Shares of Zeta Global are rising at a healthy pace to start 2026.
The company fills an interesting and potentially durable niche in the artificial intelligence software space.
Even after its recent gains, the stock trades nearly 25% below analysts' median price target.
One of the big questions in the realm of artificial intelligence (AI) investing is "Who's next?" As in, which stocks have the potential to be the next Nvidia or Microsoft?
That's not an indictment of those names or their megacap brethren. They're well-established businesses with track records of stellar returns, more of which could be in store this year. They also have multitrillion-dollar market values. That said, investors who are seeking the next big, potentially life-changing winner in the AI space may need to look further down the market capitalization spectrum.
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Enter Zeta Global (NYSE: ZETA). Even after a 20% gain over the past month (as of the close of trading Wednesday), the stock settled with a market capitalization of just $5.5 billion and an accommodating share price of just $22.29. Moreover, though it has more than doubled from the 52-week low it touched last spring, the stock trades nearly 25% below analysts' median price target.
The argument that Zeta could be a multibagger, maybe even a millionaire maker, rests on a solid fundamental foundation. For those not familiar with this mid-cap tech company, its marquee product is the Zeta Marketing Platform, which harnesses AI in conjunction with customer data to help "marketers to acquire, grow, and retain customers more efficiently and effectively."
In plain English, it uses AI to assist companies in better leveraging their customer data to bolster loyalty and spending from those customers. Zeta says it has more than 450 "scaled enterprise clients," which it defines as those that provided it with at least $100,000 in sales over the trailing 12 months. There's something to that model because Zeta recently lifted its 2025 and 2026 guidance.
For those who need a little more convincing about Zeta's prospects, its AI shopping agents -- agentic AI software -- delivered massive time savings to enterprise clients during the long Black Friday shopping weekend in November, as volume on the Zeta platform surged 153%.
Bottom line: Zeta's product suite is a practical yet essential AI offering, and that could be the linchpin that takes the company from mid-cap territory to more impressive heights.
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Todd Shriber has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Microsoft and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.