Bank of America backs 5 tech stocks before earnings

Bank of America recommended five buy-rated technology stocks before quarterly earnings, CNBC reported on Oct. 17, citing recent notes on Spotify Technology, Amphenol, Box, Camtek and Coupang.

The call matters because BofA linked the group to AI infrastructure, enterprise software and consumer-internet growth, while the stocks' 2026 moves range from Box's 32% gain to Spotify's almost 9% decline.

AI-linked upside

Box drew one of the bank's clearest software calls. Bank of America analyst Matt Bullock raised the price target on Box by 19% to $50 from $42 and described the company as a top pick ahead of earnings later this quarter, CNBC reported.

“We think Box is one of the most underappreciated AI beneficiaries in application software,” Bullock wrote in a note cited by CNBC. “It’s in the early stages of a multi-year growth acceleration, and trading at a significant discount to peers.”

Bullock's case is that Box's AI tools could make corporate content more useful for enterprise AI systems, agents and software tooling. CNBC reported that Box shares were up 32% in 2026 and 66% over six months at the time of publication.

Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan said Amphenol, an electronic connector manufacturer, remained exposed to spending on AI infrastructure before its Oct. 28 results. “We continue to see APH as a beneficiary of AI infra investments across both GPU- and custom-accelerator-based architectures,” he wrote, referring to graphics-processing units and other AI chips.

Mohan also said information-technology data demand remained strong and that most end markets should stay healthy. “Beyond AI, we expect most end mkts to remain healthy & see continued room for upward estimates revision,” he wrote, according to CNBC. Amphenol shares were up 17% in 2026, CNBC reported.

Earnings tests arrive

Spotify is one of the nearer tests of the calls. Bank of America analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich told investors to look past recent concerns before the company's quarterly report, CNBC said.

“We firmly believe that Spotify has a long runway for growth, including ramping advertising, subscriber growth, pricing and new products,” Reif Ehrlich wrote in a note cited by CNBC. She added: “In addition, while AI-related narratives may be difficult to disprove, we continue to view Spotify’s scale, engagement, and ecosystem advantages as enviable and difficult to replicate.”

The Spotify call differs from the others because the stock had fallen almost 9% in 2026, according to CNBC. That makes the earnings release a test of whether advertising, subscribers, pricing and product development can offset the concerns BofA described.

For Camtek, Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and a $200 price objective, CNBC reported. The bank valued the stock at 29 times estimated calendar-year 2028 earnings, citing its exposure to AI-related advanced packaging, where chips are assembled to improve performance and efficiency.

Coupang's setup was less uniformly positive in the cited material. Bank of America expected third-quarter revenue of $10.18 billion, slightly above consensus estimates, after marking to market the South Korean won's sharp strengthening in August and September, CNBC reported.

The bank estimated Coupang adjusted Ebitda, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, at $151 million, below the $157 million consensus estimate cited by CNBC. That makes margins a watch point even within a buy-rated call.

The recommendations are sell-side research opinions, not company guidance. The reported notes frame upside around AI spending, enterprise adoption and consumer-platform growth, but the companies' earnings reports will determine whether management commentary supports those assumptions.

Spotify reports quarterly earnings on Oct. 22, giving investors the next data point on advertising, subscriber growth, pricing and new products cited by Bank of America. Amphenol reports quarterly results on Oct. 28, testing BofA analyst Wamsi Mohan's view that AI infrastructure spending and healthy end markets support further estimate revisions.

Source: CNBC article citing Bank of America research notes, Oct. 17