(Bloomberg) -- Artificial intelligence firms whose shares have outperformed have also beaten credit peers, though not as dynamically, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists.

They found that a basket of notes of issuers who stand to benefit from AI gained almost 1.5% since February compared with a gauge of investment-grade non-financial dollar debt, on a rates-hedged basis. Advances in the bonds are constrained though by their typical return to par value over time, the strategists said.

“That said, there is also a limit to downside risks in credit for these issuers, given the phenomenally strong balance-sheet positions many of these same firms enjoy,” Goldman strategists including Lotfi Karoui wrote in a note.

Demand for generative AI has surged worldwide since ChatGPT’s release late last year, with the technology poised to disrupt everything from customer service to banking. It had spurred a rapid rally in AI-related stocks recently, most notably with Nvidia Corp.’s market cap briefly reaching $1 trillion earlier this week. While that rally stalled on Thursday, huge growth in the sector is expected over the next decade.

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