Key Highlights

● Zscaler called agentic AI its most significant opportunity ever.

● Shopify traded near $163.82 on agent-driven shopping data.

● Software stocks reached their best levels of 2026.

● Dell expanded its AI Data Platform after Mizuho raised its target.

If one phrase captured the mood in US markets on Tuesday, Oct. 6, it was agentic AI. The term describes AI systems that do more than answer questions: they can carry out tasks on a user's behalf, such as booking travel, placing orders, writing and running code or moving information between Business systems. Where a chatbot suggests, an agent acts.

That shift matters to investors because it could open up new kinds of spending. Agents need computing power to run, software platforms to operate within, payment systems to transact through and security tools to keep them in check. On Tuesday, companies across several of those categories made the case that they stand to benefit.

Security's biggest opportunity, by its own account

The boldest statement came from Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS). At its analyst and investor day, the cloud security company reaffirmed its guidance, and chief executive Jay Chaudhry called agentic AI "the most significant opportunity in our company's history." Zscaler projected annual Recurring Revenue of $8 billion to $10 billion by fiscal 2031. Its shares rose to about $209.76.

CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) chief executive George Kurtz sought to reassure investors about risks: "AI safety concerns are a solvable problem", he said. Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) named Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) among leaders for its Open Agent Safety Platform. Both CrowdStrike and Palo Alto climbed as Cybersecurity stocks rallied as a group.

Shopping by agent

The theme also reached e-commerce. Shopify (NASDAQ:SHOP) rose, trading near $163.82 at midday, after Piper Sandler (NYSE:PIPR) analyst James Callahan highlighted early data on agent-driven shopping. He said "agentic commerce transactions are expanding at twice the pace of standard large language model traffic while delivering roughly double the average order value". Falling odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike also supported the stock.

Software's fear turns to hope, and records follow

For much of the year, AI was seen as a threat to software companies, with investors worried that customers might use AI to replace costly subscriptions. Tuesday showed a different mood. Shares of monday.com (NASDAQ:MNDY) rose as fears of AI disruption faded, and software stocks reached their best levels of 2026. Datadog (NASDAQ:DDOG), Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU), Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) and Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) also moved higher.

Hardware companies joined the conversation too. Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) expanded its AI Data Platform and rose after Mizuho raised its price target. Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL) raised its long-range revenue targets at its Investor Day, a reminder that agents running at scale will need a vast amount of data-center hardware.

The agentic excitement fed into a record-setting session. The S&P 500 climbed 44.98 points to 7,818.93, and the Nasdaq Composite closed at a record just under 27,600. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 253.38 points to 51,521.28. Easing Treasury yields, with the 10-year near 5.28, gave Growth Stocks extra room. Still, the rally was concentrated: on the Nasdaq, decliners outnumbered advancers 1,925 to 1,463.

Revenue Proof Is What Agentic AI Still Owes Investors

The real test for agentic AI will be revenue. Third-quarter Earnings season, which begins with the big banks on Oct. 13, will give software, security and E-commerce companies a chance to show whether agent-related products are generating meaningful sales. Investors will also follow the Federal Reserve's September meeting minutes on Oct. 7 and September consumer price data on Oct. 14, which could sway the rates backdrop that growth stocks depend on.