Evercore ISI unveiled its favorite long internet plays heading into the new year. Mark Mahaney, head of the firm's internet research team, shared his top picks in both the large and small/mid-cap spaces going into 2026. Here are his favorite large-cap and SMID plays: Mahaney listed Amazon as his top large-cap long pick for the year. He said the AI narrative has "flipped positive" for Amazon Web Services and that free cash flow should inflect higher over the next two years. Amazon shares have jumped just nearly 6% this year, underperforming the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite's gain of over 21%. But Wall Street anticipates big gains ahead: The average analyst polled by LSEG has a buy rating and price target implying more than 25% in upside. AMZN YTD mountain Amazon in 2025 Expedia was Mahaney's next choice, with the analyst noting the travel booking stock has a lower multiple than competitors and that its turnaround under new management is not adequately priced into the valuation. Unlike Amazon, Expedia outperformed in 2025 with a year-to-date surge of more than 54%. However, while the average analyst surveyed by LSEG has a buy rating, the typical price target suggests shares can slide more than 5%. On the SMID front, Mahaney said Zillow was his favored long. Zillow's pullback of around 25% since September set up the stock as a good long-term play, Mahaney said. The recent sell-off has pulled the real estate listing platform down more than 5% in 2025. However, the average analyst has a buy rating and expects shares to rebound by more than 25%, per LSEG.
