We have some exciting news to share! The Motley Fool UK has now become The Twelfth Magpie -- an independent, UK-owned company, led by our long-serving UK management team — Mark Rogers, Chris Nials and Heather Adlington. In practical terms, it’s the same team you know, now fully focused on serving our UK readers and members.

Just as importantly, our approach remains unchanged: long-term, jargon-free, and on your side. This site is our new home, and there will be extra tweaks made across the coming few days as we settle in. So if anything looks a little off, please bear with us!

The content of this article was relevant at the time of publishing. Circumstances change continuously and caution should therefore be exercised when relying upon any content contained within this article.

3 growth stocks I’ve bought for the ‘AI agent’ revolution

Edward Sheldon sees AI agents as one of the most exciting themes in the stock market. Here are three growth stocks he has bought in an effort to capitalise.

| More on:
Young Black man sat in front of laptop while wearing headphones

Image source: Getty Images

You’re reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fool’s Premium Investing Services. Become a Motley Fool member today to get instant access to our top analyst recommendations, in-depth research, investing resources, and more. Learn More.

As a long-term investor, I tend to focus on big, powerful investment themes. And one theme I’m really excited about today is the emergence of ‘AI agents’ – software that can perform business tasks autonomously. I believe the investment potential here is enormous. With that in mind, here are three growth stocks I’ve bought for the agentic AI revolution.

Salesforce

My number one play on AI agents today is software company Salesforce (NYSE: CRM). It has a product called Agentforce and it’s having a lot of success with it.

XXX

Indeed, since its launch in October last year, the company has signed over 8,000 customers. Of these, around half are now paying for the service.

The main reason I’m bullish here is that Agentforce integrates really well with Salesforce’s apps and data services (Data Cloud and Tableau Next). This is important – without the right data, agents are likely to be useless.

I’ll point out that ServiceNow’s agentic AI offering also integrates well with data and apps. So, competition from this firm is a risk.

However, I like the risk-reward proposition here at today’s share price and valuation. Salesforce trades on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just 23. I believe the stock offers value at present and is worth considering.

Microsoft

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is well known for its generative AI capabilities (it’s a part-owner of ChatGPT-owner OpenAI). What a lot of investors don’t realise, however, is that this company is also a major player in the agentic AI space.

Today, it offers a range of services designed to help developers/organisations build and deploy agents to increase business productivity. For example, Azure AI Foundry Agent Service allows professional developers to build specialised agents to handle complex business tasks.

I was buying this growth stock a few months ago when it was near $350. It’s now at $480, so doesn’t look as attractive as it did back then.

That said, I think it’s still worth considering for the long term (especially on a 5%-10% pullback). While competition from other cloud computing giants such as Amazon and Alphabet is a risk, I believe this stock has bags of potential.

CrowdStrike

Finally, I think CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) could be a major player in the agentic AI revolution. It’s one of the world’s leading cybersecurity companies.

It offers a solution called Charlotte AI, which CEO George Kurtz refers to as the company’s agentic security analyst. This is designed to transform threat detection and response by bringing automation and autonomous reasoning to cybersecurity operations.

CrowdStrike should also benefit from other companies’ rollout of AI agents. Given that they typically have access to massive amounts of data, they are going to significantly increase the surface area of IT that needs to be protected.

Now, this stock is the riskiest of the three. That’s because it’s a much younger company (meaning it’s a little more unproven) and doesn’t have a lot of profits at this stage.

It has also had a huge run this year, rising over 40%. I still believe it’s worth considering, but I think investors are better off waiting for a pullback before buying.

Edward Sheldon has positions in Alphabet, Amazon, CrowdStrike, Microsoft, and Salesforce. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Alphabet, Amazon, CrowdStrike, Microsoft, ServiceNow, and Salesforce. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

More on Investing Articles

Friends and sisters exploring the outdoors together in Cornwall. They are standing with their arms around each other at the coast.
Investing Articles

£503 buys 14 shares in this FTSE 250 stock that returned 23.9% annually for the last 15 years

This FTSE 250 stock has averaged a huge return for 15 years. At today's price, £503 buys 14 shares. But…

Read more »

Black woman using loudspeaker to be heard
Investing Articles

£1,000 buys 25 shares in this FTSE 100 stock that’s returned 29.2% annually for the last 10 years

This FTSE 100 mining stock has returned close to 30% a year for a decade. At 3,995p, £1,000 buys 25…

Read more »

Female student sitting at the steps and using laptop
Investing Articles

Down 47%, is this growth stock finally worth buying in May?

With a £288m order book and a hidden pipeline of defence and nuclear contracts, is this growth stock now too…

Read more »

House models and one with REIT - standing for real estate investment trust - written on it.
Investing Articles

2 REITs yielding 7%+ to consider for passive income in 2026

A REIT backed by the NHS and another backed by Tesco and Sainsbury's with both yielding 7%+. Here's why I'm…

Read more »

Woman riding her old fashioned bicycle along the Beach Esplanade at Aberdeen, Scotland.
Investing Articles

Just 97 shares of this UK dividend stock generate £238 in passive income

A 5.7% yield, £238 in passive income from just 97 shares, and one of the most divisive dividend stocks on…

Read more »

ISA coins
Investing Articles

£10,000 in an ISA generates a second income of…

The London Stock Exchange is home to some of the world's most generous dividends. But how big a second income…

Read more »

Shot of a senior man drinking coffee and looking thoughtfully out of a window
Investing Articles

Expert recommendations: 2 top income stocks yielding 7%+!

With yields of 7.2% and 7.8% respectively, these two income stocks are catching the eyes of institutional analysts. Should investors…

Read more »

Illustration of flames over a black background
Investing Articles

3 top income-focused stocks to buy in May 2026, according to experts

Looking for a stock to buy for income in May 2026? Experts have flagged these three UK dividend shares as…

Read more »