Artificial intelligence has been a disruptive technology from Day One. The ability to utilize machine learning to analyze data and automate tasks took gigantic leaps forward in recent years with the advent of generative AI and now agentic AI — the ability for AI systems to take actions, make decisions, and adapt with little input from human users continues to have a widespread impact on many industries.
While AI has brought about plenty of winners in the stock market — companies like Nvidia (NVDA), Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL), and Palantir Technologies (PLTR) come to mind — there’s been great fear that it could be a killer for others, particularly in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) segment. Companies that have sold traditional software and workflow automation tools that can be done through agentic AI were seen as particularly in jeopardy. Bespoke Investment Group refers to them as “AI Doom” stocks.
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Three of these companies — Fair Isaac Corp. (FICO), Gartner (IT), and FactSet Research Systems (FDS) — are all down significantly this year, but have been rallying recently. What’s behind the turnaround, and are these companies putting AI doom and gloom behind them?
Fair Isaac Corp.
From its headquarters in Bozeman, Montana, Fair Isaac is best known for creating the FICO Score, which is a credit scoring model that is used in more than 90% of consumer lending decisions. In short, if you have a good FICO score on the scale of 300 to 850, you can borrow more money and get reduced rates or do things like buy a house. But if your score is low, indicating a poor payment history, too much debt, or a limited credit history, you may not be able to borrow the money you want.
Shares of Fair Isaac stock are down 24% in the last year, but it could be much worse. The stock has rallied 24% over the last month on the strength of a strong earnings report and guidance.
The company’s fiscal Q2 earnings report (for the period ending March 31) showed revenue of $691.7 million, up 39% from a year ago. Net income was $296.8 million, up from $192.7 million in Q2 2025. Earnings of $11.14 per share beat analysts’ expectations of $9.60 per share.
The biggest jump in revenue came from the company’s Scores segment, which includes business-to-business and business-to-consumer credit scoring. That segment had revenue of $475 million, up 60% from a year ago. Management credited the gain to a 72% increase in business-to-business revenue as the company raised the prices of its mortgage origination scores unit price, but also saw an increase in volume.
Management raised guidance, calling now for revenue of $2.45 billion for the fiscal year, with net income of $946 million and earnings of $40.45 per share. Previously, the company projected revenue of $2.35 billion, with net income of $907 million and EPS of $38.17.
FICO stock is rated as a consensus “Moderate Buy” by 20 analysts who cover the stock, with a mean price target of $1,538 that represents potential upside of 19%.
www.barchart.comGartner
Gartner is an information technology research and advisory firm. Based in Stamford, Connecticut, the company produces reports that analyze businesses, industries, and trends to help its clients make informed decisions. The company also offers interactive tools, briefings, consulting, and advisory services.
Shares are down a whopping 59% in the last year on fears that AI would eat into the company’s business. But the stock has managed a rally of 22.7% over the last month.
Revenue in the first quarter was $1.5 billion, down 1.5% from a year ago. While the company saw a 3.1% gain in its Insights division and a 7.9% year-over-year gain in conference revenues, Gartner’s consulting revenues dropped $119 million in the quarter, falling 14.7% from a year ago, as the company saw slower volume in March, which it attributed to geopolitical events.
"There was a slowdown across the board by industry,” CEO Eugene Hall told analysts in the company’s earnings call. “It was worse in some places than others. So if you could imagine, with airlines and transportation companies, it was worse in financial institutions, for example. And it was worse in the country's directly impact such as the Gulf Cooperation Council countries than it was in places that were less impacted like in the U.S.”
Gartner lowered its revenue guidance for the year by $60 million, to $6.405 billion, but increased its free cash flow forecast from $1.135 billion to $1.16 billion. And it raised its EPS guidance from $12.30 for the year to $13.25.
Gartner stock has a consensus “Hold” rating from 15 analysts who follow it, with a mean price target of $167 that represents potential downside of 7% in the stock.
www.barchart.comFactSet Research Systems
FactSet Research, which is based in Norwalk, Connecticut, operates in much of the same space as Gartner. The company provides integrated financial information for the global investment community, including portfolio managers, wealth managers, analysts, and fixed income professionals.
Shares are down 41% in the last 12 months, but like other AI Doom stocks, have started a recovery. The stock is up 19% in the last month.
Revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 (ending Feb. 28) showed revenue increasing 7.1% to $611 million. Net income, however, was down 8.1% to $133 million, as increased employee compensation and technology-related expenses cut into the operating margin. FactSet did, however, manage to beat analysts’ expectations with earnings of $4.46 per share versus estimates of $4.37 per share.
The company is working to incorporate AI into its workflows, including generative AI to assist with reformatting slides and Excel charts, as well as conversational chatbots. "We are encouraged by early AI contributions – both in new client engagement and operational benefits – positioning us well for sustained growth for the fiscal year," said Helen Shan, the company’s chief financial officer.
FactSet revised its revenue guidance to the range of $2.45 billion and $2.47 billion, up from $2.42 billion to $2.45 billion. EPS is now expected to be between $17.25 and $17.75 for the year, up from a range between $16.90 and $17.60.
Nineteen analysts who cover FactSet have a consensus “Hold” rating on the stock, with a mean price target of $260 that represents potential downside of 3.7%.
www.barchart.com On the date of publication, Patrick Sanders had a position in: NVDA , PLTR . All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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