as AI companies, but have AI at the core of their products and are expected to perform well in 2026.
- Wall Street analysts are bullish on both stocks, with predicted upside of 42% for SentinelOne and 57% for Datadog over the next 12 to 18 months.
- Both companies have seen significant growth in revenue, with SentinelOne on track to deliver over $1 billion in annual revenue for the first time and Datadog’s revenue from AI-native customers doubling.
Introduction to AI Investment Opportunities
The artificial intelligence (AI) industry is expected to provide some of the best investment returns in 2026, particularly in overlooked areas such as cybersecurity and AI development tools. As stated in the article, "some of the best returns in 2026 might come from the less-obvious areas of the AI industry." SentinelOne and Datadog are two companies that are not directly known as AI companies, but have AI at the core of their products. According to the article, "Datadog and SentinelOne aren’t directly known as AI companies, but this technology is now central to the products they offer."
The Case for SentinelOne
SentinelOne is a cybersecurity company that uses AI to automate threat detection and incident response. As the company states, "the average enterprise security team experiences over 1,000 threat alerts every single day that require manual investigation, and human-led processes simply can’t keep up." SentinelOne’s Singularity platform detects and investigates alerts using AI, thwarts potential attacks at machine speed, and autonomously responds to critical incidents in the event of a breach. The company has seen significant growth, with revenue increasing by 23% year-over-year in its fiscal 2026 third quarter. Wall Street analysts are bullish on the stock, with 23 out of 39 analysts giving it a buy rating and a consensus price target of $21.41, implying a potential upside of 42% over the next 12 to 18 months.
The Case for Datadog
Datadog is a company that offers a cloud monitoring platform to help businesses manage their digital infrastructure and reduce costly downtime. The company has also developed products for AI developers, including LLM Observability, which helps developers identify technical issues and track expenditures when building large language models. As the article states, "Datadog now offers similar products for AI developers… LLM Observability also constantly monitors the quality of a model’s outputs, to ensure it produces accurate information for end users." Datadog has seen significant growth in its AI business, with revenue from AI-native customers doubling in the third quarter of 2025. Wall Street analysts are also bullish on the stock, with 35 out of 48 analysts giving it a buy rating and a consensus price target of $214.67, implying a potential upside of 57% over the next 12 to 18 months.
Investment Opportunities
Both SentinelOne and Datadog offer significant investment opportunities in 2026. As the article states, "I think those price estimates are realistic, because SentinelOne is one of the cheapest stocks in the cybersecurity space." Datadog’s AI business is also expected to continue to grow, with the company’s revenue from AI-native customers accounting for a record-high 12% of its total revenue in the third quarter of 2025. As the article notes, "based on the incredible momentum in Datadog’s AI business, I think its stock could be a great addition to any diversified portfolio this year."
Conclusion
In conclusion, the AI industry is expected to provide some of the best investment returns in 2026, particularly in overlooked areas such as cybersecurity and AI development tools. SentinelOne and Datadog are two companies that are not directly known as AI companies, but have AI at the core of their products and are expected to perform well in 2026. As the article states, "the majority of the analysts tracked by The Wall Street Journal recommend investing in SentinelOne and Datadog, and their consensus price targets point to significant potential upside during 2026." With significant growth in revenue and bullish analyst predictions, both stocks offer significant investment opportunities in 2026.
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/2-spectacular-artificial-intelligence-ai-stocks-buy-hand-over-fist-2026-according-wall