BofA Quant View of Global Themes AI Intact

Quant View of Global Themes AI intact?

AI leadership intact, while other themes emerge 17 September 2026

After a remarkable run, investors seem to be questioning AI leadership amid rising Quant Strategy investment, uncertain monetisation and growing safety concerns. However, our iple Global Momentum rankings for related global themes show no deterioration with AI Nigel Tupper Compute Photonics and Data Centers remain the top ranked themes. At the same Quant Strategist Merrill Lynch (Australia) time, several other themes are emerg AI adoption is creating additional security requirements which supports the structural case for Cybersecurity Recent better than expected reported earnings for SaaS companies suggest disruption concerns may Amar Vashi >> Quant Strategist been overblown In the last month, Gold was the best performin global theme as Merrill Lynch (Australia) investors focus on diversifying portfolio exposures Sumuhan Shanmugalingam Top ranked stocks within each theme Quant Strategist Merrill Lynch (Australia) Among the Most Important Stocks within each theme, the name that screens highest on Triple Momentum within AI Compute is TSMC Photonics is Zhongji Innolight A, Data Centers is Seagate Tech, Robotics is Siemens, Grid Modernisation is Eaton, Cybersecurity is Rubrik, SaaS is Snowflake, and within Gold is Zijin Mining

Consulting, Alcohol and Luxury remain lowest ranked Consulting Alcoholic Beverages, and Luxury Lifestyle continue to screen lowest on global themes b Triple Momentum. Consulting has fallen % in the last month as AI developments challeng existing business models. Alcoholic Beverages ( %) are underperforming as health consciousness and moderation weigh on alcohol demand Luxury Lifestyle ( %) was the worst performer over the last month as consumers turn more selective and price sensitive The name that screens lowest Consulting is Accenture in Alcohol verages is Kweichow Moutai, and Luxury Lifestyle is Hermè

Chart Triple Momentum for Global Themes (earnings, price, news) Strongest for AI Compute and Photonics, weakest for Consulting and Alcoholic Beverages

Source BofA Global Quantitative Strategy, MSCI, IBES, ExShare, RavenPack BofA GLOBAL RESEARCH

Trading ideas and investment strategies discussed herein may give rise to significant risk and are not suitable for all investors. Investors should have experience in relevant markets and the financial resources to absorb any losses arising from applying these ideas or strategies. >> Employed by a non US affiliate of BofAS and is not registered/qualified as a research analyst under the FINRA rules. Refer to "Other Important Disclosures" for information on certain BofA Securities entities that take responsibility for the information herein in particular jurisdictions. BofA Securities does and seeks to do business with issuers covered in its research reports. As a result, investors should be aware that the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this report. Investors should consider this report as only a single factor in making their investment decision. Refer to important disclosures on page 114 to 116

Contents Notice to Readers: 3 Summary 4 Performance by Theme 5 Ranking by Triple Momentum 7 What’s Improving / Deteriorating? 8 Investor Positioning by Theme 12 Valuation by Theme 12 Global Stocks (Most Important) by Theme 13 Asia Stocks (Most Important) by Theme 16 Country Exposure to Themes 19 Correlation within Themes 21 Identifying stocks associated with each theme 22 AI Compute 25 AI Platforms 29 Data Centers 33 Photonics 38 Grid Modernisation 42 Robotics 47 Cybersecurity 51 Defense 55 Space 60 Precision Medicine 64 Energy Storage 69 Nuclear Energy 73 Renewable Energy 77 Luxury Lifestyle 81 Alcoholic Beverages 85 Gold 89 Rare Earths 94 Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) 98 Consulting 102 Quantum Computing 106 Global Quant Strategy Publications 112

2 Quant View of Global Themes | 17 September 2026