Investors Flee Companies Seen as Most at Risk From Artificial Intelligence – Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE), ProShares Trust ProShares S&P 500 Dynamic Buffer ETF (BATS:FB)

Investors are exhibiting growing concerns over the potential upheaval caused by artificial intelligence (AI) in various sectors. As a result, they are pulling out their investments from companies they perceive to be at risk.

What Happened: Companies such as Wix.com Ltd., Shutterstock Inc., and Adobe Inc. ADBE have been identified by Bank of America strategists as most susceptible to AI disruption.

These firms have underperformed the S&P 500 Index by roughly 22 percentage points since mid-May, reports the Bloomberg.

Daniel Newman, CEO of the Futurum Group told the outlet, “The disruption is real.” He further noted that service-based businesses with a high headcount are particularly vulnerable, even if they were successful in the previous tech era.

Investors’ defensive stance is reflected in the performance of companies like Wix.com and Shutterstock, which have seen their shares drop by at least 33% in 2025.

Adobe’s shares have also fallen by 23% due to fears that clients will turn to AI platforms that can generate images and videos.

According to the Morgan Stanley, the results “added fuel to the AI disruption case,” while Baird was left “incrementally concerned AI risks are having an impact.”

Also Read: Meta Just Paid $250M To Lure This 24-year-old AI Whiz Kid: A Strategic Move Or A Power Play?

“There are a lot of pockets of the market that could be basically annihilated by AI, or at least the industry will see extreme disruption, and companies will be rendered irrelevant,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive officer at 50 Park Investments.

“Any company where you’re paying someone to do something that AI can do faster and cheaper will be wiped out. Think graphic design, administrative work, data-analysis,” he added.

Why It Matters: Despite the growing anxiety about AI’s impact, some companies expected to be negatively affected by AI are thriving.

For instance, language-learning app Duolingo Inc. has seen its stock double over the past year, partly due to its successful integration of AI into its strategy.

However, the defensive moves by investors underscore the dominant role AI has played in determining winners and losers in the stock market this year.

Tech giants like Microsoft Corp. MSFT and Meta Platforms Inc. FB are investing heavily in AI, further intensifying the market’s focus on this technology.

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Image: Shutterstock/YAKOBCHUK V