The generative artificial intelligence (AI) revolution is changing the world of work as we know it. Indeed, you may be turning to chatbots (or large language models) such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT for answers to your questions. Such informative AI bots may very well be the successor of the search engine as we know it. In any case, it’s really profound to think that the current version (or state) of today’s AI models is the least capable they’ll ever be.
They’re already so helpful for so many tasks, ranging from questions about how to cook something to how to get one’s work done better and faster. Indeed, generative AI is not going anywhere. And though some folks out there may wish to pause further progress on the technology, I’m not so sure it can be stopped, given the intense rivalry between firms seeking to build the very best and most capable AI models on the planet.
Either way, I think investors should be looking to the long-term AI plans of companies, as it’s this technology that may very well lead to above-average earnings and sales growth gains through the next decade.
Though a lot of U.S. tech companies may receive most of the love, I believe more love should be given to Canada’s own AI innovators. So, as the loonie continues fading versus the U.S. dollar, perhaps your next big AI bet will be a Canadian one. Let’s check in on two AI stocks on my watchlist going into May.
Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters (TSX: TRI) is known by many as a media company. I like to think of it as an information and data company, though. As you may know, data is basically the new form of gold in the AI-driven age. You need data to train AI models on. And as Thomson Reuters continues investing in its own AI projects, I do believe it’s time that investors value the company as more of an AI-powered growth firm.
Undoubtedly, the firm has made headlines of late for generative AI deals. With a sound generative AI strategy to get excited about following the company’s March 2024 investor day, I couldn’t be more upbeat about the firm as it looks to unlock the full power of the profound technology.
Of course, shares have been hot of late, surging more than 151% in the past five years, and over 8% year to date. At 26.9 times trailing price-to-earnings (P/E), however, I do think Thomson Reuters’ tech prowess is still a tad underrated by most.
Shopify
Shopify (TSX: SHOP) is a more obvious AI innovator than Thomson Reuters. It’s been in the business of cutting-edge disruptive tech since its inception. As the company looks for new ways to attract merchants across the e-commerce scene, generative AI is going to be a bigger deal.
Digital merchants want to maximize sales and minimize time wastage. AI is a “magic” way to help merchants delegate many time-consuming tasks in running an online store. Of late, shares have been sagging, now down around 20% from its 52-week highs.
At $96 and change, many analysts view the dip as more of an opportunity. Even if we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg with regard to AI, Shopify just has so much growth runway that it can sprint down over the coming years.
