The Future Investors

🔍 Who Dominates When AI Does the Shopping?

The Future Investors — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 14:59:13 GMT

AI is changing the world in more and more ways, transforming how we work, search for information, create content and communicate. Now, AI is also starting to change how we discover products, shop online and ultimately pay.

Today, we still search for products, compare different websites and complete the checkout ourselves. But AI agents are starting to take over more of these steps. They can help discover products, compare options and even complete parts of the purchase for us. This is called agentic commerce.

And this shift is starting to accelerate, as AI platforms, retailers and payment companies race to shape the future of AI-powered shopping.

So what happens when AI starts doing more of the shopping for us?

In this article, we’ll look at:

🤖 What agentic commerce is and how it works
🛒 How agentic commerce will change the shopping journey
📈 How big the opportunity could become
♟️ The key players and where they fit in the ecosystem
🏆 Which companies we think are best positioned

🤖 What Is Agentic Commerce?

Agentic commerce is the next step in online shopping, where AI agents can do more than just recommend products or answer questions.

Today, consumers still do most of the work themselves. We search for products, visit different websites, compare options, add items to the cart, complete the checkout and make the payment. With agentic commerce, the shopping journey starts to look very different.

Instead of doing everything ourselves, we can simply tell an AI agent what we are looking for. The agent can search for products, compare prices, check reviews, look at stock and delivery times, and help complete the purchase for us.

For example:
“Find me the best wireless headphones under $100. Compare the reviews, find the best deal and have them delivered by tomorrow.”

The agent may still ask for approval before buying, or complete the purchase automatically within limits set by the user.

The visual below shows how traditional e-commerce compares with agentic commerce.

Source: The Future Investors Research. Visual created with AI.

The biggest difference is that AI is moving from helping us shop to taking action for us. That could make AI agents a new layer between consumers and online stores, affecting which products we see, where we buy them and how we pay.

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🛒 How Shopping Will Change

Agentic commerce will change where shopping starts, how products are found and who owns the customer relationship.

Today, many purchases still begin on Google, Amazon, social media or a retailer’s own website. As AI agents become part of shopping, more of that journey will start inside the AI assistant. That will also change what matters for retailers. A good-looking website will still matter, but AI agents will rely more on clear product data, price, stock, reviews and delivery information. Retailers will need to make this information easy for AI agents to access, understand and compare.

Source: The Future Investors Research. Visual created with AI.

The first signs are already here. Meta’s Muse can perform shopping tasks for users, and Shopify is opening its merchant network to AI platforms and shopping assistants. Shopify is already seeing the effect: in Q1 2026, AI-driven traffic to Shopify stores grew 8× year over year, and orders from AI-powered searches increased almost 13×.

Checkout will change too. More of the purchase can happen inside the AI experience itself, and payment companies are already building tools that connect AI agents with carts, checkout systems and payments. This could also change digital advertising. If AI agents choose which products to show, brands may need to compete for visibility inside AI systems, not just on search engines and social media.

Trust will become more important as well. Consumers need to know when an AI agent can buy automatically and when it needs approval.

That leads to a key question:

“Who owns the customer when the shopping journey starts with an AI agent?”

Some companies will make their products and services available to as many AI agents as possible. Others will try to keep shoppers inside their own platform. Agentic commerce will shift more power toward the companies that control discovery, product access, checkout and payments.

📈 The Opportunity

Agentic commerce is still at an early stage, but the numbers show how quickly it could grow. Mastercard expects more than 300 million online shoppers to regularly use AI agents to shop and pay by 2030, more than 1 in 10 online shoppers worldwide.

Other forecasts show how large the financial opportunity could become. By 2030, AI agents could be involved in $1.5 trillion to $5 trillion worth of transactions globally. Accenture also estimates that more than 30% of online commerce could run through AI agents by 2030, representing around $3.1 trillion in transactions.

Sources: Mastercard, Accenture and industry forecasts. Visual created with AI.

The estimates are not all the same, but they show one thing clearly: agentic commerce could become a major new channel for global commerce.

Adoption will not happen overnight. Trust, security and clear rules around identity, consent and authorization will be important before consumers are comfortable letting AI agents spend money on their behalf. Mastercard also says trust will play a big role in how quickly agentic commerce becomes widely used.

The opportunity is not only about more online sales. It also creates new opportunities across AI platforms, e-commerce software, checkout, payments and payment networks, which is why so many companies are now racing to build a position.

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♟️ The Key Players

Agentic commerce is changing every part of the shopping journey, from the AI assistant and product discovery to checkout, payments and trust. Below are the key players in each part of the market.

🤖 AI Agents & Consumer Interfaces

These are the platforms where consumers can start the shopping journey with AI.

Source: Company websites. Interfaces are illustrative.

1️⃣ OpenAI (ChatGPT)
ChatGPT lets users discover, compare and buy supported products directly inside the chat. OpenAI’s Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), developed with Stripe, connects merchants with ChatGPT across product discovery and checkout. In March 2026, OpenAI expanded shopping with visual browsing and side-by-side product comparisons.

2️⃣ Alphabet (Gemini)
Google combines Gemini, Search, Shopping, Google Pay and the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). UCP was developed with Shopify, Etsy, Wayfair, Target and Walmart and is supported by more than 20 major companies. UCP-powered checkout is now rolling out in AI Mode and Gemini, starting with Etsy and Wayfair, with Shopify, Target and Walmart coming next.

3️⃣ Meta (Muse)
Muse is becoming a full shopping agent. It started with access to the Shopify catalog, and Meta has now added Walmart, Best Buy, Sephora, Wayfair and other major retailers. Shop Pay and PayPal are being added for payments, Expedia for travel and Instacart for grocery. Plaid connects financial accounts, and Muse can also use Stripe’s Link at more than 1 million businesses. Meta is bringing Muse to AI glasses and has introduced Muse Charm, a pocket-sized device for talking directly with Muse.

4️⃣ Anthropic (Claude)
Anthropic is focused on helping companies build their own shopping agents. In September 2026, it released Claude Commerce Agents for consumers and merchants across retail, travel, telecom and entertainment. The tools help shoppers browse and buy products, and help retailers manage inventory, pricing and promotions. Salesforce is bringing Claude Commerce Agents into Commerce Cloud, and Mastercard is making Anthropic’s commerce agent tools available through its Agent Suite for Merchants.

5️⃣ Microsoft (Copilot)
Microsoft is building both a shopping experience in Copilot and commerce tools for businesses. Copilot Checkout lets shoppers buy directly inside Copilot. On the business side, Dynamics 365 Commerce uses MCP (Model Context Protocol) to securely connect AI agents with live data such as products, pricing, inventory, carts, orders and fulfillment. This lets retailers use their existing commerce systems for AI shopping without rebuilding everything from scratch. Microsoft’s Commerce MCP Server is currently in preview.

🛍️ Commerce Platforms

These companies connect large numbers of products, merchants and customers.

1️⃣ Shopify
Shopify is becoming the central merchant layer for AI shopping. Its Agentic Storefronts connect merchants with ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Meta Muse. The Shopify Catalog keeps product data structured and up to date. On supported AI channels, shoppers can complete purchases through Shopify-powered checkout. Shopify also co-developed the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) with Google.

See how Shopify brings products into AI conversations 🎥👇

2️⃣ Amazon
Amazon already controls product search, reviews, Prime, logistics, and checkout. Now, it is building its own agentic tools. Alexa for Shopping can compare products, track price history, build carts, and automate purchases. Its new ‘Buy for Me’ agent can even purchase products from external brand websites. Amazon is also protecting its own ecosystem. It recently blocked Meta’s Muse agent from shopping on Amazon.com to keep control over its marketplace data.

3️⃣ Salesforce
Salesforce powers the commerce infrastructure retailers use to build and run AI-powered shopping experiences. Its Shopper Agent, Buyer Agent and Merchant Agent automate shopping and retail tasks. Commerce Cloud connects with ChatGPT, Google Search and AI Mode, and is expanding into Gemini and Claude-based commerce agents. This helps retailers make their products and shopping experiences available across different AI platforms.

💳 Checkout Infrastructure

These companies connect AI agents with merchants and help complete the purchase.

1️⃣ Stripe
Stripe powers the checkout and payments behind AI shopping. It connects AI agents with merchants, processes payments and helps prevent fraud. Stripe co-developed OpenAI’s ACP, and its Link wallet lets Muse pay at more than 1 million businesses. For other approved purchases, Link can create a single-use virtual card.

2️⃣ Adyen
Adyen connects large merchants with different AI shopping platforms. Its Agentic Feed, Agentic Cart and Agentic Payments link product data, shopping carts and payments with AI agents. Merchants can connect once and then work with different AI platforms without rebuilding their systems each time.

Source: Adyen. Visual based on Adyen Agentic product materials.

3️⃣ PayPal
PayPal connects products, carts and checkout with AI shopping assistants. Store Sync lets agents find products, build carts and complete purchases. WebMCP also helps AI agents use existing merchant websites and move shoppers into trusted PayPal checkout.

🛡️ Payments & Trust

These companies help make sure AI agents can be identified and trusted, and can safely make payments on a user’s behalf.

1️⃣ Visa
Visa is building the trust and payment layer for AI agents through Visa Intelligent Commerce. Its Trusted Agent Protocol helps merchants verify trusted AI agents, supported by Agent Scoring and an Agentic Registry. Visa is also working with OpenAI on agentic commerce. Together with Mastercard and Ant International, it is developing a cross-network Know Your Agent (KYA) framework.

See Visa Intelligent Commerce in action 🎥👇

2️⃣ Mastercard
Mastercard is building its trust layer through Agent Pay. Its Verifiable Intent technology checks that an AI agent follows the user’s instructions and spending limits. Mastercard also launched Agent Connect, linking merchants, AI agents and payment providers, and is working with Visa and Ant International on a new cross-network Know Your Agent (KYA) framework.

3️⃣ Cloudflare
Cloudflare is building the identity and wallet layer for AI agents. Cloudflare Wallets give agents their own identity and programmable wallet, with limits on spending and where they can shop. Cloudflare also supports x402, which lets AI agents automatically pay for digital services, often using stablecoins.

Stablecoins could also become important for AI agents, enabling instant, cross-border and machine-to-machine payments. Coinbase is helping build this through x402, a system that lets AI agents pay automatically for digital services. Circle is building its Agent Stack around USDC, giving AI agents wallets and tools to make payments on their own.

We’ve now seen how agentic commerce works, how it will reshape the shopping journey, how large the opportunity could become and who the key players are in each part of the market ♟️

In the next part, we’ll reveal which companies we believe are best positioned to dominate the agentic commerce era 🏆

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🏆 Who Is Best Positioned?

We’ve seen that agentic commerce is a big opportunity and will change how people discover, shop and pay. We’ve also identified the key players. But which companies look most interesting from an investor perspective?

In this chapter, we’ll reveal which companies we believe are best positioned to dominate the agentic commerce era.

We focus only on publicly traded companies, so OpenAI, Anthropic and Stripe are excluded for now. We’ll choose one company from each of the four areas: AI agents & consumer interfaces, commerce platforms, checkout infrastructure, and payments & trust.

Let’s start with our #1 pick in AI Agents & Consumer Interfaces 🤖👇

🎓 IPO: Buy the Hype or Wait?

The Future Investors — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 11:34:17 GMT

Some of the world’s most exciting companies stay private for years. Then, when they go public, investors finally get the chance to buy the stock.

We recently saw this with SpaceX. Companies like Anthropic and OpenAI are also making plans for potential IPOs in the near future.

That usually creates a lot of excitement. But buying a newly listed stock is different from buying a company that has already been public for years. The pricing works differently, insiders may still be locked up, and the first weeks of trading can be very volatile.

So the key question is:

Should you buy the IPO, or is it better to wait?

In this article, you’ll learn:

🏛️ How an IPO works
🔥 Why IPOs can get expensive
⏳ What happens after the IPO
📊 What history tells us about IPO returns
🎯 When is the right time to buy?

🏛️ How an IPO works

An IPO, or Initial Public Offering, is the moment a private company becomes publicly traded and its shares become available to investors on a stock exchange.

Companies usually go public for a few reasons: to raise capital for growth, give founders and early investors a way to sell their shares, and increase the company’s visibility.

Before the stock starts trading, the company goes through several steps. It hires investment banks, accountants and lawyers, prepares a detailed prospectus with its financials and risks, and files the required documents with the regulator. The company also chooses which stock exchange it wants to list on, such as the Nasdaq or NYSE, and a ticker symbol that investors will use to find and trade the stock.

Next comes the roadshow, where management presents the company to large investors. Based on investor demand, the company and its investment banks set the final IPO price and decide how the shares will be allocated.

The process usually looks like this:

Source: The Future Investors, based on SEC and NYSE IPO guidance

Not all shares sold in an IPO are necessarily new shares. Some are primary shares, where the money raised goes to the company. Others can be secondary shares, sold by existing shareholders such as founders or early investors.

Want to see how an IPO works in practice? This short CNBC video explains the process using Snap as an example 🎥👇

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🔥 Why IPOs Can Get Expensive

One important thing to understand is that the IPO price itself says very little about how expensive a stock is. A company may price its IPO at $30 per share, but the company can already have a very high valuation at that price. It depends on things like the number of shares outstanding, the company’s revenue, earnings, growth and how much investors are willing to pay for that growth.

Before trading starts, IPO shares are often allocated to institutional investors, such as investment funds and large asset managers. Retail investors may get limited access, or no access at all, to the official IPO price.

If demand is strong, the stock could then open at $45. That is a 50% jump from the IPO price before many retail investors even get the chance to buy. This is called the IPO pop.

Newly listed stocks can also trade at a high valuation because only a limited number of shares may be available for trading at first. Once the stock starts trading publicly, retail investors can also start buying. If a lot of investors want the stock at the same time, there can be more buyers than shares available. This can push the share price higher in a short time. And when the price starts rising, FOMO can attract even more retail investors, pushing the valuation higher.

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⏳ What Happens After the IPO

Going public is only the beginning. After the IPO, investors start getting much more information about the company and how it performs as a public business.

One of the first important moments is the first earnings report. Investors can then compare the company’s actual revenue, margins and growth with the expectations around the IPO.

The first weeks and months can also be very volatile. Only part of the company’s shares may be available for trading, and investors are still trying to find a fair price for the stock. More analysts also start following the company, which gives investors more earnings estimates and valuation models to compare.

Another important event is the lock-up period. Founders, employees and early investors are often not allowed to sell all their shares directly after the IPO. This period is often around 180 days, but it can be shorter or longer. When the lock-up ends, more shares can become available for trading. If many insiders decide to sell, the extra supply can put pressure on the stock price.

Over the next few quarters, investors get a much better picture of the company. They can see if management delivers on its plans, how margins develop, how much cash the company generates and if growth continues. The longer a company has been public, the more information you have as an investor to judge the business and its valuation.

📊 How Do IPOs Perform?

IPOs get a lot of attention because of the jump on the first trading day. Across more than 9,000 U.S. IPOs from 1980 to 2024, the average first-day return was +18.9%. After that, the picture looks very different.

From the first closing price, IPOs returned an average of +19.1% over three years. That sounds positive, but the broader U.S. market returned +39.6% over the same period, a gap of 20.5 percentage points.

The median results were much weaker. Looking at IPOs from 1975 to 2021, the median three-year return was -25.7%. Around 60% of IPOs were below their first closing price after three years, and 38.5% had lost more than half their value.

After five years, the median return was -32.0%. A small group of very big winners helped push the average higher, but many IPOs struggled.

Source: Jay Ritter, University of Florida IPO Statistics

One important detail: the +18.9% first-day return is measured from the official IPO price. Many retail investors cannot buy at that price and only get access once the stock starts trading.

So there is a big difference between the IPO pop on Day 1 and the returns investors may see in the years after.

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🎯 When Is the Right Time to Buy?

Investors sometimes joke that IPO stands for “It’s Probably Overpriced.” That is not always true, but as we saw in the previous chapter, the excitement around an IPO does not always lead to strong returns in the years that follow.

There is no single perfect moment to buy a newly listed stock. But for long-term investors, there is usually no need to rush on the first trading day.

The first days after an IPO can be driven by excitement, limited share supply and FOMO. You still have very little public information about how the company performs as a listed business. There is also no rule that says you should wait three or six months. What matters more is the valuation compared with the company’s expected future growth.

As with any stock, you should always do a full fundamental analysis of the business, including its growth, margins, cash flow, the market, management and valuation.

With a newly listed company, there are also a few extra things to watch. Look at the first earnings reports, the lock-up period, how many shares are actually available for trading and if management is delivering on the plans presented around the IPO.

Source: The Future Investors

A fast-growing company can deserve a higher valuation. But if the stock price rises much faster than revenue and earnings expectations, you may be paying too much for that future growth.

Waiting for one or more earnings reports can help. You get more information about the business and can see if management is delivering on the growth investors expected at the IPO.

Some IPOs may already offer an attractive valuation versus growth soon after listing. Others may stay expensive for much longer.

So instead of asking “How long should I wait?”, ask:

“Is the expected growth over the coming years strong enough to justify the valuation I am paying?”

Thank you for reading! 🙏
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That’s it for today.
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Until then, invest wisely.

Vincent & Stefan
The Future Investors

Disclaimer:
The information and opinions provided in this article are for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any financial product, security, or asset. The Future Investors does not provide personalized investment advice and is not a licensed financial advisor. Always do your own research before making any investment decisions and consult with a qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions. Please consult the general disclaimer for more details.

🚀 Rising Star - September 2026

The Future Investors — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 13:35:54 GMT

Every two months, we highlight a growth stock that we believe has the potential to become a multibagger over the next 5-10 years.

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Predicting the long term is never easy, and these types of selections naturally come with more uncertainty.

We’re very selective with our Rising Stars, and it’s paying off. Since January 2025, we’ve shared ten picks, currently averaging a +14.8% return, with three already up more than +60% in just a few months 🚀

You can check all previous Rising Stars here.

Today, we reveal a stock we believe has the potential to become a multibagger 🚀

This fast-growing company is becoming increasingly important in the AI boom 🔥

🚀 Strong growth: Revenue growth expected to accelerate to 37% in Q4
🤖 AI exposure: Positioned at the heart of some of the fastest-growing areas of AI
🌍 Long runway: Rising complexity is creating more demand for its technology

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🗣️ Investor Talk #62: Oliver Cull

The Future Investors — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 11:19:08 GMT

Welcome to Investor Talk — where we interview successful investors to uncover their journeys, strategies, and the lessons they've learned. Get inspired by real stories and gain valuable insights to sharpen your own investment approach.

Every interview follows the same set of sharp, insightful questions — such as “What is your investment strategy?”, “What are your highest conviction stocks?”, and “If you could give one piece of advice to investors, what would it be?”

✨ All Investor Talk editions are now unlocked 🔓 and free to read for everyone. Dive in, get inspired, and take your investing to the next level 🚀

👉 Check out all previous Investor Talks here
Including interviews with Brian Feroldi (Founder of Long Term Mindset), Shay Baloor (Chief Marketing Strategist of Futurum Equities) and Gav Blaxberg (CEO of WOLF Financial).

In this edition, we have the pleasure of interviewing:

Name: Oliver Cull
Age: 29
Residence/Country: UK
Invests since: 2015

Introduction
I’ve always been interested in the markets, to be honest — even before I could legally invest. Back then, I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I was already watching charts at 17 or 18.

I really started learning about accounting and business at university. By the time I was around 20, I had a solid grasp of how businesses worked, and from there it all slowly came together. I spent hours a day reading company reports, analyzing businesses and understanding the investment thesis behind them.

It was just one of those “hobbies” I picked up at a young age that turned into a profession fairly quickly.

What is your investment strategy?
I’m fairly diversified, to be honest. I don’t follow one specific “strategy.” If I think a stock is undervalued and has a strong moat compared to its peers, I’ll consider buying it when the technicals align.

I always start with the big picture, though. What theme do I want to look at? What are the 5–10 best companies within that theme? Which is the strongest company at the most attractive valuation? Does my model for that company show the potential for a 2–3x return over the next 3–5 years? That’s always what I look for. And does the chart show bullish signs, or has the price been consolidating around an attractive level for a few days?

All of those things need to align before I take a position.

Like what you’re reading? Share it with your friends, family & fellow investors!

How many stocks are currently held in your portfolio?
I currently own 36 stocks.

Which sectors do you mainly focus on?
Right now, I’m fairly diversified across a few different themes:

AI infrastructure (of course), specifically photonics and interconnects.
I have quite a few commodity plays right now, including solar, copper, silver and scandium.
I have a strong allocation to AI adopters, mainly $LMND.
I’m building out my robotics exposure, currently with a big position in $OUST, but I’m looking to expand this.
I’ve done well in healthcare/biotech recently too, with $ABCL selling for a +100% return. I own 2–3 other healthcare stocks now that I’m happy to hold for a while.
Stablecoins/tokenization is the other big theme for me at the moment.

What are your 3 highest conviction stocks?
Right now I'd say:

1. $AAOI | Applied Optoelectronics
2. $OUST | Ouster
3. $COIN | Coinbase
4. $LMND | Lemonade, because I can't exclude this name

What is the stock in your portfolio with the highest return?
That I still currently hold it would be $NBIS. I have multiple stocks over 100% that are unrealized. I have also sold many this year for over 100% gains.

What is the biggest investing mistake you have made?
My biggest realized loss so far has been $HIMS where it was a medium sized position that lost 46%.

If you could give one piece of advice to investors, what would it be?
If you can’t explain your thesis behind a stock in less than 100–200 words, then it’s probably not a good thesis. Secondly, if you can’t build a conservative model (without tweaking the numbers) that gives you at least a 2x return over the next 3 years, then I don’t think it’s a good investment.

One more thing (I know you asked for one piece of advice, but here’s my third): DO NOT FOMO into stocks. I see it over and over again on FinX.

Oliver’s Favorites

📖 Favorite book: Poor Charlie's Almanack by Charlie Munger

🎧 Favorite podcast: The All-In Podcast @theallinpod

💬 Favorite quote: "The most contrarian thing of all is not to oppose the crowd but to think for yourself." – Peter Thiel

👤 Favorite FinX account: I find a lot of value in Paradis @ParadisLabs

Where can we find more info about you?
X: @MMMTwealth
Substack:
Website: beta.mmmtwealth.com

That’s a wrap!
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Don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments — we’d love to hear from you 💬

Leave a comment

That’s it for today.
We’ll see you again in the next edition of our newsletter!

Until then, invest wisely.

Vincent & Stefan
The Future Investors

📦 Unpacked #16: Bloom Energy

The Future Investors — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 09:24:50 GMT

Welcome to the 16th edition of Unpacked, our monthly series where we take a deep dive into a company. This time, we’re taking a closer look at Bloom Energy — a leader in onsite power generation, delivering clean, reliable, and scalable power to multiple industries, with growing demand from AI data centers.

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We break down its story, business model, and highlight the latest developments.

Additionally, we do a detailed fundamental analysis, diving into the company’s management, market, financials, and growth estimates. We score each area separately, leading to a final score between 0 and 100. This score reflects how fundamentally attractive we believe the company is as an investment, ranging from:

🔴 Below 50 → Uninvestable
🟠 50 - 59 → Questionable
🟡 60 - 69 → Reasonable
🟢 70 - 79 → Quality
🔵 80 - 89 → High-Quality
🟣 90 or above → Exceptional

The goal? To give you a full deep dive into this company, as a complement to your own research, so you can decide if it’s the right investment for you.

Now let’s unpack the fundamentals of Bloom Energy and see how we score it!

History and Business Model

Bloom Energy was founded in 2001 by KR Sridhar and a team of engineers, originally under the name Ion America.

The story behind Bloom started even earlier. Before founding the company, Sridhar led a team working on technology for NASA’s Mars program. The goal was to build a system that could use resources on Mars to produce oxygen and fuel for astronauts.

When NASA changed its plans for the Mars program, Sridhar and his team discovered that the technology could also be used in another way: to produce electricity on Earth.

This became the foundation for the Bloom Energy Server, which uses solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) to turn fuels such as natural gas or biogas into electricity. The idea was simple: businesses could produce reliable power directly at their own location, instead of getting all their electricity from the power grid.

In 2006, Bloom started its first field test at the University of Tennessee. Two years later, the company commercially launched the Bloom Energy Server. Early customers included Google, Walmart, Coca-Cola, FedEx, and Bank of America.

In 2010, Bloom officially introduced the Bloom Energy Server to the public at a major event in California. The technology, often called the “Bloom Box” at the time, received widespread attention and put Bloom Energy on the map.

Source: Bloom Energy — KR Sridhar at the Bloom Energy Server launch, 2010

Bloom continued to grow. In 2011, it completed its first microgrid, and in 2013, the company entered Japan and started supplying power to data centers.

In 2018, Bloom Energy went public on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BE. In the years that followed, the company increased production and expanded into new markets, including South Korea.

More recently, data centers and AI infrastructure have become a major growth opportunity for Bloom. AI data centers need huge amounts of reliable electricity, but getting enough power from the grid can take years. Bloom can solve part of this problem by producing electricity directly at the data center, with systems that can be installed much faster.

Today, Bloom has grown from technology originally developed for Mars into a major provider of onsite power for data centers, manufacturers, utilities, and other energy-intensive businesses.

Its mission is:

“to make clean, reliable energy affordable for everyone in the world.”

Business Model Explained

Bloom Energy helps companies generate reliable electricity directly at their own location. This is especially useful for businesses that need a lot of power, such as data centers, factories, and utilities.

At the center of Bloom’s business are two technologies:

⚡ 1. Energy Server
The Energy Server is Bloom’s core product. It uses solid oxide fuel cells to turn natural gas, biogas, or hydrogen into electricity without combustion. The systems are installed directly at or near the customer’s location and can be expanded when more power is needed.

💧 2. Electrolyzer
The Bloom Electrolyzer uses the same core technology in reverse to produce hydrogen from water and electricity. The hydrogen can then be used for energy, industrial processes, or as a cleaner fuel.

Source: Bloom Energy — Energy Server (left) and Electrolyzer (right) / AI-generated

How Bloom Energy Makes Money 💰
Bloom earns its revenue from:

⚡ Sales of Energy Servers and Electrolyzers
🏗️ Installation of its systems
🔧 Service and maintenance
🔌 Selling electricity through energy agreements

Bloom sells and installs its systems, then continues to earn revenue through service, electricity agreements, and customers adding more power capacity over time.

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Revenue Breakdown

On July 28, 2026, Bloom Energy reported its Q2 2026 results. Total revenue reached a record $1.07 billion (+166% YoY), passing $1 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time.

⚡ Product – $935 million (88%)
Bloom’s largest source of revenue, coming from sales of its Energy Servers and Electrolyzers. Product revenue increased 215% YoY.

🏗️ Installation – $51 million (5%)
Revenue from installing Bloom’s systems at customer locations. Installation revenue increased 36% YoY.

🔧 Service – $69 million (6%)
Revenue from servicing and maintaining Bloom systems after they are installed. Service revenue increased 27% YoY.

🔌 Electricity – $10 million (1%)
Revenue from electricity generated by Bloom systems and sold directly to customers under energy agreements.

The revenue mix shows that Bloom is very dependent on product sales, with around 88% of Q2 revenue coming from products. As Bloom sells more systems, it can also earn more from installation, service, and electricity sales.

View our Portfolios

Recent Developments

Bloom Energy has entered an important new phase. AI and data centers have become a much bigger part of the business, with major partnerships, more customers, faster installations, and new leadership.

Here are the key developments:

1️⃣ Major AI Partnership with Oracle
In July 2025, Bloom announced a partnership with Oracle to power selected Oracle data centers in the U.S. The first project was completed in just 55 days, showing how quickly Bloom can bring new power online. In April 2026, the partnership became much larger. Oracle agreed to buy up to 2.8 GW of Bloom fuel cell systems, with the first 1.2 GW already contracted and being installed across Oracle projects in the U.S.

2️⃣ Brookfield Partnership Grows to $25 Billion
In October 2025, Bloom announced a $5 billion partnership with Brookfield to build and finance power projects for AI data centers. In June 2026, the partnership was expanded from $5 billion to $25 billion. The money can be used to finance Bloom-powered AI infrastructure projects around the world.

3️⃣ Growing AI & Data Center Business
AI and data centers have become an important market for Bloom. The company now works with nearly two dozen AI infrastructure customers, with around 250 MW of capacity, up from almost zero in this market two years ago. Bloom has already installed hundreds of megawatts of power at data centers. The company also says its technology has been approved by all major U.S. hyperscalers and more than a dozen neoclouds, AI labs, and data center operators. Customers and partners include Oracle, Equinix, CoreWeave, Brookfield, AEP, and MiTAC.

4️⃣ Large Backlog Supports Future Growth
At the end of 2025, Bloom reported around $20 billion in total backlog, including approximately $6 billion in product backlog, which was about 2.5x higher YoY. Since then, demand has continued to grow, supported by major AI and data center projects.

5️⃣ New Leadership
Bloom has also added several new leaders. In 2026, Simon Edwards became CFO. He previously served as CEO and CFO of AI chip company Groq and held senior finance roles at several technology companies. In 2025, Bloom also hired Aaron Hoover to lead business and corporate development and added former SAP co-CEO Jim Snabe to its Board of Directors.

6️⃣ Power Connect Makes Installations Faster
In August 2026, Bloom introduced Power Connect, a new system designed to make Energy Server installations faster. More of the electrical work is completed and tested in the factory before the equipment arrives at the customer. Bloom says this can reduce onsite installation time by more than 40%.

Source: Bloom Energy — Power Connect

7️⃣ Bloom Energy Joins the S&P 500
On September 4, 2026, it was announced that Bloom Energy will join the S&P 500. The change will take effect before the market opens on September 21, 2026. Bloom will replace Molson Coors Beverage in the index, marking another important milestone for the company.

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Fundamental Analysis

Now it’s time for the fundamental analysis of Bloom Energy.

In this section, we evaluate three key areas: management, market, and financials & growth estimates. Each area contains multiple elements and each element is scored individually, leading to a final score between 0 and 100.

Final Scoring

This score reflects how fundamentally attractive we believe Bloom Energy is as an investment, ranging from:

🔴 Below 50 → Uninvestable
🟠 50 - 59 → Questionable
🟡 60 - 69 → Reasonable
🟢 70 - 79 → Quality
🔵 80 - 89 → High-Quality
🟣 90 or above → Exceptional

Unlock our scoring framework and full fundamental analysis below, and see how we score Bloom Energy on a scale from 0 to 100 — exclusively available to our paid members! ✨

First, let’s walk through our scoring framework 📊👇

🎯 Best Buys - September 2026

The Future Investors — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 12:10:25 GMT

Hey Investor,

Our Best Buys for September are here 🎯

Each month, we look for great companies trading at attractive valuations and highlight three stocks that currently stand out to us.

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Since December 2024, we’ve shared 63 Best Buys with our paid members.

Our Best Buys have delivered an average return of 22% so far. Several picks have delivered triple-digit returns 🔥

🚀 AMD: picked at $97.35, now +369%
🚀 ASML: picked at $662.63, now +148%
🚀 Alphabet: picked at $168.95, now +103%

We focus on high-quality businesses with strong fundamentals trading at attractive valuations. As Warren Buffett famously said:

“It’s better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.”

Learn more about how we score stocks on fundamentals in our Fundamental Scoring Framework article.

To keep looking for the best opportunities, we don't pick the same Best Buy two months in a row.

Now let’s dive into our Top 3 Best Buys for September ✨👇

Disclaimer:
The information and opinions provided in this article are for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice. Please consult the general disclaimer for more details.

#3: Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO)

Our first Best Buy for September is one of the highest-quality companies in the market today: Broadcom.

This is the first time we’ve included Broadcom in our Best Buys list. The stock is up just 3% YTD and currently trades 28% below its all-time high reached in early June.

Broadcom has become a key player in the AI boom, with its chips and networking solutions helping power the massive buildout of AI infrastructure. After the recent pullback, we believe current levels offer an attractive entry point for long-term investors.

What Happened?

Broadcom shares have been under pressure since reaching an all-time high in early June. The stock had already gained a lot thanks to AI, pushing expectations to very high levels and leaving little room for disappointment.

The latest Q3 FY2026 results were actually very strong. Revenue jumped 86% YoY to $29.59B and adjusted EPS nearly doubled to $3.32. Both came in slightly above expectations. AI was once again the big growth driver. AI chip revenue surged 221% YoY to $16.7B. Broadcom expects this to reach $21.7B in Q4, an incredible 236% increase YoY.

Source: EarningsTime, Broadcom Q3 FY26 Earnings Release

Still, the stock fell after hours as the Q4 outlook came in slightly below Wall Street expectations. Broadcom expects revenue of $34.8B, compared to the $34.97B expected by Wall Street. That would still be an impressive 93% increase YoY. Adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to come in at around 68%.

Broadcom also raised its longer-term AI outlook. The company now expects AI revenue to reach $115B in FY2027 and around $230B in FY2028. That means AI revenue could double again in just one year.

These are incredible growth numbers for a company of Broadcom’s size. The stock has come down significantly, but the business is still performing very well, especially in AI.

Why Broadcom Looks Attractive Now

As we mentioned before, Broadcom is one of the best companies in the world. It has excellent management, a strong moat, a huge and growing market, and impressive growth. Broadcom scores 85 in our Fundamental Scoring Framework, which falls in the 🔵 High Quality category.

But what are you paying for all that quality? At first sight, Broadcom looks quite expensive with a P/E ratio of 45.6. But that number doesn’t tell the full story. Broadcom is growing very fast.

For FY2026, GAAP EPS is expected to reach $9.03, bringing the forward P/E below 40. Looking one year further ahead, GAAP EPS is expected to jump to around $16.50 in FY2027. At the current share price, that brings the forward P/E down to just 21.6.

That looks very attractive for a company growing this fast. Revenue and earnings are expected to grow between 65% and 70% this year and next year, and AI revenue is growing at triple-digit rates.

How many companies can you find with Broadcom’s quality, growth and strong market position at a forward P/E of around 22 based on next year’s earnings? Not many. At the current price, we believe Broadcom offers a very attractive opportunity for long-term investors.

The Future Investors (Vincent & Stefan) currently do not hold a position in Broadcom.

Fundamental Score: 85 🔵 → High Quality
Current Stock Price: $357.16

View our Portfolios

The next two? Two high-quality businesses with strong competitive positions at very attractive valuations.

📱 One sits at the center of how millions discover and engage with content.
🎯 The other uses AI and data to help businesses reach the right customers.

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📈 Portfolio Update – August 2026

The Future Investors — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 12:48:54 GMT

After a volatile and relatively weak July, August was a strong month for the market 📈

In this recap, we look at how the major indexes performed in August, how our portfolios did compared to the market, which stocks were our biggest winners and losers, and the changes we made during the month.

Dive into our full August Recap below 👇

📢 Our Best Buys for September are coming this week — don't miss it 🎯

What Moved the Markets in August

August was a strong month for investors, with the major U.S. indexes moving higher. At Jackson Hole, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said the U.S. economy is strong, but inflation is still too high at 3.7%. Bringing inflation back toward the Fed’s 2% target is still the priority.

August was a big month for earnings, with Nvidia once again taking center stage. Revenue reached $96.2 billion, while Nvidia expects $108 billion next quarter, ahead of the $104 billion analysts expected. The company expects 70% revenue growth in FY2028, well above the 45% the market had expected.

Palantir reported exceptional results, with U.S. commercial revenue growing 149%, its Rule of 40 reaching 155 and free cash flow margin of 63%. Salesforce delivered strong results and expanded its partnership with Anthropic through Claudeforce. Shares jumped more than 20%, lifting other software stocks. Is the SaaSpocalypse now cancelled?

The Trade Desk went in the opposite direction. The company missed revenue expectations and guided for $650 million in Q3 revenue, well below the $804 million expected. Shares fell sharply following the results.

Meta reached a settlement of up to $18 billion over claims that Facebook and Instagram were designed to addict children. The company agreed to introduce stricter limits for teenagers using its platforms.

AI infrastructure attracted massive investments. SpaceX plans to grow its AI compute capacity from 2 GW to 10 GW by 2027, powered by Nvidia GPUs. The company is planning a $100 billion Starship complex in Louisiana and a new Terafab in Grimes County. Nvidia is working with Blackstone, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, KKR and others on a $500 billion AI infrastructure funding package for chips, power and data centers.

Nvidia’s Vera Rubin NVL72 racks entered production, with Microsoft becoming the first customer. OpenAI’s first custom AI chip, Jalapeño, developed with Broadcom, showed strong early results. SK hynix and SanDisk unveiled High Bandwidth Flash (HBF), while Samsung introduced zHBM to help meet the growing memory needs of AI.

Google Gemini surpassed 1 billion monthly users, while CrowdStrike introduced FalconIQ, its new AI-powered security platform. Chinese humanoid robot maker Unitree made its stock market debut, with shares surging 487% on the first day.

Robotaxis continued expanding across the U.S. Amazon’s Zoox made its robotaxi debut in Las Vegas, while Nevada approved a much larger rollout of autonomous vehicles from Tesla, Waymo and Uber. Uber and Zipline partnered to bring autonomous drone deliveries to Uber Eats, and Amazon continued expanding its Prime Air drone delivery network.

In healthcare, Moderna and Merck reported strong results for their personalized mRNA cancer vaccine combined with Keytruda. The treatment significantly reduced the risk of melanoma returning or spreading, sending Moderna shares more than 100% higher.

How did the markets perform in August? Here's how the three major indexes ended the month:

S&P 500: +2.6% 📈 (+12.3% YTD)
Nasdaq: +3.9% 📈 (+13.5% YTD)
Dow Jones: +1.3% 📈 (+10.7% YTD)

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Portfolio Performance: How Did We Do?

How did our portfolios perform in August?

We compare our results with the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones, highlight our strongest and weakest stocks, and take you through all the changes we made to our portfolios during the month.

Dive into the full recap below 👇
Available exclusively for our paid subscribers ✨

🔍 Photonics: Who Wins the Shift to Light?

The Future Investors — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 09:30:44 GMT

Photonics has become one of the hottest themes in the semiconductor market. Players like Lumentum and Coherent are up more than 600% and 200% over the past year. Nvidia is also investing billions in optical technology for its next generation of AI infrastructure.

AI needs to move more data at higher speeds, and traditional copper connections are starting to reach their limits. Photonics uses light to move data faster and with less power. This is becoming more important as AI demand grows.

But with so many companies competing in this fast-growing market, which ones are in the best position?

In this article, we’ll look at:

🔦 What photonics is and why it matters now
📈 How big the photonics opportunity could become
♟️ The key players in the photonics market
⚖️ The bull and bear case for photonics
🏆 Finally, we’ll share which companies we think are in the best position to win

🔦 Photonics Explained

Before looking at the opportunity, let’s first explain what photonics is.

Computers traditionally use electrical signals to move data through copper connections. Photonics works differently. It uses light, or photons, to move information. Data is turned into light, sent through optical fiber, and then turned back into data.

The technology isn’t new. Fiber-optic networks have used light to move data over long distances for decades. But AI is creating a much bigger need for it. Modern AI systems connect thousands of GPUs that work together and constantly exchange large amounts of data. As these systems get bigger, more GPUs need to communicate with each other and exchange more data at higher speeds.

This is where copper starts to struggle. Copper isn’t going away and still works very well over short distances. But at higher speeds, the distance it can cover becomes shorter. Optical connections can move data over longer distances at high speeds, while using less power. Light can also carry multiple streams of data at the same time, increasing the amount of data a single connection can handle.

Power also matters. AI data centers require a lot of electricity, so using less power to move data becomes more important as these systems grow.

Source: NVIDIA, Intel | Visual adapted with ChatGPT

Another important development is Co-Packaged Optics (CPO). Today, optical components are typically connected to networking chips through separate modules. CPO brings the optics much closer to the chip, reducing power use and allowing more data to move faster. This could become an important part of the next generation of AI data centers.

AI doesn’t just need more computing power and memory. It also needs a faster and more efficient way to move all that data.

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📈 The Photonics Opportunity

AI systems keep getting bigger and need to move more data. So how big could the opportunity for photonics become?

Goldman Sachs estimates that the aggregate networking TAM for AI systems could grow from around $15 billion with Nvidia’s GB300 NVL72 in 2026 to $154 billion with Rubin Ultra NVL576 in 2028. That’s a 9x increase in just two years. Rubin Ultra NVL576 is Nvidia’s next-generation AI system, connecting 576 GPUs across eight racks, compared with 72 GPUs in a single GB300 NVL72 rack today.

Source: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research, “Optical Networking: The Next Mega Trend in AI Infrastructure” (May 2026).

A large part of this growth could come from photonics. Today, optical connections are used to connect different racks and larger parts of an AI network. As AI systems grow, optics is moving further into these systems and is being used to connect GPUs across multiple racks. Goldman Sachs estimates that the addressable market for optical modules and optical engines could grow 13x as optics expands into these new connections.

CPO could become an important part of this market. For Rubin Ultra NVL576, Goldman Sachs estimates that CPO could represent $91 billion, or 59% of the total $154 billion networking opportunity.

Connections are also getting much faster. Today’s AI networks use connections of up to 800 gigabits per second (800G). The industry is moving toward 1.6 terabits per second (1.6T) in 2026, which means a single connection can handle twice as much data. With Rubin Ultra in 2027–2028, Nvidia is expected to move toward 3.2T, doubling the capacity again.

This means the photonics opportunity is growing in two ways. AI systems need more optical connections, and those connections need to handle more data.

So far, we’ve explored why photonics is becoming increasingly important for AI infrastructure and how large the opportunity could become.

In the rest of this article, we’ll look at the key players ♟️, the bull 🐂 and bear case 🐻, and finally which companies we think are best positioned to benefit 🏆

This content is exclusively available to our paid subscribers ✨

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♟️ The Key Players

The photonics market is not one single business. Different companies play different roles across the optical supply chain, from lasers and optical components to connectivity chips and photonics manufacturing.

🔦 Optical Components & Transceivers
These companies make the hardware that turns electrical signals into light and back again.

🎓 How Big Should Your Positions Be?

The Future Investors — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 13:26:53 GMT

Investors spend a lot of time thinking about which stocks to buy. We analyze growth, financials, valuation, competition and risks. How much of a stock to own gets far less attention, but it is just as important.

So, once you’ve found a company you want to own, the next question is:

How big should the position be?

A stock that doubles may sound like a fantastic investment, but if it makes up only 1% of your portfolio, the impact on your overall return is small. A position that is too large can have a big impact when things go wrong.

There is no perfect percentage that works for every stock. There are different ways to size your positions, based on factors such as conviction, potential upside and risk.

In this article, you’ll learn:

📊 Why position sizing matters
⚖️ The different ways to size your positions
🎯 How to find the right position size
🧩 How we size positions in our portfolios

📊 Why Position Sizing Matters

Position sizing is how much of your portfolio you invest in each stock. In other words, it is about deciding how much capital you want to put behind an investment idea. It has a direct impact on how much a winner — or loser — affects your overall return.

Imagine you have a $100,000 portfolio and one of your stocks doubles:

A 1% position that doubles adds only 1% to your portfolio return. A 10% position in that stock adds 10%. The stock delivered a 100% return in both cases, but the impact on your portfolio was very different. A great stock pick can still have little impact on your overall return if the position is too small.

It also works the other way around. If a 10% position falls 50%, it reduces your portfolio by around 5%. If it was only a 2% position, the impact would be around 1%.

The key is finding the right balance:
A position should be large enough to make a difference when you are right, but not so large that one mistake can do too much damage.

Alpha Theory looked at 13 years of data from around 200 equity managers. Their actual portfolios returned 12.5% annually, compared with 8.9% when every position had the same weight. With a more systematic way of sizing positions, returns increased further to 13.7% annually.

Source: Alpha Theory — Ultimate Position Sizing Guide White Paper

The lesson is clear: what you own matters, but the size of each position matters too.

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⚖️ The Different Ways to Size Your Positions

There is no single formula for how big a position should be. You can use different methods, depending on your investment style and how you think about risk and opportunity.

Here are some of the most common ways to size your positions:

Equal Weighting ↔️
Every stock starts with the same position size. If you own 20 stocks, for example, you could allocate 5% to each. It is easy to understand and prevents you from putting too much money into one idea. The downside is that it treats every investment the same, even when your conviction, potential upside or risk may be very different.

Conviction-Based Sizing 💡
The more conviction you have in an investment, the larger the position. Your highest-conviction ideas might get 5–10%, while smaller or more uncertain ideas might start at 1–3%. This gives your best ideas more influence on your portfolio, but conviction alone is not enough. You can have a lot of confidence in a company and still be wrong.

Risk-Based Sizing 🛡️
Here, position size depends on how much risk you see in an investment. A large, profitable company may justify a larger position than a smaller company with an uncertain future. The idea is simple: the more that can go wrong, the more careful you may want to be with the position size.

Upside-Based Sizing 🚀
Another option is to look at the potential return. An investment with attractive upside compared with its downside may deserve a larger allocation than one where the potential return is limited. This also helps connect your research to your portfolio. If you believe one stock offers a much better opportunity than another, should they really have the same position size?

In practice, you don’t have to choose just one method. Conviction, potential upside and risk can all play a role in deciding how much you invest.

But how do you decide what the right position size is?

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🎯 How to Find the Right Position Size

So, how do you decide if a stock should be 2%, 5% or perhaps 10% of your portfolio?

You can make this decision easier by looking at three key factors:

Conviction 💡
How strong is your investment thesis? The better you understand the company, its business and the reasons you own it, the more comfortable you may be with a larger position. But conviction should never be confused with certainty.

Potential Upside 🚀
How attractive is the opportunity at the current price? A great company is not always a great investment at any price. If you see significant upside from current levels, there may be more reason to give the stock a larger position.

Risk 🛡️
What could go wrong? A company with an uncertain business model, weak balance sheet or high execution risk may deserve a smaller position. The more risk you see, the more careful you may want to be with how much you invest.

Instead of choosing a different percentage for every stock, you can also work with position size ranges. For example:

These percentages are only an example. The right ranges depend on factors such as the number of stocks you own and how much risk you are comfortable taking. The important part is having a clear framework for your sizing decisions.

It also gives you a useful question to ask when looking at your portfolio:
Do your best investment ideas also have the largest positions?

If one of your highest-conviction ideas is only a small position, it is worth asking why. Your portfolio should reflect where your strongest investment ideas are.

If one of your strongest ideas is only 1% of your portfolio, it may have little impact even if your thesis turns out to be right. At the same time, a 10% position deserves a much higher level of confidence because getting it wrong will have a much bigger impact.

Position sizing is not about finding one perfect percentage. It is about matching the size of a position with your conviction, potential upside and risk.

🧩 How We Size Positions in Our Portfolios

In our portfolios, we use a combination of conviction, potential upside and risk when deciding how much we want to invest in a stock. But above all, the fundamentals of the company are at the center of our decisions.

A high-conviction idea does not automatically get a large position. A company with more execution risk, for example, will usually get a smaller position. Even if the potential upside is high, we want the position size to reflect the risk that things do not go as planned. We also look beyond the individual stock. If several positions are exposed to the same risks or trends, we take that into account when deciding how much capital we want to invest.

Valuation also matters. We can have a lot of conviction in a company, but if the stock is priced for perfection, we are less likely to add more capital. That does not mean we automatically sell or trim it. As long as the fundamentals remain strong and our thesis is intact, we are comfortable letting a winner run.

This brings us to another important part of our strategy: the difference between how much we invested and how large a position has become.

Imagine we invest 5% of our portfolio in a stock and the stock triples. That original investment is now worth 15% of our starting portfolio value. That does not automatically mean the position is too large or that we should sell.

The opposite can happen with a losing position. If we invest 5% and the stock falls 50%, it is now worth around 2.5% of our starting portfolio value. That does not automatically mean we should bring it back to 5%.

This is something Peter Lynch famously described as:

“Selling your winners and holding your losers is like cutting the flowers and watering the weeds.”

Source: Illustration created with AI. Quote by Peter Lynch.

That is exactly what we want to avoid. A smaller position is not automatically a reason to buy more, just as a larger position is not automatically a reason to sell.

This is why we pay close attention to how much capital we have invested, not only the current weight of a position. Every time we consider adding, we take a fresh look at the fundamentals, valuation, potential upside and risk. A lower stock price or smaller position alone is never a reason for us to buy more.

Of course, current position size still matters. If one stock becomes a very large part of the portfolio, the risk increases and trimming can make sense. But for us, there is an important difference between a position that becomes large because the stock performed well and one that is large because we kept adding more capital.

This gives our winners room to grow, while keeping our focus on the fundamentals, valuation and risk.

View Our Portfolios

📌 Key Takeaways

Position sizing plays an important role in your portfolio returns. A great stock can have little impact if the position is too small, while a position that is too large can hurt when things go wrong.

There is no perfect position size. The right size depends on factors such as conviction, potential upside and risk.

📊 Size matters: Even a big winner will have little impact if the position is too small.

⚖️ Balance risk and opportunity: Larger positions can have a bigger impact, both positive and negative.

🎯 Make your portfolio reflect your ideas: Your strongest investment ideas should have enough weight to make a difference.

🌱 Give winners room to grow: A larger position is not automatically a reason to sell, and a smaller position is not automatically a reason to buy more.

The goal is not to find the perfect percentage, but to give your best ideas enough weight to matter without putting too much of your portfolio at risk.

Don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments — we’d love to hear from you 💬

Leave a comment

That’s it for today.
We’ll see you again in the next edition of our newsletter!

Until then, invest wisely.

Vincent & Stefan
The Future Investors

📦 Unpacked #15: Intuitive Surgical

The Future Investors — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 13:03:06 GMT

Welcome to the 15th edition of Unpacked, our monthly series where we take a deep dive into a company. This time, we’re taking a closer look at Intuitive Surgical — the global leader in robotic-assisted surgery, transforming surgery through advanced robotic systems, software, and data-driven innovation.

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We break down its story, business model, and highlight the latest developments.

🔴 Below 50 → Uninvestable
🟠 50 - 59 → Questionable
🟡 60 - 69 → Reasonable
🟢 70 - 79 → Quality
🔵 80 - 89 → High-Quality
🟣 90 or above → Exceptional

The goal? To give you a full deep dive into this company, as a complement to your own research, so you can decide if it’s the right investment for you.

In case you missed it, here you can read the previous editions of Unpacked:

Now let’s unpack the fundamentals of Intuitive Surgical and see how we score it!

History and Business Model

Intuitive Surgical was founded in 1995 by Frederic Moll, John Freund, and Robert Younge, with the idea of using robotics to make surgery less invasive and more precise.

The technology behind the company came from early research into robotic surgery. Intuitive saw the opportunity to turn this technology into a system that could be used in hospitals around the world. This led to the creation of the da Vinci Surgical System.

The first da Vinci system was launched in Europe in 1999, followed by FDA clearance in the United States in 2000. That same year, Intuitive Surgical went public on the Nasdaq under the ticker ISRG.

One of the first important uses for da Vinci was urology, especially prostate surgery. As more surgeons and hospitals started using the system, Intuitive expanded into other areas of surgery and improved its technology.

In 2006, the company launched its second-generation da Vinci S, followed by the third-generation da Vinci Si. From 2014, Intuitive introduced its fourth-generation systems, including da Vinci X, Xi, and SP. Each new generation made the technology better and allowed surgeons to use da Vinci for a wider range of procedures.

Intuitive later expanded beyond traditional surgery. In 2019, it launched Ion in the United States, a robotic-assisted bronchoscopy platform that helps physicians reach and biopsy small nodules deep inside the lungs, with the goal of helping detect lung cancer earlier.

The latest major step came with da Vinci 5, launched in the United States in 2024 and Europe in 2025. Intuitive’s fifth-generation platform offers better ergonomics and more than 10,000x the computing power of da Vinci Xi, creating a new foundation for the future of robotic-assisted surgery.

Source: Intuitive Surgical, company history and product information

Over the past three decades, Intuitive has grown from a pioneer in robotic surgery into the global leader in robotic-assisted minimally invasive care, with its technology now used by hospitals and surgeons around the world.

Its mission is:

“We believe that minimally invasive care is life-enhancing care. Through ingenuity and intelligent technology, we expand the potential of physicians to heal without constraints.”

Business Model Explained

Intuitive Surgical has built an ecosystem around robotic-assisted minimally invasive care. Its technology helps physicians perform procedures with more precision and control, often using smaller incisions than traditional open surgery.

At the center of this ecosystem are two robotic platforms:

🤖 1. da Vinci
Da Vinci is Intuitive’s core platform and is used for robotic-assisted surgery. Surgeons control the system from a console and use robotic instruments to make precise movements while seeing the surgical area in a detailed 3D view. Da Vinci is used in areas such as urology, gynecology, general surgery, and thoracic surgery.

🫁 2. Ion
Ion expands Intuitive beyond surgery into robotic-assisted bronchoscopy. It helps physicians navigate deep into the lungs and take tissue samples from small nodules that can be difficult to reach. These samples can then be tested for diseases such as lung cancer.

Around da Vinci and Ion, Intuitive has built a broader ecosystem of instruments, accessories, training, services, and digital solutions. Tools such as My Intuitive, Intuitive Hub, and SimNow help surgeons and hospitals with training, procedure data, and insights.

How Intuitive Surgical Makes Money 💰
Intuitive earns its revenue from:

🩺 Instruments and accessories used during procedures
🤖 Sales and leases of da Vinci and Ion systems
🔧 Service and support for installed systems

What makes the business model attractive is that selling a system is only the beginning. Each installed system can generate recurring revenue for years as more procedures are performed and hospitals keep buying instruments, accessories, and services.

This creates a powerful cycle: more systems → more procedures → more recurring revenue.

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Revenue Breakdown

On July 16, 2026, Intuitive Surgical reported its second quarter 2026 results. Total revenue reached $2.89 billion (+19% YoY), supported by higher procedure volumes, system leasing revenue, and a larger installed base of da Vinci and Ion systems.

🩺 Instruments & Accessories – $1.73 billion (60%)
Intuitive’s largest source of revenue. These are the instruments and accessories used during da Vinci and Ion procedures. Revenue increased 18% YoY, with da Vinci procedures growing 15% and Ion procedures 36%.

🤖 Systems – $685 million (24%)
Revenue from da Vinci and Ion systems. Intuitive placed 468 da Vinci systems during the quarter, including 246 da Vinci 5 systems, as well as 55 Ion systems.

🔧 Services – $472 million (16%)
Revenue from service and support for Intuitive’s growing installed base of systems.

The revenue mix shows the strength of Intuitive's business model: around 76% of Q2 revenue came from instruments, accessories, and services, giving Intuitive a large recurring revenue base that grows as its installed base and procedure volumes increase.

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Recent Developments

Intuitive Surgical is entering a new phase. The company has new leadership, is bringing da Vinci 5 to more markets, expanding into more procedures, and investing more in software, AI, and digital technology.

Here are the key developments:

1️⃣ Dave Rosa Becomes CEO
In July 2025, Dave Rosa became CEO of Intuitive Surgical, replacing Gary Guthart after 15 years as CEO. Guthart remained with the company as Executive Chairman.

Rosa had already served as President since 2023 and has been with Intuitive since 1996. Before becoming CEO, he oversaw areas including product, digital, manufacturing, and commercial operations.

2️⃣ Da Vinci 5 Expands Globally
After launching in the U.S. in 2024, Intuitive started bringing da Vinci 5 to more international markets. The system received regulatory clearance in Japan in June 2025 and CE marking in Europe in July 2025.

Da Vinci 5 is Intuitive’s most advanced system, with more than 150 improvements and over 10,000x the computing power of da Vinci Xi.

Source: Intuitive Surgical – Da Vinci 5 product page

3️⃣ More Procedures Added to da Vinci
Intuitive continues to expand what surgeons can do with its systems. During 2025, da Vinci SP received new FDA clearances for areas including colorectal surgery, hernia repair, gallbladder removal, and appendectomy. In January 2026, da Vinci 5 was also cleared for cardiac procedures, opening another important area for the platform.

4️⃣ AI & Telesurgery
AI is becoming a bigger part of Intuitive’s strategy. In July 2026, the company introduced a five-layer AI framework, moving from surgical data and insights toward real-time guidance, augmented dexterity, and eventually supervised autonomy. The strategy builds on data from more than 20 million da Vinci procedures.

Intuitive is also advancing telesurgery. After demonstrating transatlantic telesurgery in 2025, the company conducted another live demonstration in July 2026 using da Vinci 5, Force Feedback, and shared control between surgeons in California and Georgia. The technology is still in development and not yet commercially available.

Source: Intuitive Surgical – Vision for an AI-Enabled Future of Healthcare

5️⃣ Expanding Directly in Europe
In March 2026, Intuitive completed acquisitions of several European distribution businesses, expanding its direct presence in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Malta, and San Marino. This allows Intuitive to work more directly with hospitals and surgeons in these markets instead of relying on distributors.

6️⃣ Building a Larger Intuitive Ecosystem
Intuitive continues to expand beyond its robotic systems. In May 2026, the company announced new da Vinci 5 features, telecollaboration capabilities, Force Feedback instruments, and other improvements. The company is building a broader ecosystem around robotics, instruments, software, data, training, and AI, making its platforms more useful over time.

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Fundamental Analysis

Now it’s time for the fundamental analysis of Intuitive Surgical.

Final Scoring

This score reflects how fundamentally attractive we believe Intuitive Surgical is as an investment, ranging from:

Unlock our scoring framework and full fundamental analysis below, and see how we score Intuitive Surgical on a scale from 0 to 100 — exclusively available to our paid members! ✨

First, let’s walk through our scoring framework 📊👇

🗣️ Investor Talk #61: Brandon

The Future Investors — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 09:59:32 GMT

✨ All Investor Talk editions are now unlocked 🔓 and free to read for everyone. Dive in, get inspired, and take your investing to the next level 🚀

In this edition, we have the pleasure of interviewing:

Name: Brandon @Invest_Brandon
Age: 33
Residence/Country: Las Vegas, Nevada
Invests since: 2014

Introduction
To break the ice, I didn’t stumble into the stock market. I studied it professionally, became obsessed with it, and dug deep into what actually makes money in the market. The hard truth is that it’s not what 95% of retail and professional investors are doing.

More than 90% of investors fail to outperform the S&P 500. That statistic should make everyone stop and think. We’re all here to make money, so why do so many people do so badly?

Many are trying to get rich overnight. Many don’t know what they own or why they own it. Many are only positioned to win when the market goes up, but when it dips, their portfolios suffer. Others use option strategies that cap their upside or fall into the cash flow trap at the cost of long-term appreciation.

The biggest problem is that many investors simply have no plan or system. They don’t know how to build a portfolio that works across different market environments while benefiting from both cash flow and long-term appreciation.

What is your investment strategy?
My investment strategy is very simple. It’s very boring. But I’ve used this framework to outperform the S&P 500 over the last decade.

I start at the 40,000-foot level and understand the macro: the economy, S&P 500 valuations, interest rates, and EPS growth. I then take that level of conviction and allocate my portfolio.

Around 75% of my portfolio is invested in broad market ETFs like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. That’s my compounding base, and I never touch it. The other 25% goes into elite companies trading at good valuations with solid EPS growth. To have a great investment, you need both a great company and a good price.

The final layer is options. So many people do options wrong. Options are leverage. They are a way to make a bet on a very compelling setup. If you don’t have a compelling setup, don’t use them.

When I buy options, I always choose expirations at least one year out. Nobody knows what stocks will do in the short term, but in the long run, stocks follow earnings. If you buy a great company with good EPS growth at a good valuation and give your thesis enough time to play out, you can be surprisingly consistent.

My approach is simple: if I’m bullish, I buy shares. If I’m super bullish, I sell portfolio-secured puts. If I’m super, super bullish, I buy LEAPS.

The strategy people ask me about most is the portfolio-secured put. It’s like a cash-secured put, but without cash sitting there doing nothing. My portfolio secures the trade instead, allowing me to participate in the market’s upside while avoiding the cash drag of a traditional cash-secured put. As long as my ratios are in check, I’m not even close to a margin call.

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How many stocks are currently held in your portfolio?
A few ETFs and a handful of individual names. When the market is cheaper and more compelling, I often own more individual companies. When it's more overvalued and less advantageous, I own fewer individual companies and build my bond allocation. It's all about allocating based on how compelling the setups and the macro environment are.

Which sectors do you mainly focus on?
It's all about where the compelling opportunities are in areas I understand. Right now, I see opportunities in the Magnificent 7, AI picks-and-shovels plays, and banks too.

What are your 3 highest conviction stocks?
$TSM - TSMC
$NVDA - NVIDIA
$META - Meta

All three pass my test of being great companies at good prices, with strong moats, pricing power, durable competitive advantages, and valuations at or below intrinsic value.

What is the stock in your portfolio with the highest return?
$TSLA - Tesla, up 154% (it’s a small-ish position now).

My CAGR over the last decade beats both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq by a wide margin. That’s the key thing to judge on, in my opinion.

What is the biggest investing mistake you have made?
Confusing activity with progress. Early on, I chased short-dated options and momentum plays because they felt like more work, and I thought more trades meant more money. The market rewards patience and discipline, not making 18 trades a day like most people.

Everything changed when I stopped gambling and started following Buffett’s approach of buying great companies when they are on sale. Adding long-duration options and portfolio-secured puts to magnify ultra-compelling setups has been the game changer, combining long-term appreciation with cash flow.

If you could give one piece of advice to investors, what would it be?
The few investors who consistently beat the market over the long run don’t use the strategies most people are likely using. They buy great companies at good prices and only use options to magnify ultra-compelling setups, while always keeping their ratios in check to withstand deep market crashes.

That’s how I’m always allocated. It’s boring... but we’re all here to make money, right?

Brandon’s Favorites

📖 Favorite book: Richer, Wiser, Happier by William Green @WilliamGreen72

🎧 Favorite podcast: The All-In Podcast @theallinpod

💬 Favorite quote: "The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient." – Warren Buffett

👤 Favorite FinX account: Investing With Brandon @Invest_Brandon

Where can we find more info about you?
X: @Invest_Brandon
YouTube: @InvestingWithBrandon
Training & Discord: https://investingwithbrandon.co/invest

That’s a wrap!
Want more real-world investing insights? 👉 Browse all Investor Talks here

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Don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments — we’d love to hear from you 💬

Leave a comment

That’s it for today.
We’ll see you again in the next edition of our newsletter!

Until then, invest wisely.

Vincent & Stefan
The Future Investors

🎯 Best Buys - August 2026

The Future Investors — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 11:07:29 GMT

Hey Investors,

Our Best Buys for August are here 🎯

Each month, we look for great companies trading at attractive valuations and highlight three stocks that currently stand out to us.

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Since December 2024, we’ve shared 60 Best Buys with our paid members.

Our Best Buys have delivered an average return of 20.3% so far. Several picks have delivered triple-digit returns 🔥

🚀 AMD: picked at $97.35, now +398%
🚀 ASML: picked at $662.63, now +148%
🚀 Alphabet: picked at $168.95, now +121%

We focus on high-quality businesses with strong fundamentals trading at attractive valuations. As Warren Buffett famously said:

“It’s better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.”

Learn more about how we score stocks on fundamentals in our Fundamental Scoring Framework article.

To keep looking for the best opportunities, we don't pick the same Best Buy two months in a row.

Now let’s dive into our Top 3 Best Buys for August ✨👇

#3: SK hynix (FRA: HY9H)

Our first Best Buy for August is SK hynix. It's the first time we've included the company in our Best Buys list.

The stock has fallen sharply over the past month and now trades around 45% below the all-time high it reached in June. We believe this has created an attractive buying opportunity.

AI needs more and more high-bandwidth memory (HBM), yet many investors still value memory as a cyclical business. We believe that’s exactly why SK hynix trades at such an attractive valuation.

What Happened?

2026 has been an exceptional year for SK hynix. The stock gained more than 440% before sentiment turned after its record high in June.

Another important milestone was SK hynix’s Nasdaq listing under the ticker SKHY, giving U.S. investors easier access to the stock.

There were several reasons behind the sell-off. Investors became more cautious on AI stocks, and heavy leverage in the Korean market led to margin calls, putting extra pressure on one of the market’s biggest winners: SK hynix.

The company’s Q2 2026 results also fell short of very high expectations. Revenue of $54.6 billion missed the $57.7 billion analysts had expected. That may sound disappointing, but the underlying numbers tell a very different story. Revenue still grew 257% YoY and 51% QoQ. Gross margin reached a record 83%, while operating margin hit an incredible 76%. Read those numbers again.

CEO Kwak Noh-Jung also expects demand for HBM to exceed the company’s production capacity well beyond 2030. That's also why SK hynix is investing billions to expand its HBM production capacity around the world.

Source: SK hynix Newsroom

Memory is still a cyclical business, and another downcycle will eventually come. We believe the global AI buildout will extend this cycle far longer than the market expects.

Why SK hynix Looks Attractive Now

For many years, SK hynix was a highly cyclical business with low margins. We believe that has changed. Our fundamental scoring model gives the company a score of 79, placing it in the 🟢 Quality category and close to 🔵 High Quality.

The valuation depends on which listing you buy. SKHY on the Nasdaq trades at a 30% premium to HY9H in Frankfurt. We prefer the Frankfurt listing and expect that gap to narrow over time. The Frankfurt shares trade at 15.0x trailing earnings, but the forward P/E falls to just 5.8x by the end of this year and 3.6x by the end of 2027.

We believe those are exceptionally low valuations for a company at the center of the AI buildout. That's why Vincent increased his SK hynix position last week.

Only Vincent currently holds a position in SK hynix.

Fundamental Score: 79 🟢 → Quality
Current Stock Price: €970.00

View our Portfolios

The next two? Two high-quality businesses playing a key role in the future of AI, both trading at attractive valuations.

🤖 One is using AI to unlock its next wave of growth.
🛠️ The other develops technology the entire semiconductor industry depends on.

Ready to discover our #1 and #2 Best Buys?
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📈 Portfolio Update – July 2026

The Future Investors — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 13:26:29 GMT

July was a volatile month for most investors as markets became more uncertain 📉

In this recap, we look at how the major indexes performed, how our portfolios compared, which stocks were the biggest winners and weakest performers, and the changes we made during July.

Dive into our full July Recap below 👇

📢 Next week, we'll reveal our Best Buys for August — don't miss it 🎯

What Moved the Markets in July

July was a very volatile month for investors. The conflict between the U.S. and Iran was still making headlines, but most attention shifted to earnings season and the latest AI developments. The Nasdaq posted its weakest July in 22 years.

Companies announced a number of major AI infrastructure investments. TeraWulf signed a 20-year, 401 MW lease with Anthropic worth around $19 billion. Core Scientific secured AMD as a customer in a 15-year agreement that could generate more than $14 billion in revenue. Micron also increased its U.S. investment plans to $250 billion by 2035.

Meta launched Muse Image, its first AI image generation model. Reports also suggested the company is considering launching a cloud computing business to compete with AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, but Meta has not confirmed those plans.

Nvidia, Microsoft and more than 20 other technology companies signed a letter supporting open-source AI models. Chinese startup Moonshot AI unveiled Kimi K3, saying its latest model can match OpenAI and Anthropic while using fewer advanced AI chips. That led to a sell-off in AI and semiconductor stocks. Reports that China had developed its first domestic DUV lithography machine added more pressure on ASML and other chipmakers.

SK hynix completed its Nasdaq listing, and Chinese memory maker CXMT debuted on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The shares opened roughly 470% higher, making CXMT the largest listed company in mainland China. The South Korean index (KOSPI) also came under heavy pressure after margin calls forced many leveraged investors to sell. Leopold Aschenbrenner's hedge fund, Situational Awareness, sold most of its public stock portfolio to Citadel after heavy losses triggered margin calls.

Earnings season has been mixed so far. Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon all reported excellent results, driven by strong cloud growth. Google Cloud grew 82%, Azure 43% and AWS 37%. SK hynix and Samsung reported another strong quarter thanks to booming demand for HBM memory, but revenue came in slightly below analysts’ expectations. Meta reported another strong quarter, but higher AI spending and capital expenditure guidance overshadowed the results. Apple also declined after its quarterly results.

Robotaxis continued expanding across the U.S. Tesla launched its Robotaxi service in Miami and announced future launches in Orlando and Tampa. Waymo entered Las Vegas and announced launches in Denver, San Diego and Tampa. Reports also suggested Waymo may end its partnership with Uber in Austin and Atlanta after 2028. Amazon’s Zoox became the first company to receive approval for a paid robotaxi service without a steering wheel.

July also brought other important business news. Uber agreed to acquire Delivery Hero for €12.5 billion, while Tempus AI acquired Personalis for $1.5 billion. Novo Nordisk received EU approval for the first oral version of Wegovy. Klarna applied for a U.S. banking license, while Nubank Mexico received approval to operate as a bank.

How did the markets perform in July? Here's how the three major indexes ended the month:

S&P 500: -0.1% 📉 (+9.4% YTD)
Nasdaq: -3.2% 📉 (+9.2% YTD)
Dow Jones: +0.3% 📈 (+9.2% YTD)

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Portfolio Performance: How Did We Do?

How did our portfolios perform in July?

We compare our returns with the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones, take a closer look at our best and worst-performing stocks, and share every change we made to our portfolios.

Dive into the full recap below 👇
Available exclusively for our paid subscribers ✨

🎯 The AI 20: The Titans (5-1)

The Future Investors — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 14:17:28 GMT

AI is creating one of the greatest investment opportunities of our generation. But not every company will emerge as a long-term winner. Some will define the AI era. Others will be left behind.

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That’s why we created The AI 20: our ranking of the 20 stocks we believe are best positioned for the AI era.

Not based on hype, but on long-term fundamentals, competitive advantages, innovation, execution, and value creation.

The series is divided into four chapters:

🔴 The Challengers (20–16)
🟢 The Innovators (15–11)
🔵 The Leaders (10–6)
🟡 The Titans (5–1)

Last week, we revealed The Challengers (20–16), The Innovators (15–11), and The Leaders (10–6).

Today, we conclude The AI 20 with The Titans: five companies we believe are defining the AI era.

Time to reveal The Titans (5–1) ✨👇

#5: Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)

Businesses around the world use Microsoft products every day. From Microsoft 365 and Teams to GitHub, Dynamics, and Azure, the company is part of the daily workflow of organizations around the world.

Microsoft is now adding AI across this entire ecosystem. Copilot helps employees write documents, analyze data, build software, and automate repetitive work. Azure gives businesses the computing power and AI tools they need to build, train, and run AI applications. More companies are choosing Azure as the foundation for their AI applications.

Source: ScholarHat – Microsoft's AI Ecosystem

Microsoft is also investing billions of dollars in AI infrastructure. The company is expanding AI data centers, developing its own Maia AI chips and Cobalt CPUs, and giving businesses access to leading AI models through Azure AI Foundry.

Few companies can bring AI to as many businesses as Microsoft. With one of the world’s largest enterprise software ecosystems and a leading cloud platform, we believe Microsoft is one of the companies defining the AI era.

The Future Investors (Vincent & Stefan) currently hold a position in Microsoft.

Fundamental Score: 80 🔵 → High-Quality

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This is just the first Titan. The next four each help define the future of AI 🤖

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🎯 The AI 20: The Leaders (10-6)

The Future Investors — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 11:02:30 GMT

AI is creating one of the greatest investment opportunities of our generation. But not every company will emerge as a long-term winner. Some will define the AI era. Others will be left behind.

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That’s why we created The AI 20: our ranking of the 20 stocks we believe are best positioned for the AI era.

Not based on hype, but on long-term fundamentals, competitive advantages, innovation, execution, and value creation.

The series is divided into four chapters:

🔴 The Challengers (20–16)
🟢 The Innovators (15–11)
🔵 The Leaders (10–6)
🟡 The Titans (5–1)

Last week, we revealed the first half of The AI 20: The Challengers (20–16) and The Innovators (15–11).

Today, we enter the Top 10 with The Leaders. Five companies we believe are leading the AI revolution.

Time to reveal The Leaders (10–6) ✨👇

#10: Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN)

Most people know Amazon as the world’s largest online retailer. We believe its biggest AI opportunity lies somewhere else: Amazon Web Services (AWS).

AWS is the world’s largest cloud platform and gives businesses the computing power, storage, and AI services they need to build and run AI applications. Thousands of companies already use AWS to train AI models, deploy AI agents, and develop AI applications.

Amazon is also building its own AI platform. The company has developed Trainium and Inferentia, two custom AI chips designed for AI workloads, while Amazon Bedrock makes it easier for customers to build AI applications using leading AI models.

Source: AWS Builder Center – AWS AI Stack

Amazon isn’t just using AI. It helps thousands of companies build and scale AI applications through AWS.

As AI adoption grows, more companies are likely to build AI on AWS, giving Amazon an even bigger role in the AI ecosystem.

The Future Investors (Vincent & Stefan) currently do not hold a position in Amazon.

Fundamental Score: 74 🟢 → Quality

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This is just the first Leader. The next four each play a key role in the AI revolution 🤖

Ready to discover the companies ranked #9 to #6 in The AI 20?
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🎯 The AI 20: The Innovators (15-11)

The Future Investors — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 09:53:34 GMT

AI is creating one of the greatest investment opportunities of our generation. But not every company will emerge as a long-term winner. Some will define the AI era. Others will be left behind.

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That’s why we created The AI 20: our ranking of the 20 stocks we believe are best positioned for the AI era.

Not based on hype, but on long-term fundamentals, competitive advantages, innovation, execution, and value creation.

The series is divided into four chapters:

🔴 The Challengers (20–16)
🟢 The Innovators (15–11)
🔵 The Leaders (10–6)
🟡 The Titans (5–1)

Last Sunday, we kicked off The AI 20 with the first chapter: The Challengers (20–16).

Today, we continue with the second chapter: The Innovators. Five companies we believe will help drive the next wave of AI.

Let's dive into The Innovators (15–11) ✨👇

#15: Arm (NASDAQ: ARM)

Most people have never used an Arm product. There’s a good chance they’re using Arm technology every day.

Arm doesn’t make chips itself. It designs the architecture that companies use to build their own processors. Companies like NVIDIA, Apple, Amazon, Google and Qualcomm all use Arm’s technology.

More than 350 billion Arm-based chips have been shipped worldwide. For years, Arm became the standard for smartphones because its chip designs are fast and use very little power. That makes Arm well positioned for the AI era.

AI is no longer limited to large data centers. It is moving into laptops, smartphones, robots, cars, and billions of connected devices. All of those devices need powerful, energy-efficient chips, and many of them already run on Arm’s technology.

Companies pay Arm to use its technology. Arm also receives a royalty every time an Arm-based chip is sold. As more AI devices are built, Arm has the opportunity to increase its royalty revenue.

With one of the largest ecosystems in the semiconductor industry, we believe Arm is well positioned to benefit as AI becomes part of billions of devices worldwide.

The Future Investors (Vincent & Stefan) currently do not hold a position in Arm.

Fundamental Score: 81 🔵 → High-Quality

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This is just the first Innovator. The next four are each helping shape the future of AI in their own way 🤖

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🎯 The AI 20: The Challengers (20-16)

The Future Investors — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 10:13:18 GMT

AI is creating one of the greatest investment opportunities of our generation. But not every company will emerge as a long-term winner. Some will define the AI era. Others will be left behind.

Subscribe now

That’s why we created The AI 20: our ranking of the 20 stocks we believe are best positioned for the AI era.

Not based on hype, but on long-term fundamentals, competitive advantages, innovation, execution, and value creation.

The series is divided into four chapters:

🔴 The Challengers (20–16)
🟢 The Innovators (15–11)
🔵 The Leaders (10–6)
🟡 The Titans (5–1)

Today, we begin with The Challengers: five companies that may not dominate the AI landscape today, but that we believe could become tomorrow's AI leaders.

Before we reveal our first company, there's one name we couldn't leave unmentioned.

⭐ Honorable Mention: SpaceX
We believe SpaceX has the potential to become one of the world's most important companies in the AI era as AI becomes embedded in autonomous systems, satellite communications, robotics, and future space infrastructure.

For now, AI is not yet the primary driver of SpaceX's investment case. That could change in the years ahead.

Now it's time to meet The Challengers (20–16) ✨👇

#20: Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ: AXON)

Most people know Axon as the company behind TASER devices. Today, the company does much more than that. It has built a platform that helps police and other public safety agencies with body cameras, digital evidence, drones, software, and AI.

The more products customers use, the more valuable the platform becomes. That makes it harder to switch to another provider and gives Axon a strong competitive advantage.

AI is becoming a bigger part of the platform. Products like Draft One, Axon Assistant, and Smart Capture help officers spend less time on paperwork, find information faster, and make better decisions in the field. As more AI capabilities are added, customers have more reasons to use Axon's software, creating more opportunities to sell additional software and services.

Source: Axon Enterprise – AI Era Plan

With founder-led management, recurring software revenue, high switching costs, and plenty of room to grow internationally, Axon has many of the qualities we look for in a long-term investment.

We believe Axon is well positioned to grow its ecosystem and create long-term value for shareholders as AI becomes a bigger part of its platform.

The Future Investors (Vincent & Stefan) currently hold a position in Axon Enterprise.

Fundamental Score: 84 🔵 → High-Quality

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This is just the first Challenger. The next four each play a different role in the AI ecosystem, but they have one thing in common: each has a strong investment case for the AI era 🤖

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🚀 Rising Star - July 2026

The Future Investors — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 11:13:57 GMT

Every two months, we highlight a growth stock that we believe has the potential to become a multibagger over the next 5-10 years.

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Predicting the long term is never easy, and these types of selections naturally come with more uncertainty.

We’re very selective with our Rising Stars, and it’s paying off. Since January 2025, we’ve shared nine picks with an average return of +27.8%, including two standout winners already up +123% and +98% in just a few months 🚀

You can check all previous Rising Stars here.

Today, we reveal a stock we believe has the potential to become a multibagger 🚀

This fast-growing company is building an AI-powered platform with the potential to reshape a massive global industry 🔥

🚀 Strong growth: Revenue is growing 36% YoY
🏗️ Highly scalable platform: The platform becomes increasingly valuable as it grows
🌍 Massive AI opportunity: AI adoption in this industry is still in its early stages

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🗣️ Investor Talk #60: Jose Najarro

The Future Investors — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 11:43:26 GMT

✨ All Investor Talk editions are now unlocked 🔓 and free to read for everyone. Dive in, get inspired, and take your investing to the next level 🚀

In this edition, we have the pleasure of interviewing:

Name:
Age: 33
Residence/Country: United States
Invests since: 2015

Introduction
I come from a first-generation immigrant family that knew nothing about 401(k)s, stocks, or investing. I grew up thinking the only option was to save money and put it in a bank. The one subject I excelled at was math, which led me to study electrical engineering. I earned both a bachelor's and a master's, focused on semiconductors. My first engineering job was at an optics company, and I was making more money than I ever thought I could. I wanted to put it to work, so I walked into a Barnes & Noble, found a book on investing, and that's how I got started at around 21.

What is your investment strategy?
I invest in companies whose growth the market is doubting, since that's where I find the biggest mispricings, when strong businesses get punished for uncertainty. Before I buy, I make sure I understand both the bullish and bearish case, because knowing both sides is what gives me the conviction to buy the doubt.

I stay focused on the tech market, where I have the most edge, and I go heavy on my high-conviction names rather than spreading thin. I'd rather size positions by risk versus reward than diversify for its own sake. If I've done the work, I want it to matter.

Like what you’re reading? Share it with your friends, family & fellow investors!

How many stocks are currently held in your portfolio?
I own 30+ stocks, but I concentrate in my highest-conviction names. My top 3 make up roughly 50% of my portfolio, and my top 10 make up roughly 80%.

Which sectors do you mainly focus on?
Semiconductors, which tend to lead me into adjacent markets. I believe semiconductors drive innovation, so no matter where the innovation is happening, semis are behind it.

What are your 3 highest conviction stocks?
My three highest conviction stocks are

$NVDA - Nvidia
$AMD - AMD
$CRWV - CoreWeave

Nvidia and AMD earned that spot through pure gains.

What is the stock in your portfolio with the highest return?
$NVDA - Nvidia. It completely changed my life.

What is the biggest investing mistake you have made?
Early in my investing career I thought diversification was everything. AMD and Nvidiahave been life-changing for me, but the impact would have been far greater if I had trusted myself and concentrated sooner.

If you could give one piece of advice to investors, what would it be?
Understand both the bull and bear case. Knowing both sides helps you see where you could be wrong. You never want to be the investor who gets emotional the moment they see a bearish post on a stock they own. Sit with it. You might learn something new.

Jose’s Favorites

📖 Favorite book: The Neatest Little Guide to Stock Market Investing by Jason Kelly. This is the book I picked up in Barnes & Noble when I knew nothing about investing, and it changed everything for me.

🎧 Favorite podcast: To be honest, I don't consume much content. I mostly listen to whoever is interviewing my favorite CEOs, plus earnings calls and conference events.

💬 Favorite quote: "I didn't wake up a loser." – Jensen Huang

👤 Favorite FinX account: Amit @amitisinvesting. I get so deep in the weeds on semiconductors that I lose track of the broader market. Amit's daily recaps on X keep me up to date on what everyone else is watching.

Where can we find more info about you?
YouTube (my main free content): Jose Najarro Stocks
Semiconductor research community: WhatTheChipHappened.com

That’s a wrap!
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Don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments — we’d love to hear from you 💬

Leave a comment

That’s it for today.
We’ll see you again in the next edition of our newsletter!

Until then, invest wisely.

Vincent & Stefan
The Future Investors

🎯 Best Buys - July 2026

The Future Investors — Sun, 05 Jul 2026 12:11:25 GMT

Hey Investors,

The wait is over. Here are our Best Buys for July 🎯

Each month, we look for great companies trading at attractive valuations and highlight three stocks that currently stand out to us.

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Since December 2024, we’ve shared 57 Best Buys with our paid members.

Our Best Buys have delivered an average return of 20.7% so far. Several picks have delivered triple-digit returns 🔥

🚀 AMD: picked at $97.35, now +432%
🚀 ASML: picked at $662.63, now +167%
🚀 Alphabet: picked at $168.95, now +113%

We focus on high-quality businesses with strong fundamentals trading at attractive valuations. As Warren Buffett famously said:

“It’s better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.”

Learn more about how we score stocks on fundamentals in our Fundamental Scoring Framework article.

To keep looking for the best opportunities, we don't pick the same Best Buy two months in a row.

Now let’s dive into our Top 3 Best Buys for July ✨👇

#3: Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA)

This is the third time we’re adding Nvidia to our Best Buys list. The first two times were in February 2025 and February 2026, when shares traded at $120 and $185. Today, the stock trades at $194, slightly above our last pick, but still nearly 18% below its all-time high reached in May.

The share price only tells part of the story. Since our previous pick, Nvidia’s revenue and earnings have continued to grow at an exceptional pace, making its valuation even more attractive.

AI is still in its early innings, and Nvidia continues to strengthen its leadership. It's an exceptional company that's firing on all cylinders and fully deserves a place on this month's Best Buys list 🎯

What Happened?

Many semiconductor stocks have delivered exceptional returns this year. Marvell is up 188%, AMD has gained 142%, and ASML has risen 77%. Nvidia is up just 4.5% year to date.

The company continues to deliver outstanding results. In its latest quarter (Q1 FY27), Nvidia generated $81.6 billion in revenue, up 85% YoY, while EPS increased an incredible 140%. The outlook remains very strong. Nvidia expects around $91 billion in revenue this quarter, with gross margins of 75%. For FY27, analysts expect revenue to grow 81% and EPS to increase 88%.

Why hasn't the stock kept up? Investors seem to be chasing other AI opportunities, such as memory and space. Nvidia keeps doing what it does best: growing revenue, earnings, and its market leadership.

The company also continues to expand its opportunities. Earlier this year, Nvidia officially entered the CPU market with its new RTX Spark Superchip. The first laptops powered by the new processor are expected to launch this fall from manufacturers such as Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Microsoft, opening the door to another massive growth opportunity.

For us, this creates an attractive opportunity. When a company keeps growing at an exceptional pace while the share price stays behind, only one thing happens: the valuation becomes increasingly attractive.

Why Nvidia Looks Attractive Now

In our view, Nvidia is fundamentally the strongest company in the world today. That is reflected in its outstanding fundamental score of 95 🟣, making it the only company we currently classify as Exceptional.

Nvidia currently trades at less than 30x earnings, and that doesn’t yet include the expected growth for the full FY27. Looking 12 months ahead, the stock trades at a forward P/E of just 19.6x. That’s lower than the forward P/E of the S&P 500, despite much stronger expected earnings growth.

Source: Opening Bell Daily Newsletter

The biggest risk is that AI investments slow down significantly. Based on the record CapEx plans of the hyperscalers, we don’t expect that to happen anytime soon.

We believe Nvidia is one of the most attractive stocks in the market today. We wouldn’t be surprised to see the stock reach $300 by the end of the year. If Nvidia continues to execute at this level, we believe it has a realistic chance of becoming the world's first $10 trillion company over the next few years.

The Future Investors (Vincent & Stefan) currently hold a position in Nvidia.

Fundamental Score: 95 🟣 → Exceptional
Current Stock Price: $194.83

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The next two? Two leading companies trading at extremely attractive valuations today:

🌍 One is a global commodity company with world-class assets.
🚀 The other is a tech company with strong growth and a record backlog.

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