Joe Terranova: these two AI stocks have both momentum and fundamentals

In a recent CNBC segment, Virtus Investment Partners’ chief market strategist, Joe Terranova, disclosed a strategic capital reallocation to Twilio Inc. TWLO and Generac Holdings (GNRC).

As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes market leadership, Terranova’s revelation signals a distinct pivot toward secondary tech beneficiaries demonstrating a “rare” confluence of technical momentum and robust fundamentals.

His repositioning targets two critical dimensions of this secular shift: enterprise software evolution and physical infrastructure utilities.

Year-to-date, Twilio stock has advanced more than 70%, while Generac shares are up nearly 100% at the time of writing.

These trajectories reflect an accelerating institutional appetite for legacy enterprises successfully positioning themselves to capture specialized, high-growth AI demand vectors.

Twilio stock: capitalizing on agentic AI

Twilio has emerged as a primary beneficiary within the application software layer – driven by the deployment of agentic AI across its communications platform.

Terranova highlighted that the firm is capitalizing on the integration of intelligent automation into its core messaging and voice channels to expand its total addressable market share.

Financial data validates this operational pivot; in its recently reported first quarter, TWLO saw its revenue climb to $1.4 billion compared to $1.1 billion in the prior year’s period.

Meanwhile, per-share earnings (EPS) also soared to $1.5 – underscoring a stark profitability turn.

This capacity to convert scale into “high-margin” earnings provides the concrete fundamental floor that institutional investors require before chasing steep price momentum curves.

Generac stock: powering data center infrastructure

Generac Holdings Inc presents an infrastructure-centric play on the escalating AI power demand.  

Terranova was attracted to GNRC because the company bridges the gap between digital innovation and severe utility constraints, acting as a vital backup power provider to the AI data center ecosystem.

And the narrative is backed by accelerating operational performance.

Generac’s latest financial results revealed a 12% increase in total net sales to $1.1 billion – fueled by a 28% expansion in its Commercial and Industrial segment to $510 million.

Net income jumped to $73 million, or $1.24 per share.

This expanding backlog for hyperscale data center customers delivers long-term revenue visibility, fundamentally justifying its triple-digit equity momentum.

Aligning market momentum with corporate fundamentals

Terranova’s dual allocation exemplifies a sophisticated maturation of the broader AI trade, shifting away from crowded semiconductor mega-caps toward specialized tertiary beneficiaries.

By pairing an application software developer like TWLO with an infrastructure “standard-bearer” like GNRC, the strategist addresses both the virtual capabilities and physical absolute necessities of the ongoing technological expansion.

This investment thesis rests on the premise that “multi-quarter” asset performance requires a strict alignment of technical price momentum and verifiable balance sheet performance.

As market participants increasingly scrutinize high-flying valuations, companies showing tangible operational integration and defensive cash flows are resiliently positioned.

Terranova’s repositioning underscores that the next stage of the tech cycle rewards structural earnings power over mere speculative hype.