AI Networking in 2026: What’s in Motion Tends to Stay in Motion

For years now, AI networking has consistently been a leading trend for our research and portfolio. Whether it’s topped our quarterly Top 15 reports, or if it was in the vertical coverage on many lesser-known AI networking stocks such as Lumentum and Coherent, dating back to late 2024, we have been on the front lines of this trend. For example, in September of 2024, we stated the following in our Optical Interconnects overview: “Optical transceivers and interconnects are becoming a key component in AI data centers due to transfer speed and other benefits, with the industry set to more than double over the next few years as data center construction surges along with hyperscaler AI capex.”