Today’s issue in preview:

• How to get paid again and again by owning the world’s best businesses

• How to trade AI stocks from here

• This bull market in energy is generating huge winners. Here are four good ways to invest.

• Learn our Top Themes to buy now

How to trade AI stocks from here

Credit: KanawatTH

The giant AI infrastructure boom has its believers and its doubters. And they can disagree on many things.

But they can all agree that no matter if this trend is going to move higher or lower from here, it’s going to do so quickly… and with plenty of volatility.

Case in point: After ripping higher in September, most of this megatrend’s key stocks and ETFs have suffered steep declines over the past week. This rapid series of up-and-down moves has left the larger trend back to trading in a directionless, sideways market… or “becalmed,” like a sailboat on a windless sea.

In other words, the “world’s most important trend” is back in a holding pattern. Here’s what it means for your portfolio…

Over the past three months, we’ve published a special series of research notes analyzing the AI infrastructure trend.

The status of this critical trend has become one of the great sagas of the business and investment world… a source of intense disagreement among industry bulls and bears. It’s a trend whose outcome could have large effects on your portfolio.

Given AI’s enormous promise, large tech firms such as Alphabet (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN), and Microsoft (MSFT) have invested over $1 trillion in AI infrastructure. They are on pace to invest over $700 billion this year alone and more than $3 trillion after that.

Both the scale and the velocity of this investment boom are unprecedented. It is the largest collective investment effort in history.

Big Tech’s historic investment boom has made the entire “AI infrastructure” trend responsible for a large share of America’s GDP growth and stock market returns over the past two years. It has also drawn the skeptical scrutiny of many widely followed investment analysts who claim the trend is a bubble… one that will soon explode and cause tremendous damage to stock prices and the global economy.

If this hugely consequential trend isn’t the most important trend in the stock market, then it is certainly in the top three.

I believe the AI infrastructure trend has years to run. I believe the world’s smartest, most connected tech insiders who know the true state of bleeding-edge AI development and have real-time stats on AI investment ROI, such as Elon Musk, Jensen Huang (Nvidia), Satya Nadella (Microsoft) and Andy Jassy (Amazon), perhaps maybe… just might… know far more about AI and their businesses than outsiders know about it.

As much press as AI gets, let’s remember that less than 1% of the global population pays for top-tier AI programs. And I estimate less than 10% of large companies believe AI has made a meaningful impact on their businesses.

This revolutionary technology hasn’t yet proliferated, achieved mass adoption, or had mass impact. However, the Agent Supernova is coming.

Regular readers know I care a lot more about what the market thinks of any stock, trend or theme than what any one person thinks of it, including me. You can be bullish or bearish on a trend all you like, but if that trend is moving strongly against you, then your idea isn’t worth much in my book.

One of the best ways to gauge what the market thinks of AI infrastructure is analyzing the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH).

This fund is full of key semiconductor firms whose fortunes rise and fall with AI infrastructure spending trends. Major holdings include Nvidia (NVDA), Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), AMD (AMD), Texas Instruments (TXN), ASML Holdings (ASML) and Micron (MU).

As you can see in the two-year chart below, SMH enjoyed a gigantic run from June 2025 to June 2026. The fund gained 176%. Since June 2026, however, the fund has corrected and moved in a volatile, sideways pattern. The fund attempted a breakout in late Sept/early Oct, but huge selling pressure over the past week has sent it back into its sideways base. Back to a trendless state.

I’ll keep you updated on the world’s most important trend. It won’t be long before we get meaningful price action that provides more direction for trading the semis and AI as a megatrend.

How to get paid again and again by owning the world’s best businesses

Credit: Liudmila Chernetska

This week, the stock market sent us a subtle but important message…

It says that if you don’t want to deal with the complexity and volatility of investing in rapidly evolving technologies like AI, consider focusing on the simplicity of just getting paid.

Focus on the strategy employed by investment funds like the Invesco Dividend Achievers ETF (PFM).

PFM is a unique fund that invests exclusively in high-quality dividend-paying stocks. A dividend is a payment a company makes to its shareholders, typically distributed from its profits. Dividends are typically paid by companies on the larger, more stable side of the stock market spectrum.

In the world of dividend payers, there is an elite class of firms that have raised their dividends for 10 consecutive years. These elite, high-quality firms are called Dividend Achievers. Only the strongest, most durable companies can qualify for membership in this club.

Some legendarily great businesses that are members of the exclusive Dividend Achievers club include Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), PepsiCo (PEP), 3M (MMM), Wal-Mart (WMT), Visa (V), Procter & Gamble (PG), Coca-Cola (KO), Chevron (CVX), and ExxonMobil (XOM).

Some of these firms have increased their dividends not for “just” 10 years in a row, but 30, 40, and even 50+ years in a row (and are called “Dividend Aristocrats”).

These businesses have paid and increased their dividends through recessions, bear markets, and a global pandemic. In terms of consistency, these firms rank just behind the rising sun. PFM is a fund designed specifically to own such firms.

Over the past week, many high-profile technology stocks, such as Lumentum (LITE), Dell Technologies (DELL), and Applied Materials (AMAT), have suffered large short-term sell-offs. Each firm is down more than 15% over the past five trading sessions.

Meanwhile, PFM has climbed by 2% over the same period. It’s something of a “port in the storm.” As you can see in the one-year chart below, the fund is enjoying a strong uptrend and is near its all-time high.

We are wildly bullish on the power of technology to create greater prosperity, longer lifespans, and large investment returns. However, we understand that “going big” into technology investments isn’t for everyone. And of course, it’s smart to have a diversified portfolio.

If you’re of the same mind, it’s good to know that investing in stable compounders and insisting on “getting paid” is still working well.

This bull market in energy is generating huge winners. Here are four good ways to invest.

Credit: Stock87

This morning, the stock prices of Canadian oil giants Suncor Energy (SU) and Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) reached new all-time highs. Shares of Norwegian oil and gas giant Equinor (EQNR) did the same.

This price action tells us that it’s still a bull market in “non-Middle Eastern” oil supplies… and that our September 2025 recommendation to get long oil stocks was very well timed.

Last September, I made the case for going long the emerging uptrend in oil and gas stocks: As the global economy grows, oil demand will remain solid. However, importantly, U.S. shale oil production growth appears to be peaking.

Flatlining supply from this region would remove a critical and reliable source of production growth that has been in place for more than a decade. Plus, oil was very cheap relative to gold and other assets, indicating good value.

With all that in mind, we’ve written frequently and bullishly about owning Suncor, ExxonMobil (XOM), the diversified State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE), and oilfield service stocks like those in the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF (XES). The oil sector has been one of the true market leaders over the past year. Both XOM and XLE recently reached new all-time highs.

When I recommended oil and started trading it from the long side, I did not factor in the potential bullish driver of the Iran War. That’s been a “bonus” driver of gains in oil stocks. Sometimes, the dice rolls in your favor.

Although positive news related to the Iran War could emerge at any time and trigger a short-term correction in oil and oil stocks, the long-term picture remains bullish. I see three reasons why this is the case.

One: Critical oil infrastructure in the Middle East has been damaged. Oil flows will not return to pre-war levels for possibly over a year. This supports oil prices north of $80 per barrel, which in turn supports strong cash flows for oil and gas firms.

Two: Most countries maintain substantial above-ground “buffer” supplies of oil and refined petroleum products in the event of market disruptions such as the Iran War. Over the past six months, much of these buffer supplies have been depleted to compensate for the loss of Middle Eastern flows. They must be replenished.

The coming restocking of buffer supplies will support oil prices north of $80 per barrel… which, again, supports large cash flows for oil and gas firms.

Three: Although oil stocks have enjoyed a large run since our September call, they aren’t up much over the past ten years. Adjusted for dollar debasement over the past decade, key oil and gas ETFs are down significantly. This is not an aging bull market that has attracted too many fans and too much capital. It is the opposite of that.

I’ve been especially bullish on companies with all or most of their assets in safe, reliable “not Middle Eastern” asset bases such as Canada, Brazil, and Norway (where Equinor is a major player).

As I’ve covered over the past five months, for many countries and businesses, the Iran War is a powerful reminder: If your survival or smooth operation depends on uninterrupted resource flows from the Middle East, you are in a dangerous, vulnerable position.

No politician, CEO, or major shareholder wants their business to be in that position. No citizen wants their country to be in that position. Many powerful and influential people are realizing this is a big risk that must be mitigated if humanly possible. Executives and politicians will get fired for not addressing it effectively.

This means building and buying as many forms of “not Middle Eastern” and “non-Russian” resource supply chains as possible economically… like those from safe, resource-rich Canada, Norway, and Brazil. With today’s new highs for Suncor, Canadian Natural Resources, and Equinor in mind, I repeat my big picture takeaway: It’s a bull market in safe, reliable oil supplies… so stay long Canada and Norway.

Market Notes

• Our recommendation to own healthcare stocks continues to pay off. The Health Care Select Sector Fund (XLV) reached a new one-year high today.

• Software leaders Atlassian (TEAM), Veeva Systems (VEEV), DocuSign (DOCU), Freshworks (FRSH) and Paylocity (PCTY) hit new one-year highs today.

• Our January 28th recommendation to own the AI application layer is paying off. Zeta Global Holdings (ZETA) just hit a new yearly high. It is up 88% since our initial recommendation.

• Payment giants Visa (V) and Mastercard (MA) hit new one-year highs today. These are positive economic signals.

• E-commerce giant eBay (EBAY) hit a new one-year high today.

Regards,

Brian Hunt
Editor, Money & Megatrends

An urgent message from our colleagues:

FCC Rule Change Could Fast-Track New Elon Device

New FCC Rule Change Could Make It Easier to Launch Elon’s Next Big Project. See why this new FCC rule change could be the most important evidence for Elon’s newest tech.

Click here.

The post How to trade AI stocks from here appeared first on MarketWise.

Today’s issue in preview:

• A new AI investment strategy that could generate 1,100%+ returns

• This energy trend is producing winners day after day. Are you benefiting?

• Learn our Top Themes to buy now

This energy trend is producing winners day after day. Are you benefiting?

Credit: sefa ozel

As it turns out, being bullish on oil stocks was a good idea.

Last week, one of our top energy recommendations – Canadian oil giant Suncor Energy (SU) – climbed 3.8% to reach a new all-time high. The stock has returned 73.5% since our original bullish oil call back in September 2025.

Last September, I made the case for going long the emerging uptrend in oil and gas stocks: As the global economy grows, oil demand will remain solid. However, importantly, U.S. shale oil production growth appears to be peaking.

Flatlining supply from this region would remove a critical and reliable source of production growth that has been in place for more than a decade. Plus, oil was very cheap relative to gold and other assets, indicating good value.

With all that in mind, we’ve written frequently and bullishly about owning Suncor, ExxonMobil (XOM), the diversified State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE), and oilfield service stocks like those in the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF (XES). The oil sector has been one of the true market leaders over the past year. Both XOM and XLE recently reached new all-time highs.

When I recommended oil and started trading it from the long side, I did not factor in the potential bullish driver of the Iran War. That’s been a “bonus” driver of gains in oil stocks. Sometimes, the dice rolls in your favor.

Although positive news related to the Iran War could emerge at any time and trigger a short-term correction in oil and oil stocks, the long-term picture remains bullish. I see three reasons why this is the case.

One: Critical oil infrastructure in the Middle East has been damaged. Oil flows will not return to pre-war levels for possibly over a year. This supports oil prices north of $80 per barrel, which in turn supports strong cash flows for oil and gas firms.

Two: Most countries maintain substantial above-ground “buffer” supplies of oil and refined petroleum products in the event of market disruptions such as the Iran War. Over the past six months, much of these buffer supplies have been depleted to compensate for the loss of Middle Eastern flows. They must be replenished.

The coming restocking of buffer supplies will support oil prices north of $80 per barrel… which, again, supports large cash flows for oil and gas firms.

Three: Although oil stocks have enjoyed a large run since our September call, they aren’t up much over the past ten years. Adjusted for dollar debasement over the past decade, key oil and gas ETFs are down significantly. This is not an aging bull market that has attracted too many fans and too much capital. It is the opposite of that.

Avid Money & Megatrends readers know that I like to know both the bull and bear cases for any trend… but I care a lot more about what the market thinks of those cases than anything else. You can be bullish on an industry or theme all you like, but if the market is going against you, then your bullish thesis isn’t worth much.

As for the bull case for oil stocks, the market is enthusiastically supporting it… especially for companies with safe, reliable “not Middle Eastern” asset bases like key Canadian oil sand firms Suncor, Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ), Cenovus Energy (CVE), plus Argentine oil firm YPF (YPF). Our guidance remains: Stay long oil stocks.

A new AI investment strategy that could generate 1,100%+ returns

Credit: imaginima

Since Jan. 1, 2024, the market value of AI-centric defense giant Palantir (PLTR) is up 1,117%. Last Friday, the stock reached a new all-time high.

This giant gain makes Palantir one of the top-performing stocks of the 2020s.

It’s also a demonstration of how powerful the strategy of owning “AI Applications Layer” winners can be.

This strategy – which we most recently detailed in our July 15 issue – is so powerful that it can change your life. Like an “add a zero to your net worth” kind of change.

For a refresher of this strategy, think about Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Netflix, and YouTube for a moment.

These are among the largest and most successful businesses in history.

Their early investors made 10X returns and, in some cases, 100X+ returns.

And they all have one thing in common: They didn’t build the physical network of fiber optic lines, routers, servers, and switches that made up the internet.

Instead, they built the wonderful businesses on top of that revolutionary infrastructure.

They were the “applications” layer of the internet.

It’s important to understand the applications layer concept because we’re on the cusp of a historic boom in companies that don’t build critical AI “hard infrastructure” such as data centers and semiconductors…but instead build wonderful businesses on top of that infrastructure… just like Apple, Amazon, and Google did with the internet.

The revolutionary AI program ChatGPT was released to the public in late 2022. Since then, big tech firms have invested over $1 trillion in semiconductors, networking equipment, computer memory, physical data centers, and other components of AI infrastructure.

This infrastructure powers extraordinary AI models that become more capable and faster by the month.

Now that so much infrastructure has been installed, thousands of businesses can be built upon it… much like how Amazon, YouTube, and Netflix were built upon the internet.

I’m talking about AI-centric businesses that revolutionize how we develop medicines, how we educate, how we entertain ourselves, how we manufacture, how we shop, how we transfer and invest money, and much more.

The internet changed every industry and created many new ones. AI will do the same.

Investors who follow the Internet applications layer playbook into big AI applications layer winners stand to make giant returns. In fact, I’d say this theme is one of the best places to find 10X+ winners over the next decade.

Palantir is a very early leader in this field.

Palantir is a leading software company that helps its customers use AI to organize, analyze, and act on huge amounts of complex data.

Palantir’s major products include Gotham, used extensively by defense and intelligence agencies; Foundry, designed for commercial enterprises; and Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), which integrates advanced AI models into business workflows.

Palantir’s largest customer is the U.S. government. Palantir provides military and intelligence agencies with advanced software that integrates battlefield intelligence, satellite imagery, sensor data, and operational information. Its AI-powered platforms help commanders identify threats, track adversaries, plan missions, coordinate forces, and make decisions.

If you want to conduct war in an ultra-high-tech fashion, you work with Palantir.

To be clear, Palantir did not build any AI data centers. Nor did it develop one of the leading frontier AI models. Instead, it has built software that harnesses the power of models from companies such as OpenAI and runs on computing infrastructure provided by others.

In effect, Palantir has positioned itself as a critical bridge between the extraordinary capabilities of AI and the organizations that can put those capabilities to work.

Palantir’s early mastery of AI and data analytics has helped it generate extraordinary revenue growth over the past six years. In 2020, annual revenue came in at $1.09 billion. In 2025, revenue came in at $4.48 billion. Palantir expects 2026 revenue to grow by an incredible 82% this year to about $8.15 billion.

Given this blazing growth, it’s no wonder Palantir is up more than 10X since early 2024. This is the AI Applications Layer phenomenon at work.

The AI infrastructure buildout is far from over. But enough advanced models have been developed, and enough infrastructure is in place, to fuel an extraordinary next phase of the AI boom.

Innovative companies in the “AI Applications Layer” can now harness this technology to build great businesses with extraordinary growth potential. Palantir is just the beginning.

Market Notes

• Our 8th recommendation to own the Boomer healthcare trend is paying off. Biogen (BIIB) and AbbVie (ABBV) just hit new yearly highs.

• Our March 27th recommendation to own cybersecurity stocks is paying off well. Fortinet (FTNT), Okta (OKTA), Qualys (QLYS) and Dynatrace (DT) all hit new highs. OKTA is now up 160% in the last year alone.

• The Iran War and its constriction of oil and refined product supplies continues to work in favor of oil shipping firms. Industry leaders Frontline (FRO), Torm (TRMD) and Hafnia (HAFN) reached new one-year highs this week.

• Small Modular Reactor players Oklo (OKLO) and NuScale Power (SMR) both hit new yearly lows last week.

Regards,

Brian Hunt
Editor, Money & Megatrends

An urgent message from our colleagues:

Elon just declared war on your phone

Elon Musk just dropped another bombshell… He’s going after your cell phone provider. For months, Elon kept these plans under wraps. But late last week, he finally showed his hand. I’ve tracked this story for months, and it’s playing out exactly as I predicted. Next, I believe Elon could launch a new device that kills the iPhone… and hands early investors his biggest payday yet. Potentially 50 times their money. Here’s everything you need to do BEFORE he makes his move. Just act quickly because this story is moving fast.

Click here.

The post A new AI investment strategy that could generate 1,100%+ returns appeared first on MarketWise.

Today’s issue in preview:

• This self-driving vehicle stock has 1,000%+ upside. (It’s not Tesla)

• This industry is enjoying a full-blown Gold Rush. Are you profiting?

• This unique stock is poised to soar as the world scrambles for “not Middle Eastern” energy supplies

• Learn our Top Themes to buy now

This industry is enjoying a full-blown Gold Rush. Are you profiting?

Credit: Ridofranz

The gold rush in American healthcare stocks continues. This week, the State Street SPDR S&P Health Care Services ETF (XHS) broke out of a multi-month consolidation to reach a new all-time high.

XHS is an ETF that tracks the S&P Health Care Services Select Industry Index. This index tracks a wide variety of health care companies, including cancer diagnostics firms, mental health firms, senior living, private nursing services, physical therapy, telemedicine, and diagnostic imaging.

It’s an equal-weighted ETF, so a handful of giant firms do not dominate its ups and downs. It provides investors with a diverse “cross section” of U.S. health care stocks. The fund has returned a big 40.8% over the past 12 months.

Constant readers of Money & Megatrends are not surprised to hear that healthcare stocks are reaching new highs.

For more than three years, I’ve made “Boomer healthcare” one of my highest conviction long-term investment themes. More than 10,000 Americans reach retirement age every day. The U.S. population aged 80 and older is projected to roughly double, from 14.7 million in 2025 to 29.4 million by 2045.

This is the enormous Baby Boom generation entering the phase of life where health care and longevity spending skyrocket. For many boomers, a typical month involves going to see at least one doctor to have something looked at, removed, or treated.

This means many healthcare businesses are experiencing huge demand now – and will for at least the next decade. It means boom times ahead for many “ology” businesses, stocks, and careers. Dermatology. Cardiology. Radiology. Oncology. Anesthesiology. Ophthalmology. The list goes on.

Investing in many healthcare businesses over the next decade will be investing with a gale-force tailwind at your back. If you’re a parent and worried about your child getting a job, just point them to the booming healthcare industry.

Being bullish on health care has been a profitable call so far. XHS is up 40.8% over the past 12 months. The S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) is up 68% over the past year. Our in-house Senior Living Index is up 45% over the past year.

It’s fair to say there’s a gold rush happening in the health care industry right now.

The giant business, tech, and demographic trends that shape our world tend to play out in five or more years, not five months. This means the stock market trends they manifest play out over the same time periods. With this trend truism in mind, I once again remind you that if you like money, keep it invested in healthcare.

This self-driving vehicle stock has 1,000%+ upside. (It’s not Tesla)

Credit: Kinwun

Ever since its founding in 1776, America has been the home of the moonshot.

The grand slam home run.

The big dream that came true… and created fortunes for founders and investors… returns often greater than 100X the upfront investment.

There’s Andrew Carnegie and his moonshot steel company. Rockefeller and his moonshot oil company. Edison and his moonshot electricity company.

There’s grand slam home runs in Apple, Starbucks, Google, Tesla, McDonald’s, Amazon, Costco, and the list goes on.

America’s free-market enterprise system creates a level playing field for business creators… and they step up to take big swings in pursuit of big wins.

Of course, our love for the moonshot drives a lot of action in the stock market.

The allure of putting up a small amount of money in pursuit of a giant winner is something few investors can resist.

Starting a business that grows large is the single best way to grow wealthy in America. But let’s face it – some folks don’t want stress, long hours, and the risk that comes with starting and operating a business.

That’s why it’s good to know about the second best way to grow wealthy in America… by being an early financial backer in energetic, innovative, and ambitious people aiming to build the next Google… the next Starbucks… the next Tesla.

I like a moonshot bet as much as anyone. However, at this stage in my life, I’m not investing to get rich. I’m investing to stay rich. That’s why most of my savings is invested in stable stock, bond, and real estate holdings.

However, I believe taking a small amount of money and investing it in the pursuit of grand slams and moonshots adds color and interest to our financial lives. It can also net you large returns over time if you pick even just a few big winners.

This is why over the next few months, we will be running a special series of research notes on relatively small companies that grow many times larger than their current sizes.

We start today with a look at Aurora Innovation (AUR).

Aurora is a $13 billion, Pittsburgh-based company built entirely around self-driving semi-trucks.

Its CEO, Chris Urmson, helped build Google’s self-driving-car project, which ultimately became Waymo.

Aurora is the only autonomous trucking company running real freight, on real routes, with real paying customers. Heavy-duty truck manufacturers Volvo Trucks and PACCAR, which together represent roughly 50% of the US truck market, are already committed to Aurora, so its competitive moat is wide.

Aurora made history in May 2025 by launching what it called the first driverless commercial trucking operations on U.S. public roads. Its business model is “Driver as a Service” – meaning fleet operators and trucking companies subscribe to Aurora’s technology and pay per mile.

Autonomous vehicle technology is getting a lot of press lately, thanks to Tesla’s recent rollout of its self-driving Cybercabs in Austin, Texas. It’s been a huge milestone for the world of transportation

Reviews have been excellent so far. Morgan Stanley just forecast that Tesla’s robotaxi revenue will reach $320B by 2035, with the wider robotaxi market worth over $1 trillion globally by 2040.

While the world fixates on Tesla and its robotaxis, it is overlooking a significant opportunity in self-driving trucks.

The U.S. trucking market (not global) is worth $1 trillion today, with trucks hauling about 77% of the entire freight market. And that’s before any autonomy has been properly introduced to the market.

Here’s what makes this $1 trillion number so important. The global autonomous trucking market is currently worth only $50 billion. This should give you a sense of the runway ahead. Autonomy currently represents just a sliver of the market it’s about to disrupt. And that comparison doesn’t even account for a growing market projected to reach around $1.5 trillion over the next 8-10 years.

And this market needs self-driving trucks. The American Trucking Association currently estimates that the US is short 60,000 to 80,000 drivers and projects this gap to increase to 160,000 by 2031. The average age of a truck driver is 47 years old… one of the oldest average ages of any major profession in the country. This is a structural hole in the trucking labor market that autonomy is positioned to fill.

AUR is targeting 200 fully driverless trucks on the road by the end of 2026 with Driver-as-a-Service prices expected to run at $0.85 per mile which is far below the $1.18 per mile that Aurora cites for human driver wages and benefits. Plus, these trucks are free from hours-of-service limits. This tech could massively boost trucking company margins.

Robotaxis are chasing rides in cities that already have Uber, taxis, and subways. Autonomous trucks are filling seats that nobody can hire for. That’s a fundamentally different tailwind.

AUR is a classic early-stage tech firm in that it has potentially revolutionary technology but is losing money because revenue is low and R&D costs are high. There’s plenty of execution risk here. The smart investor takes small position sizes in such speculative and risky stocks.

However, if AUR executes on its potential, the upside is that it’s a company with a valuation north of $150 billion… which is more than 10X higher than the current one. If you’re looking to hit a grand slam home run in the stock market, consider a stake in AUR.

This unique stock is poised to soar as the world scrambles for “not Middle Eastern” energy supplies

Credit:Angelo D’Amico

In yesterday’s issue, we detailed how three of Canada’s “national champion” oil and gas companies are enjoying soaring profits and stock prices, in part due to the Iran War and its upward effect on oil prices.

The market values of giant Canadian firms Suncor Energy (SU), Cenovus Energy (CVE), and Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) all hit new all-time highs this week… and have made our recommendation to get long Canada a big winner.

The Iran War and its effects are making our bullish stance on Argentine oil and gas giant YPF (YPF) a winner as well. Today, the stock reached a new all-time high.

YPF is the largest oil and gas company in Argentina. It is the dominant operator in Argentina’s enormous Vaca Muerta (“dead cow”) shale basin. The Vaca Muerta is one of the world’s most promising oil fields. Its potential for big discoveries and increased production is enormous.

However, since Argentina has spent most of the past 50 years as an economic basket case, many investors avoid investing there.

Making a bet on Argentina getting “less bad” looks like a good idea, however. In 2023, the country elected Javier Milei as president – an advocate of sensible, small government. He’s scored a string of successes that could make Argentina a good place to do business… and to discover large new oil reserves. This makes the Vaca Muerta one of the world’s most-watched oil fields among industry experts.

Like Canada, Argentina’s huge oil and gas endowment also makes it a beneficiary of the war in Iran and its consequences.

As I’ve covered many times this year, for many countries and businesses, the Iran War is a powerful reminder: If your survival or smooth operation depends on uninterrupted resource flows from the often-unstable Middle East, you are in a dangerous, vulnerable position.

No politician, CEO, or major shareholder wants their business to be in that position. No citizen wants their country to be in that position. Many powerful and influential people are realizing this is a big risk that must be mitigated if humanly possible. Executives and politicians will get fired for not addressing it effectively.

This means building and buying as many forms of “not Middle Eastern” resource supply chains as possible economically… like those from resource-rich Canada, Argentina, and Brazil.

YPF isn’t the only vehicle an investor can use to bet on a potentially big win via Argentina’s oil and gas development. Another operator in the Vaca Muerta is Vista Energy (VIST), with a market cap of around $8 billion. Vista is another company that could enjoy a large increase in market value if it has exploration success and an improving business climate.

The world’s most powerful governments and businesses are very keen on discovering, developing, and securing safe supplies of critical resources like oil and gas. Argentina has them. This situation could deliver big returns for the likes of YPF and VIST. So far, the market is enthusiastically agreeing with the idea.

Market Notes

• Our recommendation to get long oil and gas stocks continues to pay off. Oil giants SM Energy (SM), Crescent Energy (CRGY), and Shell (SHEL) hit new highs today.

• Our May 28th recommendation to go long genomics has played out well. Natera (NTRA) and 10X Genomics (TXG) both just hit new highs today. TXG is now up 460% in the last year.

• Energy shipping leaders are hitting new highs. Frontline (FRO), International Seaways (INSW), and Nordic American Tankers (NAT) just hit new highs.

• Clothing and footwear giant Nike (NKE) reached a new one-year low today.

Regards,

Brian Hunt
Editor, Money & Megatrends

An urgent message from our colleagues:

Chaikin: This “White Swan” Could Eat Every Data Center in America starting 9/29/26

Every major AI firm now relies on massive data centers. But these monstrosities suck up our electricity. They drain our water supplies. They steal precious land. Yet AI companies are requesting 700 gigawatts of new electricity – enough to power every home in America! Until now, AI investors have piled trillions into the data-center boom. But according to investing legend Marc Chaikin, a new technology’s coming… called AI “micro clusters.” And they’ll render all current data centers obsolete. The company he believes is behind this $248 trillion “White Swan” event could soar starting Sept. 29th.

Marc reveals his full prediction – and the stock ticker – free, here.

The post This self-driving vehicle stock has 1,000%+ upside. (It’s not Tesla) appeared first on MarketWise.

Today’s issue in preview:

• You’re crazy if you think AI development will slow down. Stay bullish.

• How to profit from the surge in “AI is dangerous” concerns

• Donald Trump turned these stocks into money machines

• Learn our Top Themes to buy now

You’re crazy if you think AI development will slow down. Stay bullish

Credit: Just_Super

To slow down or not to slow down?

Over the past week, this has become the biggest unanswered question in the entire investment world. The answer could have large effects on your portfolio.

Many AI insiders are seeing the blistering pace of AI advancement and saying it should be slowed. They say a slower rate of progress would give technologists more time to build safeguards such as restricting what AI agents can do, limiting what data they can access, and thorough testing to gauge their capabilities. Over the past week, this subject has exploded across mainstream media and social media alike.

However, some “AI maximalists” say slowing down development would cede America’s AI lead to China. They also say some AI leaders, such as Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, are not 100% sincere in their calls for oversight.

Dario’s critics say he is advocating regulation not out of altruism, but to kneecap competitors through new rules and laws. They say Anthropic has reached a rarified level of AI capability and wants to “pull up the ladder” to prevent other firms from reaching its level.

Sincere or not, the “deceleration” calls from Dario and other AI insiders are producing losses in many AI-related stocks today. Investors are worried that slowing the pace of AI development will ultimately depress the revenues and profits of companies that manufacture critical AI data center hardware, such as semiconductors, data networking equipment, and cooling systems.

We believe all this fuss is overblown relative to both current and future reality.

The development of a revolutionary technology like AI, which is extraordinarily valuable from both commercial and geopolitical standpoints, is a relentless force that works 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It does not take holidays. It does not sleep. It can be temporarily slowed a little but not stopped. And development of this revolutionary technology is global.

American tech executives and politicians can regulate domestic AI development, but they cannot regulate its development in China, Russia, India, or dozens of other countries. They cannot effectively regulate open-source AI all over the world.

Heavily regulating U.S. firms OpenAI and Anthropic (called “Frontier Labs”) would be like slowing down traffic in one lane of a six-lane highway. Everybody is still getting to their destinations. The prize of advanced AI is so large that it will be pursued, no matter what.

Plus, consider the U.S. government’s position. It rightly sees itself in a massive geopolitical and economic “great power” competition with China. AI supremacy is hugely value in this competition. It would be lunacy to slow AI development to the point that we essentially hand China a big victory. Governments are among the dumbest entities on the planet, but they aren’t that dumb.

Given all this, we believe the current fuss over AI development will prove to be a tiny speed bump on the long road of breakneck AI advancement and proliferation.

During times like this, it is important to keep the big-picture view in mind. Keep AI’s potential TAM – or Total Addressable Market – in mind.

And let’s ask ourselves, “How big is the market for super intelligence?”

How much demand is there globally for instant access to super genius doctors, super genius lawyers, super genius software developers, super genius financial advisors, super genius engineers, super genius marketers, super genius accountants, and so on?

When entrepreneurs and business executives try to generate interest in their companies, they often cite the size of their TAM.

When it comes to TAM, bigger is better. A typical investor gets more excited about investing in a company with a $200 billion TAM than one with a $5 billion TAM.

You’re going to serve the $250+ billion U.S. beverage market? Great. Big TAM.

You’re going to serve the Asian grocery market in Burlington, Vermont? Not so great. Small TAM.

So, what is the TAM for super intelligence, aka AI?

Since a large portion of the $126 trillion annual global GDP consists of paying lots of money to elite lawyers, consultants, executives, project managers, doctors, software engineers, financial advisors, accountants, and business analysts, I’m comfortable saying the TAM for super intelligence over the next decade is north of $100 trillion.

We are talking about a colossal TAM.

We’re talking about a technology that will yield many of the largest financial “jackpots” in the history of capitalism… while bestowing some governments with awesome geopolitical power.

For practical purposes, we can say the demand for superintelligence is so vast that it is essentially infinite.

This is what the world’s smartest, most informed, and wealthiest technologists know… which is why they are in a great race to build the world’s most useful AI infrastructure and programs. It’s why they are conducting the largest collective investment effort in history.

When you boil away all the fluff, bluster, and extraneous details from the AI discussion, what we are left with is the core, foundational issue…

A world of advanced AI is a world of abundant, ubiquitous superintelligence. Since applied intelligence is the engine of innovation and human progress, the demand – the TAM – for superintelligence across all industries and countries is essentially infinite.

Ownership of the world’s most useful, most valuable AI programs and applications will be among the greatest financial prizes in all recorded history. They will be among the greatest prizes of government in all recorded history.

The current fuss over the speed of AI development will not prevent people all over the world from reaching for these prizes. The historic level of AI infrastructure spending will continue… and will generate significant financial opportunities along the way.

How to profit from the surge in “AI is dangerous” concerns

Credit: imaginima

Part of the current fuss over AI development (detailed above) stems from recent and former Anthropic employees airing concerns that AI “could kill us all.”

They have shared precious few details on exactly how AI would do that, but presumably, they have some movie scenarios in mind, such as a “bad” AI taking over nuclear missile launches, developing a killer virus, or taking over transportation systems and causing catastrophic accidents.

Whatever the vector is, the public is now sufficiently spooked over AI. Political leaders are spooked over AI. And business leaders are spooked over AI.

This is all bullish for the cybersecurity business.

And it should continue to make our AI cybersecurity call a winner.

Back in March, we detailed how the “Agent Supernova” was set to create huge amounts of new cybersecurity threats across banking, transportation, healthcare, manufacturing, and corporate secrets.

Agent Supernova is our name for the megatrend of AI-powered “agents” working throughout the global economy.

Years of development have made AI advanced enough to perform many everyday tasks people do now… and the list keeps growing. Over the next 12–24 months, AI agents will help manage factories, perform financial analysis, manage inventories, write software, design websites, create legal documents… and thousands of other tasks.

Within two years, the number of AI agents operating in the American economy isn’t poised to increase by 10X… or 50X… or even 1,000X. Try at least 10,000X.

This is the coming Agent Supernova: agents working with people, agents working with other agents, agents running businesses, and negotiating with other agents.

The Agent Supernova is about to introduce billions of “AI workers” into our economy with very little day‑to‑day human oversight. The business and investment implications are huge. It will transform many businesses and industries, end many as we know them, and create entirely new ones.

In our original research note, we detailed how this megatrend would also create huge amounts of new cybersecurity risks. If we’re going to have millions of AI agents performing billions of daily tasks in health care, education, energy, transportation, manufacturing, and technology, then we’re going to have billions of points of cybercrime vulnerability. And remember, crooks get to use AI too.

If agents can roam the web, communicate for you, log in to your apps, move money, and modify data at machine speed, then a compromised agent can do the same damage just as fast – now with far less human oversight to catch mistakes or intrusions. We stated this is why well-positioned cybersecurity companies are poised to enjoy years of booming business.

At the time, we highlighted CrowdStrike (CRWD), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Zscaler (ZS), SailPoint (SAIL), and Radware (RDWR) as “picks to click” in this trend. This basket is up an average of 58% in six months.

At the time of our note, cybersecurity stocks – a special type of software stock – had suffered a sharp decline due to investor concerns that AI would disrupt software.

Soon after our note, cybersecurity stocks staged a huge rebound as investors began to believe AI wouldn’t disrupt the business as much as they had thought. This rally has sent leaders CrowdStrike and Palo Alto up more than 100% from their bottoms. This sector’s big drop and subsequent huge rise have given rollercoasters a run for their money.

AI is the most exciting and potentially transformational technology of our time. The high-profile concerns aired by AI insiders over the past week are an indication that it’s also probably the most dangerous. That is driving a bull market in cybersecurity stocks. Given the fuss of the past week, it’s no coincidence cybersecurity leader CrowdStrike jumped 12% this morning to reach a new all-time high.

Donald Trump turned these stocks into money machines

Credit: dan_prat

Over the past 12 months, the mainstream media has had a heyday reporting on conflicts between President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Unfortunately, Canadians have been subjected to Trump’s frequent taunting and trade war tariffs. More than a few Canadians have recently used four-letter words to refer to Trump.

However, shareholders of Canada’s “national champion” oil and gas firms should consider sending Trump a nice thank you gift. His war in Iran is generating extraordinary returns for companies such as Suncor Energy (SU), Cenovus Energy (CVE), and Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ).

All three firms are benefitting from soaring oil prices. All three are enjoying booming revenues and profits. All three recently registered all-time highs. The Iran War is a substantial driver of it all.

Money & Megatrends readers in good standing are familiar with our bullish stance on Canada. It’s been one of our highest-conviction themes over the past year. We’ve published over a dozen research notes on the idea.

Over the past 12 months, I’ve made the case that we are in a favorable environment for critical resources… one in which many individual resource sectors will generate strong returns.

Critical resources are the building blocks of the economy. Think raw materials like crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, copper, uranium, corn, and cotton.

Even today’s high-tech world of AI, apps, email, and Zoom calls is built on a “low-tech” foundation of steel, concrete, copper, lumber, and aluminum. Every day, our cars, trucks, and airplanes consume millions of barrels of fuel. Our lights turn on because we burn coal and natural gas.

Mining, extracting, planting, harvesting, processing, refining, and transporting critical resources is a multi-trillion-dollar business that affects every area of your life.

During this time, I’ve frequently highlighted Canada as an excellent place for investment capital. Canada is the second-largest country in the world by total area, after Russia.

This means there’s plenty of area to hold big oil and natural gas deposits… huge tracts of timberland… giant mineral deposits… and enormous farms. Canada is a major player in oil and natural gas production, ranking in the world’s top five producers for both. It’s also a world leader in the production of fertilizer, uranium, aluminum, wheat, gold, lumber, and platinum.

Canada’s massive resource endowment also makes it a beneficiary of the war in Iran and its consequences.

As I’ve covered this year, for many countries and businesses, the Iran War is a powerful reminder: If your survival or smooth operation depends on uninterrupted resource flows from the often-unstable Middle East, you are in a dangerous, vulnerable position.

No politician, CEO, or major shareholder wants their business to be in that position. No citizen wants their country to be in that position. Many powerful and influential people are realizing this is a big risk that must be mitigated if humanly possible. Executives and politicians will get fired for not addressing it effectively.

This means building and buying as many forms of “not Middle Eastern” resource supply chains as possible economically… like those from safe, resource-rich Canada. I can state with confidence that no caribou will ever strap on an explosive vest and attack a local oil refinery… and no grizzly bear will send a kamikaze drone flying into a natural gas pipeline.

But don’t take my word on this trend. Take the market’s word.

It enthusiastically supports owning high-quality Canadian resource assets.

Canadian Natural Resources, Cenovus Energy, and Suncor Energy are essentially “national champions” of Canada. Together, they produce a huge portion of the country’s oil and gas. Much of this production comes from the country’s vast oil sands deposits. And together, their market values are soaring. Their stocks have gained 73%, 108%, and 75%, respectively, over the past 12 months. A large portion of these gains are attributable to the Iran War and its uplifting of global oil prices.

Canadian stocks had strong tailwinds before the Iran War. They will have even stronger tailwinds after it. We are still bullish on Canada.

Market Notes

• Our recommendation to get long oil and gas stocks continues to pay off. Oil giants Chevron (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP), Permian Resources (PR) and Shell (SHEL) hit new highs today.

• LNG shipping leaders are hitting new highs. Frontline (FRO), Teekay Tankers (TNK), Dorian LPG (LPG) and Nordic American Tankers (NAT) just hit a new highs.

• Cruise line giants Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) and Carnival Corp (CCL) reached new one-year lows today.

• The high-profile eVOTL firm Joby Aviation (JOBY) reached a one-year low today.

Regards,

Brian Hunt
Editor, Money & Megatrends

An urgent message from our colleagues:

I paid $5,000 to hear Elon say this

I recently paid $5,000 to be in a room with Elon Musk in Los Angeles. What he’s launching right now could be his biggest move yet (and make you more money than anything he’s done so far). If you buy just one stock in 2026, I urge you to make it the one I’m giving away for free:

Get the ticker & full details here.

The post You’re crazy if you think AI development will slow down. Stay bullish. appeared first on MarketWise.

Today’s issue in preview:

• One of our top energy recommendations keeps producing winners day after day. Are you benefiting?

• This business megatrend is creating dozens of big winners… and will for years to come.

• How to trade the stock market’s most important trend from here

• Learn our Top Themes to buy now

One of our top energy recommendations keeps producing winners day after day. Are you benefiting?

Credit: sefa ozel

This week, the bull case we’ve been making for oil stocks got a lot stronger.

The boost came in the form of new all-time highs for oil giant Chevron (CVX), Canadian oil giant Cenovus (CVE), Canadian oil giant Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ), oilfield services firm Tidewater (TDW), oilfield services firm NOV (NOV), oil drilling firm Patterson-UTI (PTEN), U.S. oil producer SM Energy (SM), and the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP).

These new highs make the oil and gas sector one of the market’s leading trends.

Last September, I made the case for going long the emerging uptrend in oil and gas stocks: As the global economy grows, oil demand will remain solid. However, importantly, U.S. shale oil production growth appears to be peaking.

Flatlining supply from this region would remove a critical and reliable source of production growth that has been in place for more than a decade. Plus, oil was very cheap relative to gold and other assets, indicating good value.

With all that in mind, we’ve written frequently and bullishly about owning Canadian oil giant Suncor (SU),ExxonMobil (XOM), and oilfield service stocks like those in the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF (XES).

Both SU and XOM are up more than 44% since our September call. XES is up 69%.

When I recommended oil and started trading it from the long side, I did not factor in the potential bullish driver of the Iran War. That’s been a “bonus” driver of gains in oil stocks. Sometimes, the dice rolls in your favor.

Although positive news related to the Iran War could emerge at any time and trigger a short-term correction in oil and oil stocks, the long-term picture remains bullish. I see three reasons why this is the case.

One: Critical oil infrastructure in the Middle East has been damaged. Oil flows will not return to pre-war levels for possibly over a year. This supports oil prices north of $80 per barrel, which supports large cash flows for oil and gas firms.

Two: Most countries maintain substantial above-ground “buffer” supplies of oil and refined petroleum products in the event of market disruptions such as the Iran War. Over the past five months, much of these buffer supplies have been depleted to compensate for the loss of Middle Eastern flows. They must be replenished.

The coming restocking of buffer supplies will support oil prices north of $80 per barrel… which, again, supports large cash flows for oil and gas firms.

Three: Although oil stocks have enjoyed a large run since our September call, they aren’t up much over the past ten years. Adjusted for dollar debasement over the past decade, key oil and gas ETFs are down significantly. This is not an aging bull market that has attracted too many fans and too much capital. It is the opposite of that.

Avid Money & Megatrends readers know that I like to know both the bull and bear cases for any trend… but I care a lot more about what the market thinks of those cases than anything else. You can be bullish on an industry or theme all you like, but if the market is going against you, then your bullish thesis isn’t worth much.

As for the bull case for oil stocks, the market is enthusiastically supporting it. Our guidance remains: Stay long oil stocks.

This business megatrend is creating dozens of big winners… and will for years to come.

Credit: Jezperklauzen

This week, shares of Replimune (REPL), Vir Biotechnology (VIR), Exelixis (EXEL), and RenovoRx (RNXT) all reached new one-year highs.

This means it’s a bull market in oncology stocks.

The companies above aren’t household names, but they are all significant players in the cancer treatment business. Their new highs indicate the Boomer healthcare megatrend is alive and well. It’s a megatrend generating new stock market winners virtually every week.

For more than three years, I’ve made “Boomer healthcare” one of my highest conviction long-term investment themes. This means I’ve been bullish on biotech, genomics, and healthcare in general. In more than 20 Money & Megatrends research notes over the past year, we’ve been very bullish on stocks and ETFs related to this trend.

Regular readers are familiar with the bull case here. More than 10,000 Americans reach retirement age every day. The U.S. population aged 80 and older is projected to roughly double, from 14.7 million in 2025 to 29.4 million by 2045.

This is the enormous Baby Boom generation entering the phase of life where healthcare and longevity spending skyrocket. For many boomers, a typical month involves going to see at least one doctor to have something looked at, removed, or treated.

This means many health care businesses are experiencing huge demand now – and will for at least the next decade. It means boom times ahead for many “ology” businesses, stocks, and careers. Dermatology. Cardiology. Radiology. Oncology. Anesthesiology. Ophthalmology. The list goes on.

Investing in many healthcare businesses over the next decade will be investing with a gale-force tailwind at your back. If you’re a parent and worried about your child getting a job, just point them to the booming healthcare industry.

Unfortunately, an aging Baby Boomer population means more cancer cases the U.S. healthcare system must treat each year. Just over 2 million Americans are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in 2026. In 2020, the comparable estimate was about 1.81 million new cases.

Age is the single most important risk factor for cancer overall. Cancer incidence is roughly 350 cases per 100,000 people at ages 45–49, but rises to more than 1,000 per 100,000 among people aged 60+.

The median age at cancer diagnosis is 67, which is where much of the Baby Boom generation is now concentrated.

More cancer cases mean more spending on cancer diagnostics and treatments… which means strong tailwinds for the companies mentioned above and the oncology-focused Tema Oncology ETF (CANC). This unique ETF is up 61% over the past year. It’s yet another profitable facet of the Boomer healthcare megatrend.

How to trade the stock market’s most important trend from here

Credit: Petrovich9

Has the bull market in AI infrastructure turned into a dangerous bubble that will soon pop and wreak havoc on the economy?

Or is this bull market taking a healthy break… and poised to resume its tremendous production of stock market winners?

This is one of the biggest, most consequential issues in all of business and investment right now.

The status of this critical trend has become one of the great sagas of the business and investment world… a source of intense disagreement among industry bulls and bears. It’s a trend whose outcome could have large effects on your portfolio.

Given AI’s enormous promise, large tech firms such as Alphabet (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN), and Microsoft (MSFT) have invested over $1 trillion in AI infrastructure. They are on pace to invest over $700 billion this year alone and more than $3 trillion after that.

Both the scale and the velocity of this investment boom are unprecedented. It is the largest collective investment effort in history.

Big Tech’s historic investment boom has made the entire “AI infrastructure” trend responsible for a large share of America’s GDP growth and stock market returns over the past two years. It has also drawn the skeptical scrutiny of many widely followed investment analysts who claim the trend is a bubble… one that will soon explode and cause tremendous damage to stock prices and the global economy.

If this hugely consequential trend isn’t the most important trend in the stock market, then it is certainly in the top three.

I believe the AI infrastructure trend has years to run. I believe the world’s smartest, most connected tech CEOs who have the greatest access to information on AI advancement and return on AI infrastructure spend like Elon Musk, Jensen Huang (Nvidia), Satya Nadella (Microsoft) and Andy Jassy (Amazon) just might know more about the AI trend than the bearish armchair quarterbacks know about it.

As much press as AI gets, let’s remember that less than 1% of the global population pays for top-tier AI programs. And I estimate less than 20% of large companies believe AI has made a meaningful impact on their businesses. It’s probably closer to less than 10%.

This revolutionary technology hasn’t yet proliferated, achieved mass adoption, or had mass impact.

Regular readers know I care a lot more about what the market thinks of any stock, trend or theme than what any one person thinks of it, including me. You can be bullish or bearish on a trend all you like, but if that trend is moving strongly against you, then your idea isn’t worth a hell of a lot in my book.

Over the past six weeks, we have published a special series of research notes analyzing the semiconductor trend, which is a key part of the larger AI infrastructure investment megatrend. We’ve also analyzed the trend of computer memory giant Micron (MU).

But a thorough analysis of any trend as large and diverse as AI infrastructure is a mosaic of facts, figures, and stock price action. The trend in optical networking stocks is a key part of this mosaic.

Optical networking equipment is a critical ingredient of the AI infrastructure boom. This equipment allows data to be transferred quickly and efficiently between parts of AI computing chains. Think of optical networking as a critical part of the “AI data traffic highway system.”

As a result of Big Tech’s enormous AI infrastructure spending, optical network equipment makers Lumentum (LITE) and Coherent (COHR) have enjoyed soaring revenues, and their stocks are among the market’s biggest winners over the past two years.

Since reaching a high in June, Lumentum’s stock has moved in line with the semiconductor sector, which we’ve been tracking closely.

As you can see in the one-year chart below, Lumentum is trading within a directionless sideways consolidation. It, like the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH), is like a “becalmed” sailboat on a windless sea. The trends of other important parts of the AI infrastructure trade – electric power component makers, neoclouds, and data center cooling firms – look much the same.

This entire, hugely consequential trend continues to move sideways.

I’ll keep you updated on this world’s most important trend. It won’t be long before we get meaningful price action that provides direction for trading semis, optical networking, and other key components of AI infrastructure.

Market Notes

• Our recommendation to own farm machinery giant Deere & Co. (DE) is working well. The stock reached a new all-time high today.

• Japanese banking giants Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Mizuho Financial Group (MFG) and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (SMFG) hit new highs along with Spanish giant Banco Bilbao (BBVA).

• The Boomer healthcare theme we recommended continues to do well. Pharma giant Pfizer (PFE) , along with Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX), Biogen (BIIB) , and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN), reached new one-year highs today.

• Our September 2025 recommendation to get long the oil and gas uptrend continues to pay off. The State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) hit a new high today. Individual plays ConocoPhillips (COP) and Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) also reached new highs today.

• Our January 28th recommendation to own the AI application layer is paying off. Zeta Global Holdings (ZETA) just hit a new yearly high, which means it’s now up 56% since our initial recommendation.

Regards,

Brian Hunt
Editor, Money & Megatrends

An urgent message from our colleagues:

Elon Musk Just Did Something He’s Never Done Before

This February, Elon spent millions to send a message to 125 million Americans. Most people ignored it. But Wall Street veteran Whitney Tilson couldn’t stop thinking about it, and says what Elon was really saying explains everything about what’s unfolding in America’s economy right now.

He’s sharing his full analysis, free, here.

The post One of our top energy recommendations keeps producing winners day after day. Are you benefiting? appeared first on MarketWise.

Today’s issue in preview:

• It’s practically raining money on this industry’s shareholders. Are you getting your share?

• Stocks for investing in a bull market with years to go

• Some of the world’s best investors are accumulating this high-quality stock for the long-term

• Our extraordinary track record gets even better: Our thematic trends in biotech, genomics, and oil deliver further gains.

• Learn our Top Themes to buy now

It’s practically raining money on this industry’s shareholders. Are you getting your share?

Credit: Ridofranz

This morning, anyone who followed our recommendation to get long biotech, genomics, and healthcare in general received wonderful news.

An experimental personalized cancer vaccine from Merck (MRK) and Moderna (MRNA) showed encouraging results in its first late-stage trial, the companies announced Wednesday. The fresh results brought the firms a step closer to filing for approval of the treatment option.

The news sent Moderna shares skyrocketing more than 120% and Merck shares up 11%. It also gave the entire biotech/genomics/healthcare complex a big shot in the arm. The sector-wide power today is something to behold:

• The world’s largest healthcare stock ETF – the Health Care Select Sector Fund (XLV) leaped 3.6% to a new all-time high.

• The S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) jumped 4.3% to a new all-time high.

• The ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG) jumped 6.7% to a new all-time high.

• The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) jumped 5.3% to a new all-time high.

• The Invesco Dynamic Pharmaceuticals ETF (PJP) jumped 2.7% to reach a new all-time high.

• Shares of GLP-1 drug giant Eli Lilly (LLY) jumped 5% to reach a new all-time high.

• The healthcare/biotech/genomics complex is dominating the new one-year highs list, with at least 33 stocks from this sector reaching new highs today.

For more than three years, I’ve made “Boomer health care” one of my highest conviction long-term investment themes. This means I’ve been bullish on biotech, genomics, and healthcare in general. Throughout more than 20 Money & Megatrends research notes over the past year, we’ve written very bullishly on the stocks and ETFs above.

Regular readers are familiar with the bull case here. More than 10,000 Americans reach retirement age every day. The U.S. population aged 80 and older is projected to roughly double, from 14.7 million in 2025 to 29.4 million by 2045.

This is the enormous Baby Boom generation entering the phase of life where health care and longevity spending skyrockets. For many boomers, a typical month involves going to see at least one doctor to have something looked at, removed, or treated.

This means many health care businesses are experiencing huge demand now – and will for at least the next decade. It means boom times ahead for many “ology” businesses, stocks, and careers. Dermatology. Cardiology. Radiology. Oncology. Anesthesiology. Ophthalmology. The list goes on.

Investing in many healthcare businesses over the next decade will be investing with a gale-force tailwind at your back. If you’re a parent and worried about your child getting a job, just point them to the booming healthcare industry.

The giant business, tech, and demographic trends that shape our world tend to play out in five or more years, not five months. This means the stock market trends they manifest play out over the same time periods.

With this trend truism in mind, I once again remind you that if you like money, keep it invested in health care.

Stocks for investing in a bull market with years to go

Credit: ssuaphoto

This week, the bull case we’ve been making for oil stocks got a lot stronger.

The boost came in the form of new all-time highs for the State Street Energy Select SPDR Fund (XLE).

XLE is not your standard under-the-radar ETF that few people follow.

Instead, XLE is very much “above the radar.”

You could even say that when it comes to oil stocks, this fund IS the radar.

XLE is the world’s largest and most widely traded ETF focused on the oil and gas industry. It has more assets under management than the next four U.S. listed oil equity ETFs combined. When Wall Street strategists and money managers talk oil and gas stocks with clients, the performance of XLE is often cited.

The fund’s holdings are a who’s who of oil and gas. Major components include ExxonMobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP), SLB (SLB, formerly Schlumberger), Marathon Petroleum (MPC), and Phillips 66 (PSX).

Last September, I made the case for going long the emerging uptrend in oil and gas stocks: As the global economy grows, oil demand will remain solid. However, importantly, U.S. shale oil production growth appears to be peaking.

Flatlining supply from this region would remove a critical and reliable source of production growth that has been in place for more than a decade. Plus, oil was very cheap relative to gold and other assets, indicating good value.

With all that in mind, we’ve written frequently and bullishly about owning Canadian oil giant Suncor (SU), ExxonMobil, and oilfield service stocks like those in the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF (XES).

Both SU and XOM are up more than 40% since our September call. XES is up 68%.

As detailed earlier this week, when I recommended oil and started trading it from the long side, I did not factor in the potential bullish driver of the Iran War. That’s been a “bonus” driver of gains in oil stocks. Sometimes, the dice rolls in your favor.

Although positive news related to the Iran War could emerge at any time and trigger a short-term correction in oil and oil stocks, the long-term picture remains bullish. I see three reasons why this is the case.

One: Critical oil infrastructure in the Middle East has been damaged. Oil flows will not return to pre-war levels for possibly over a year. This supports oil prices north of $80 per barrel, which supports large cash flows for oil and gas firms.

Two: Most countries maintain substantial above-ground “buffer” supplies of oil and refined petroleum products in the event of market disruptions such as the Iran War. Over the past five months, much of these buffer supplies have been depleted to compensate for the loss of Middle Eastern flows. They must be replenished.

The coming restocking of buffer supplies will support oil prices north of $80 per barrel… which, again, supports large cash flows for oil and gas firms.

Three: Although oil stocks have enjoyed a large run since our September call, they aren’t up much over the past ten years. Adjusted for dollar debasement over the past decade, key oil and gas ETFs XLE and XES are down significantly. This is not an aging bull market that has attracted too many fans and too much capital. It is the opposite of that.

Avid Money & Megatrends readers know that I like to know both the bull and bear cases for any trend… but I care a lot more about what the market thinks of those cases than anything else. You can be bullish on an industry or theme all you like, but if the market is going against you, then your bullish thesis isn’t worth much.

As for the bull case for oil stocks, the market is enthusiastically supporting it. XLE just reached a new all-time high. North American industry leaders ExxonMobil, Chevron, Suncor, Cenovus (CVE), and Canadian Natural (CNQ) are all at or near all-time highs. Our guidance remains: Stay long oil stocks.

Some of the world’s best investors are accumulating this high-quality stock for the long-term

Credit: Wachiwit

Last week, 13F filings for the world’s largest money managers were made public. This means it is “13F analysis” season, a time of year that can lead to big investment returns. Here’s why…

The SEC likes to keep tabs on large money managers to ensure markets are reasonably stable and working reasonably well. In pursuit of those goals, the SEC requires large money managers to report their public-market positions via “13F filings.”

Those filings are made every quarter and are public. 13F filings essentially let you look over the shoulders of top investors, which is often useful for spotting trends and good stock ideas.

Top money managers typically spend fortunes on industry and stock research. They can hire teams of very smart analysts that work 80+ hours a week researching stocks. They can pay big bucks to hire industry experts and get specialized, insider knowledge. They can pull strings to get access to privileged information. They will go to the ends of the earth to get an information edge that helps them pick stocks.

After all, there are literally billions of dollars on the line. Spending $5 million to research an industry can yield a hedge fund $500 million or more in profit.

And through 13F filings, we can see exactly how all their hard work, time, and money invested is translating into stock positions. It’s like accessing millions of dollars of stock research for free.

This week, our 13F analysis turned up a handful of interesting stocks and market positions. There’s a lot of information and ideas here, so we will be publishing them in a series over the coming weeks.

We kicked off our series on Monday by detailing how the master “quality” investor Chris Hohn has accumulated stakes in construction aggregate giants Vulcan Materials (VMC) and Martin Marietta (MLM). In the past, I’ve highlighted how these two stocks are excellent “inflation defense” assets.

Quality investors like Hohn are cut from the same cloth as legendary investor Warren Buffett. They aim to invest in entrenched, dominant world-class businesses with rare attributes that make them very difficult to compete with. These attributes can take the form of excellent brands, economies of scale, intellectual property, network effects, and high switching costs.

Today, we highlight how a group of respected “quality” investors recently bought shares of entertainment streaming giant Netflix (NFLX).

On July 21, I looked at beaten-up Netflix shares and came away thinking the stock was about to enjoy a big “relief” rally.

My bullish stance wasn’t based on what I know about Netflix’s business. It was based on what I know about what other people know about the business.

Netflix is a growing, profitable business trading for around 22 times earnings. Plus, with a market cap of $294 billion, it is an enormous company. Thus, Netflix currently has a rare set of qualities that large money managers are constantly looking for: It’s a great business trading for a reasonable price, and very importantly, it is large enough for them to buy.

This combination of qualities is rare in the stock market. And so, I ended the analysis by saying I expect to hear news that some large investors piled into the beaten-up stock.

Well, it didn’t take long for that news to hit. Recent 13F filings show that respected quality investors Bill Ackman of Pershing Square, Terry Smith of Fundsmith, and the firm of Gardner Russo & Quinn all purchased Netflix shares during the second quarter. The approval of this group is a very bullish signal for the stock.

Ackman, in particular, made a big splash in the stock market. He disclosed a huge 13 million-share position worth over $900 million… and publicly praised the business’s position and its reasonable valuation. This news has helped propel NFLX shares 19% higher since our bullish note.

A gain of 19% in a month is good work when you can get it. And we bet this gain figure runs higher over the next six months.

Market Notes

• Travel and hospitality giant Airbnb (ABNB) reached a new one-year high today. The new high is indicative of a strong travel market and a strong consumer.

• Our recommendation to invest in Canada continues its winning ways. Canadian oil giant Cenovus (CVE) reached a new all-time high today.

• The bull market in Colombia continues. The country’s oil giant Ecopetrol (EC) reached a new all-time high today.

• Our recommendation to invest in the health care diagnostics megatrend remains a winner. Diagnostics giant Quest Diagnostics (DGX) reached a new all-time high today.

• The offshore drilling megatrend continues to create winners. Offshore drilling services provider Tidewater (TDW) reached a new all-time high today.

• The bull market in transportation, in general, and maritime transportation specifically, continues. The SonicShares Global Shipping ETF (BOAT) reached a new one-year high today.

Regards,

Brian Hunt
Editor, Money & Megatrends

An urgent message from our colleagues:

The unusual AI play that gave readers a shot at 670% gains

Ask people how to make money from AI, and they’ll say “buy Nvidia.” But Wall Street legend Larry Benedict does it in an entirely new way. He trades an unusual pattern that hits the markets every 90 days. In the last five years, it’s hit 23 times. Each time, Larry found his members winning trades. One run could have returned 670% in around seven weeks. The pattern hits again on September 16.

Here’s the ticker he’s recommending today.

The post It’s practically raining money on this industry’s shareholders. Are you getting your share? appeared first on MarketWise.

Today’s issue in preview:

• The strongest bull market you probably don’t own

• Two world-class inflation hedges you should know about

• This high-tech bull market is poised to reach new all-time highs.

• Learn our Top Themes to buy now

Two world-class inflation hedges you should know about

Credit: f9photos

Our idea of owning Vulcan Materials (VMC) and Martin Marietta (MLM) just received a heck of an endorsement.

Last week, regulatory filings revealed that master investor Chris Hohn accumulated large stakes in both companies during the second quarter.

Chris Hohn isn’t a name you see much on CNBC or in the Wall Street Journal, but he’s one of the world’s most respected, most successful money managers. In 2025, Hohn’s TCI Fund Management generated $18.9 billion for clients. It’s believed to be the biggest annual dollar gain in hedge fund history.

Hohn is a long-term “quality” investor, cut from a similar cloth as Warren Buffett. Hohn looks to invest in world-class companies with giant competitive advantages that can reliably earn high returns on capital they invest in their businesses. He likes entrenched, dominant companies that are extremely difficult to compete with, like Visa (V), Mastercard (MA), and Alphabet (GOOG), all of which he holds.

Hohn is also ultra-selective. He’s very picky about what he buys and typically runs a concentrated portfolio of less than 15 stocks. And he’s been buying Vulcan and Martin Marietta.

Back in June, we detailed these two firms as “unique inflation hedges you’ve probably never considered.”

Vulcan and Martin Marietta are America’s two largest construction aggregate producers.

Together, Vulcan and Martin Marietta own and operate hundreds of mines across America that produce gravel, sand, and crushed stone – aka “construction aggregates.”

These raw materials are literally the foundation of highways, bridges, airports, offices, apartments, homes, and factories. You are virtually guaranteed to have driven on a road made possible by the construction aggregates produced by Vulcan or MM. They are the giants of the industry.

Importantly, many of Vulcan and MM’s mines are in coveted locations near America’s major metropolitan areas. This is key because construction aggregates are very heavy and therefore costly to transport over long distances. Transporting $5 million worth of gold and transporting $5 million worth of gravel are two very different things.

Vulcan and MM’s stranglehold on the country’s best aggregate mines near major metropolitan areas is a significant advantage over their competitors.

Given how difficult, expensive, and time-consuming it can be to permit and develop a large gravel mine, we can say both VMC and MLM own irreplaceable collections of scarce, in-demand resources. Importantly, these scarce resources cannot be printed or coded into existence.

Those attributes are key to playing inflation defense. They’ve allowed the market values of VMC and MLM to rise and outpace dollar debasement over the past seven years.

VMC and MLM are also enjoying the U.S. factory and data center building boom we’ve been investing in with great success. As America grows, VMC and MLM grow with it.

Owning a collection of gravel pits and sand mines isn’t as exciting as owning SpaceX or AI stocks. However, if you want to play inflation defense by owning irreplaceable collections of scarce, in-demand assets whose prices can rise along with the rate of money creation, consider VMC and MLM. Both stocks just received a blue ribbon endorsement from a world-class appraiser of asset quality.

The strongest bull market you probably don’t own

Credit: Kanoke_46

As of this morning, our Sept. 29, 2025, recommendation to own oil stocks has resulted in an extraordinary 68.2% gain, as measured by the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF (XES).

Back then, we laid out a simple bull case for oil stocks: As the global economy grows, oil demand will remain solid. However, importantly, U.S. shale oil production growth appears to be peaking.

Flatlining supply from this region would remove a critical and reliable source of production growth that has been in place for more than a decade. Plus, oil was very cheap relative to gold and other assets, indicating good value.

With all that in mind, we’ve written frequently and bullishly about owning Canadian oil giant Suncor (SU), U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil (XOM), and XES. Both SU and XOM are up more than 40% since our September call. Both are close to breaking out to all-time highs.

When I recommended oil and started trading it from the long side, I did not factor in the potential bullish driver of the Iran War. That’s been a “bonus” driver of gains in oil stocks. Sometimes, the dice rolls in your favor.

Although positive news related to the Iran War could emerge at any time and trigger a short-term oil/oil stock correction, the long-term picture is bullish. I see three reasons why this is the case.

One: Critical oil infrastructure in the Middle East has been damaged. Oil flows will not return to pre-war levels for possibly over a year. This supports oil prices north of $80 per barrel, which supports large cash flows for oil and gas firms.

Two: Most countries maintain substantial above-ground “buffer” supplies of oil and refined petroleum products in the event of market disruptions such as the Iran War. Over the past five months, much of these buffer supplies have been depleted to compensate for the loss of Middle Eastern flows. They must be replenished.

The coming restocking of buffer supplies will support oil prices north of $80 per barrel… which, again, supports large cash flows for oil and gas firms.

Three: Although oil stocks have had a heck of a run since our September call, they aren’t up much over the past ten years. Adjusted for dollar debasement over the past decade, key oil and gas ETFs XES and the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP) are down significantly.

A continuation of the oil stock bull market should be particularly rewarding for the offshore drilling “subsector.”

This oil industry niche consists of companies that manufacture and operate offshore drilling ships, platforms, and related equipment & services.

As I’ve covered over the past few weeks, for many countries and businesses, the Iran War is a brutal reminder: If your survival or smooth operation depends on uninterrupted resource flows from the Middle East, you are in a dangerous, vulnerable position.

No politician, CEO, or major shareholder wants their business to be in that position. No citizen wants their country to be in that position. Many powerful and influential people are realizing this is a big risk that must be mitigated if humanly possible. Executives and politicians will get fired for not addressing it effectively.

This means building and buying as many forms of “not Middle Eastern” resource supply chains as possible economically… like those from safe, resource-rich Canada and Brazil. It means lots of oil exploration off the shores of South America, Africa, Mexico, and eventually the Arctic shelf.

Drilling offshore is one of the few areas in the world that still offers the potential for large new “company maker” oil field discoveries.

This means lots of money is flowing towards offshore drillers now and will continue to do so. This should drive continued gains in the offshore drilling theme.

Current market leaders here include drillship and platform operators Transocean (RIG), Valaris (VAL), Noble (NE), and Seadrill (SDRL). Well-positioned offshore equipment and service providers include Tidewater (TDW), Oceaneering (OII), and TechnipFMC (FTI).

Although oil stocks are up substantially since our original call, we believe they have a lot further to run. The fundamentals are strong. The public is largely indifferent towards this bull market. Still bullish!

This high-tech bull market is poised to reach new all-time highs.

Credit: Photofex-AT

After winning the presidency in 2024, one of Donald Trump’s first consequential acts was telling European countries they needed to start picking up more of the defense bill… that they couldn’t depend on U.S. military assistance as much as they had in the past.

Trump’s stance on how much the U.S. would act as the world’s “policeman” marked a significant departure from how the world had worked for decades.

In response to Trump’s stance and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the leaders of Germany, the UK, France, Poland, and Italy began ramping up their domestic spending on missiles, radar, satellites, airplanes, and drones. Overall, European military spending jumped 14% in 2025 alone. Spending in 2026 is expected to reach €454 billion, representing a 32% increase over 2024 levels.

This huge increase in already large budget line items drove a bull market in European defense stocks in 2025. The Select STOXX Europe Aerospace & Defense ETF (EUAD) gained 92% from Jan. 1, 2025, to October 2025.

This fund owns the “who’s who” of major publicly traded European defense contractors. Major holdings include Rolls-Royce (aircraft engines, naval propulsion), Safran (aerospace), Airbus (aerospace), BAE Systems (diversified), Leonardo S.p.A. (diversified), and Rheinmetall (vehicles, missiles, ammunition).

After such a big run, it was reasonable to expect the European defense theme to take a break and digest its large gains. As you can see in the chart below, that’s exactly what happened from October 2025 through July 2026. The fund moved in a long sideways consolidation period.

Recently, however, the strong trend of European defense spending propelled EUAD to within pennies of its all-time high. We think the fund is likely to trade past that all-time high soon.

We live in a deglobalizing world where the U.S. cannot be counted on to provide 24/7 protection for countries around the globe. Defense is becoming increasingly high-tech, which means today’s expensive bleeding-edge systems can quickly become yesterday’s obsolete junk and therefore must be upgraded or replaced frequently. Competition for scarce critical resources will provoke more conflict in the future.

Add it all up, and you get a bull market in European defense stocks. This is a trend breakout you want to pay attention to.

Market Notes

• Our recommendation to own healthcare stocks continues to pay off. Biotech royalty leader Roivant Sciences (ROIV) just hit a new yearly high.

• Mega bank Bank of America (BAC) reached a new all-time high today. This is indicative of a strong U.S. economy.

• Our recommendation to invest in resource-rich Canada continues to reward shareholders. The iShares MSCI Canada ETF (EWC) reached a new all-time high today.

• Oil refining giants Marathon Petroleum (MPC) and Valero Energy (VLO) reached new all-time highs today. These firms benefit from the constriction of resource flows in the Middle East.

Regards,

Brian Hunt
Editor, Money & Megatrends

An urgent message from our colleagues:

New Patent Reveals Elon Musk’s Next Breakthrough: M.A.G.I.

This new form of AI could create so much wealth that Elon Musk calls it “an infinite money glitch.” The CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, is on record predicting this will be “the next wave” of the AI boom… And that it will launch “the next multi-trillion-dollar industry.”

Which is why Jeff Brown is recommending this little-known Elon Musk supplier that’s at the center of this revolution.

The post The strongest bull market you probably don’t own appeared first on MarketWise.