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2025-10-01T09:15:02Z
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Tech, media, and telecom stocks are on a tear in 2025.
The technology and communication services sectors are both beating the S&P 500 this year.
UBS highlighted its top 10 highest-conviction calls in the red-hot sector of the market.
It’s been another big year for tech in 2025.
The broader tech, media, and telecommunications sector is one of the hottest corners of the market, and UBS shared its top picks this week.
Within the S&P 500, tech stocks are up 20% year-to-date, while communications services stocks are up 22%. That handily outpaces the broader index, which is up just 13% from levels at the start of the year.
In a note to clients, analysts at UBS highlighted 10 buy-rated stocks within the two sectors, which represented the bank’s “highest-conviction calls” in that segment of the market. The calls also reflected companies where UBS had a “differentiated view” or proprietary data that supported its bullish call, analysts said.
Here are the top stocks on the bank’s radar:
NIQ Global Intelligence
BI
Ticker: NIQ
Year-to-date performance: -16%
Predicted upside: +56%
Analyst reasoning: “Following its 2021 transformation, including ~$920m in investments ($400m in technology, $520m across deals, and Fetch), NIQ is positioned for ~5% organic CC revenue growth (2024-27E). We model adjusted EBITDA margin improving +550bps to 24.1% by 2027E, driven by cost efficiencies and equity quality enhancements.”
Walt Disney Co.
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Ticker: DIS
Year-to-date performance: +2%
Predicted upside: +21%
Analyst reasoning: “We remain bullish on Disney shares and continue to view parks as a value driver (which should improve as new attractions/cruise capacity comes online),” analysts wrote. “This supports our view that Disney can grow EPS at a ~17% CAGR through F27 vs. the Street’s ~13%.”
American Tower Corporation
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Ticker: AMT
Year-to-date performance: +6%
Predicted upside: +35%
Analyst reasoning: “AMT is poised to benefit from increased U.S. carrier activity (AT&T amendments post-Echostar spectrum acquisition; VZ/TMUS densification) and accelerated international growth, driving 6-8% annual AFFO/sh growth from ’25-’27E, up from ~1% recently.”
Amazon
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Ticker: AMZN
Year-to-date performance: -0.4%
Predicted upside: +23%
Analyst reasoning: “Amazon appears most poised for growth due to investments in e-commerce, cloud, advertising, and satellites. As revenue scales, upward revisions to operating profit and FCF could outpace peers. We project operating margins of 11.3% in 2025E, 12.9% in 2026E, and 15.7% in 2027E, with potential upside if incremental revenue generation exceeds current forecasts.”
AppLovin Corp.
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Ticker: APP
Year-to-date performance: +108%
Predicted upside: +13%
Analyst reasoning: “Over the next 12-months, we expect APP to execute on a combination of demand and supply expansion initiatives that could improve the efficacy of Axon 2.0 and in-turn deliver estimate and multiple upsides.”
Mastercard
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Ticker: MA
Year-to-date performance: +8%
Predicted upside: +21%
Analyst reasoning: “Within the Payments, Processors, & FinTech sector, Mastercard provides diversified exposure across spend categories and benefits from robust growth in value-added services (~40% of business, high-teens growth). Key strengths include strong profitability (~55-70% EBIT margins, high FCF conversion), competitive moats, scalability, EPS resilience, GAAP-like EPS quality, and expansion into new flows (e.g., Mastercard Move).”
Marvell Technology Group
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Ticker: MRVL
Year-to-date performance: -26%
Predicted upside: +14%
Analyst reasoning: “Marvell is well positioned to grow its Amazon custom ASIC revenue in ’26, driven by Tranium2+ exceeding 1MM units next year.”
Snowflake
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Ticker: SNOW
Year-to-date performance: +42%
Predicted upside: 27%
Analyst reasoning: “We’re Buy-rated on Snowflake shares, supported by tailwinds such as 1) rising customer focus on data migration and modernization driven by GenAI, 2) resilient AI and data spending amid macro uncertainty, and 3) growth from new products alongside stable core consumption, enabling high-20%/30% growth in FY26/CY25E (vs consensus at 27%).”
Varonis Systems
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Ticker: VRNS
Year-to-date performance: +28%
Predicted upside: +22%
Analyst reasoning: “We rate Varonis shares as Buy, driven by 1) rising enterprise focus on data security, supported by AI adoption and dedicated budgets, 2) expected growth beyond conversions post-CY25 via expanded platform features and data store coverage (CY26 revs growth modeled at 21% vs Cons. 18%), and 3) increasing AI deployments enhancing demand for M365 Copilot security through its Microsoft partnership and other AI-driven SKUs.”
Braze Inc.
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Ticker: BRZE
Year-to-date performance: -31%
Predicted upside: +43%
Analyst reasoning: “We believe BRZE’s shares are attractive at 4x CY26 revenue, trading at a discount to SMID apps peers at 11x despite superior growth prospects (20%+ vs. peers in high-teens). Sustained 20%+ revenue growth is supported by customer and partner field checks showing teens-plus spend growth.”