This corner of the tech sector will offer shelter from the AI-disruption storm, analyst says

• Investors have been rattled by fears of AI disruptions to a range of industries in the last few weeks.
• Wedbush analyst Dan Ives says the cybersecurity space offers resilient exposure to AI.
• Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, and Zscaler are Wedbush's top stock picks in the space.

There's one corner of the tech sector where investors can hide out from AI disruption while still benefiting from the technology's adoption, Wedbush says.

Analysts led by Dan Ives, a vocal AI mega bull, flagged cybersecurity as a space that will see rising demand driven by AI, while steering clear of the AI worries that have rattled the market so far in 2026.

Experts have called AI a double-edged sword for the cybersecurity industry, as the evolving technology is strengthening the capabilities of both cyber attackers and defenders.

"AI will be a major tailwind to the cyber security sector over the coming years as protection of use cases, data, and end points expand markedly," the analysts wrote.

"As attack frequency, success rates, and blast radius rise with AI deployments, cybersecurity becomes even more mission-critical risk management, reinforcing budget resilience in this new AI driven IT budget world," they added.

Cybersecurity is among the fastest growing areas of enterprise IT spending. Gartner expects global AI cybersecurity spending to hit $51 billion in 2026, roughly doubling from the year prior.

Wedbush highlighted three stocks as the best-positioned in the space: Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, and Zscaler.

CrowdStrike

Ticker: CRWD

What Wedbush says: "We believe that CRWD's position as the gold standard of cybersecurity remains firmly unchanged in the face of this software sell-off with the company's innovative, best-in-class Falcon platform becoming increasingly effective in the modern threat landscape as AI adversaries become an incrementally larger threat for enterprises heading down the AI path."

Palo Alto Networks

Ticker: PANW

What Wedbush says: '"AI is not displacing PANW's value proposition, but has actually made it more relevant, not less, as it is forcing customers to consolidate vendors, improve visibility, and automate response as threats become more adaptive and effective."

Zscaler

Ticker: ZS

What Wedbush says: "AI is amplifying the need to secure access to data, models, and applications everywhere, reinforcing the mission-critical nature of ZS's offering, driving durable subscription growth and high renewal visibility."