Everyone’s obsessed with Nvidia, Microsoft, and the usual AI suspects. But some of the best plays in the AI boom aren’t building the chips or training the models — they’re the companies that become more valuable as AI goes mainstream. And right now, three names stand out.
Automatic Data Processing (ADP) processes payroll for roughly one in six U.S. workers. It’s not sexy. It’s not going to make headlines at CES. But payroll is one of those deeply regulated, compliance-heavy tasks that companies will never stop outsourcing — and AI is making ADP’s platform stickier, not redundant. The switching costs are enormous, the recurring revenue is rock-solid, and as workforce regulations get more complex, ADP’s moat only deepens. Think of it as the picks-and-shovels play for the labor market itself.
Accenture (ACN) is the world’s largest IT consulting firm, and it’s positioned at the exact intersection of where corporate AI spending is headed. Every Fortune 500 company needs help migrating to cloud, deploying AI tools, and securing their data — and Accenture is the firm they call. Its cost structure is largely variable, which means margins flex through cycles instead of breaking. Free cash flow is excellent, and as AI adoption scales from pilot programs to enterprise-wide rollouts, Accenture’s consulting revenue should accelerate. This is a company that benefits from AI complexity, not simplicity.
Novo Nordisk (NVO) is the curveball — and possibly the most interesting of the three. The stock has been obliterated, down 70% from its highs in 18 months, on fears about GLP-1 competition and pricing pressure. But the market may be overreacting. Novo remains the clear number two in a global obesity drug market that’s still barely penetrated. At 13 times earnings near the lows, you’re getting a company with exceptional returns on capital and a pipeline that includes oral GLP-1s and next-gen CagriSema — at a price that assumes the franchise is permanently impaired. It’s not.
The common thread? These aren’t momentum trades or AI hype plays. They’re businesses with real competitive advantages trading at reasonable valuations in a market that’s pricing in perfection for the usual names. Sometimes the best opportunities are the ones nobody’s tweeting about.