The Future Investors

Portfolio Performance: How Did We Do?

How did our portfolios perform in June?

In this update, we compare our performance with the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow Jones, highlight our biggest winners and weakest performers, and share the portfolio changes we made during the month.

Curious to see what we bought and sold? Dive into the full recap below 👇

Available exclusively for our paid subscribers ✨

📦 Unpacked #14: IonQ

The Future Investors — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 12:54:58 GMT

Welcome to the 14th edition of Unpacked, our monthly series where we take a deep dive into a company. This time, we’re taking a closer look at IonQ — a pure-play quantum computing company focused on solving problems that are far too complex for today’s most powerful computers.

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.

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

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

History and Business Model

The story of IonQ began in 2015, when scientists Christopher Monroe and Jungsang Kim founded the company after years of quantum computing research at the University of Maryland and Duke University.

They believed quantum computers could one day solve some problems much faster than even the world's most powerful computers. With that vision in mind, they founded IonQ to make quantum computing useful for the real world.

Source: The Science Monitor - Founders Jungsang Kim and Christopher Monroe

During its first years, IonQ focused on improving its technology and building more powerful quantum computers. Since day one, the company has focused on trapped-ion technology, which is still the foundation of its quantum computers today.

An important step came in 2019, when IonQ made its quantum computers available through the cloud. Instead of needing access to expensive equipment, researchers, developers, and businesses could use IonQ’s systems through platforms such as Amazon Web Services. This helped bring quantum computing to a much larger audience and was one of the company's first steps toward commercialization.

In 2021, IonQ became the first pure-play quantum computing company to go public. The company entered the stock market through a merger with a SPAC called dMY Technology Group III. The deal valued IonQ at $2 billion and brought the company to the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IONQ.

Since then, IonQ has continued to improve its technology, expand its partnerships, and grow its customer base. The company is also the only quantum computing company available through Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.

Over the years, IonQ has expanded beyond quantum computing. The company is building a full-stack quantum platform that includes quantum computing, quantum networking, quantum security, and quantum sensing technologies.

Source: IonQ First Quarter 2026 Earnings Presentation

IonQ's goal is to build quantum computers with up to 2 million qubits by 2030. The company believes these systems could help solve complex problems in areas such as drug discovery, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, logistics, and defense.

Today, IonQ is focused on making quantum computing more powerful, accessible, and practical for real-world applications.

Its mission is:

“To develop the world’s best quantum technology to solve the world’s most complex problems.”

Business Model Explained

IonQ is building a new type of computing platform based on quantum technology. Instead of selling quantum computers directly, the company gives customers access to its systems through the cloud. This means researchers, businesses, and governments can use quantum computing without owning the hardware themselves.

While most of IonQ’s revenue still comes from quantum computing, the company is building a broader quantum platform with four main focus areas:

💻 1. Quantum Computing
This is IonQ’s core business today and its main source of revenue. Customers can use IonQ’s quantum computers through platforms such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.

🌐 2. Quantum Networking
IonQ is developing technology that could connect quantum computers together, similar to how the internet connects traditional computers today.

🔒 3. Quantum Security
Through acquisitions such as ID Quantique, IonQ is building technologies that help protect data and communications from future cyber threats.

📡 4. Quantum Sensing
IonQ is also developing sensors that can make highly accurate measurements for applications such as defense, navigation, and scientific research.

This strategy is already starting to pay off. Today, more than one-third of IonQ’s revenue comes from customers using multiple IonQ products.

How IonQ Makes Money 💰
IonQ currently earns most of its revenue from:

☁️ Access to quantum computers through cloud platforms
🏛️ Government and research contracts
🤝 Commercial partnerships and development projects

It is important to remember that quantum computing is still in its early stages. Most customers are currently testing and exploring the technology rather than using it in everyday operations.

IonQ is investing heavily today because management believes quantum computing could become much more widely used in the future. If that happens, the company could benefit from one of the largest emerging opportunities in the technology industry.

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

Revenue Breakdown

On May 6, 2026, IonQ reported its first quarter 2026 results. Total revenue came in at $64.7 million (+755% YoY).

The revenue breakdown is estimated based on company disclosures, acquisitions, and management commentary. IonQ does not report revenue by segment.

💻 Quantum Computing – $42.1 million (65%)
IonQ's core business and main source of revenue. This includes access to quantum computers through cloud platforms, commercial contracts, and government contracts and projects.

🔒 Quantum Security – $16.2 million (25%)
Primarily driven by ID Quantique, which develops technologies that help protect data and communications from future cyber threats.

🌐 Networking & Other – $6.4 million (10%)
Includes newer activities such as quantum networking, sensing, and other technologies that could become important growth drivers in the future.

Recent Developments

The past 18 months have been very important for IonQ. Through acquisitions, partnerships, and new initiatives, the company has expanded beyond quantum computing into areas such as networking, security, sensing, and space infrastructure.

Source: IonQ - Moor Insights & Strategy

Here are the key developments:

1️⃣ Niccolo de Masi Becomes CEO
In February 2025, Niccolo de Masi became President and CEO of IonQ, replacing Peter Chapman. De Masi had served on IonQ's board since 2021 and was already familiar with the company. Since becoming CEO, he has accelerated IonQ's acquisition strategy and expanded the company's strategy beyond quantum computing.

2️⃣ Oxford Ionics Acquisition Accelerates the Roadmap
In June 2025, IonQ announced the acquisition of Oxford Ionics in a deal valued at $1.08 billion.

Oxford Ionics develops advanced trapped-ion quantum computing technology. The acquisition strengthens IonQ's technology roadmap and could help the company achieve its goal of building quantum computers with up to 2 million qubits by 2030.

3️⃣ Building a Quantum Networking Leader
IonQ has made quantum networking a major focus area. Through acquisitions including Lightsynq, Qubitekk, and Skyloom, the company has expanded its capabilities in quantum networking, optical communications, and networking infrastructure.

The long-term goal is to help build the infrastructure needed for a future quantum internet, where quantum computers can communicate with each other through highly secure networks.

4️⃣ Expansion into Quantum Security
In May 2025, IonQ completed the acquisition of ID Quantique, a Swiss company specializing in quantum security and quantum networking.

The deal added products for secure communications, encryption, and quantum-safe cybersecurity. It also brought an established business with existing customers, revenue, and more than 300 patents to IonQ.

5️⃣ Expansion into Space & Quantum Sensing
IonQ also expanded into new markets through the acquisitions of Capella Space and Vector Atomic.

Capella Space added satellite and space infrastructure capabilities, while Vector Atomic brought quantum sensing and precision timing technologies. Together, these acquisitions broadened IonQ’s exposure to defense, navigation, and space-related applications.

6️⃣ Roadmap to 2 Million Qubits by 2030
At its 2025 Analyst Day, IonQ announced plans to build quantum computers with up to 2 million qubits by 2030. Management believes these systems could unlock new applications in areas such as artificial intelligence, drug discovery, cybersecurity, logistics, and defense.

Source: IonQ May 2025 Investor Presentation

🔥 Upgrade Now and Save 30%!

Get instant access to this IonQ Full Deep Dive, all other Deep Dives, our Portfolios & Transactions, our monthly Best Buys, 95+ Stock Battles — plus 400+ premium articles!

✅ Already trusted by 4,800+ investors.

Fundamental Analysis

Now it’s time for the fundamental analysis of IonQ.

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 IonQ 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 IonQ on a scale from 0 to 100 — exclusively available to our paid members! ✨

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

🎓 Not All Growth Is Equal

The Future Investors — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 14:03:20 GMT

In the stock market, there are many companies growing their revenue at impressive rates. Some grow by 20% per year. Others by 30%, 40% or even 50%.

At first, many of these companies look very similar. They are growing fast, serve large markets and attract a lot of attention from investors. But if we look ten or twenty years ahead, the outcome is often very different.

A small number of companies become legends. Companies like Nvidia, Amazon, Visa and MercadoLibre continue to grow, strengthen their position and create significant value for shareholders.

But most others become memories. Despite growing fast today, many of these companies will struggle to keep growing, lose their competitive edge, get acquired or simply disappear over time.

So what makes the difference?
Why do some companies become legends 🏆 while others become memories? 🕰️

In this article, we’ll break down:

📈 Why growth is only the beginning
🏰 What separates legends from memories
🚀 Three examples of companies that turned growth into greatness
🔍 How you can identify future legends

📈 Why Growth Is Only The Beginning

When investors analyze a company, growth is often one of the first things they look at. And for good reason. A company growing its revenue by 30% per year is usually far more attractive than a company growing by just 5%.

But there is a problem: growth alone isn’t enough.

Imagine two companies:

🏢 Company A: Revenue growth 35%
🏢 Company B: Revenue growth 25%

Based on those numbers alone, many investors would probably choose Company A. After all, faster growth sounds better. But that doesn’t always make it the better investment.

Perhaps Company A is growing because it is lowering prices, spending heavily on marketing or benefiting from a short-term trend. Company B might be growing because customers love its product, keep coming back and recommend it to others.

Today, Company A may look more attractive. But ten years from now, the outcome could be completely different.

This is a mistake many investors make. They focus on how fast a company is growing, while the more important question is often: “Why is this company growing?”

A company can grow quickly for a few years without building anything special. Another company can use that same growth to strengthen its position, attract more customers and create advantages that competitors struggle to match.

Growth may help a company get noticed. But growth alone doesn’t make a company a legend.

To answer that question, we need to look at what separates legends 🏆 from memories 🕰️

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

🏰 What Separates Legends From Memories

If growth alone doesn’t explain why some companies become legends, what does?
The best companies don’t just grow. They become stronger as they grow.

More customers, more products and more revenue help strengthen their position. As a result, it becomes harder for competitors to challenge them. This is what we call a moat: a competitive advantage that helps a company stay ahead of its competitors.

A moat is not something that appears overnight. It needs to be built over time.
The most successful companies use growth to build that moat. Every new customer, product launch or expansion helps strengthen their competitive position.

Companies build moats in different ways. According to Morningstar, most moats can be grouped into five categories:

Source: 5 Sources of Moats - Morningstar

📜 Intangible Assets
Strong brands, patents, licenses or unique intellectual property that competitors cannot easily replicate.

🔒 Switching Costs
When changing to another product or service becomes expensive, time-consuming or inconvenient for customers.

🌐 Network Effects
The product becomes more valuable as more people use it.

💰 Cost Advantages
Companies can operate more efficiently than competitors, helping them offer lower prices or earn higher profits.

🏗️ Efficient Scale
A market is only large enough for a few players, making it difficult for new competitors to enter.

While these advantages may look different, they all have one thing in common:
They make the business harder to compete against.

Companies that become memories often follow a different path. They may grow quickly for a few years and attract plenty of attention from investors. But they fail to build a moat.

Without a strong competitive advantage, competitors can copy their products, match their prices or offer a similar service. As competition increases, growth slows and the business becomes weaker. In other words, these companies grow bigger, but they don’t become stronger.

Many companies grow. The best companies use that growth to build a moat.
That moat is often what turns a company into a legend 🏆 instead of a memory 🕰️

Want to learn more about moats? 🏰

In this short video, Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger explain why strong competitive advantages matter 🎥👇

🔥 Upgrade Now & Save 30%

Get full access to our Portfolios & Transactions, our Best Buys, all Deep Dives, all Stock Battles — plus 400+ premium articles to explore!

✅ Join 4,800+ investors already inside.

🚀 Three Examples of Growth Into Greatness

Now that we understand what separates legends from memories, let’s look at three companies that used growth to build powerful moats.

These companies didn’t become legends because they grew fast.
They became legends because their growth made the business stronger.

Let’s look at three examples.

1️⃣ Visa — Network Effects 🌐
Visa is one of the best examples of a company that became stronger as it grew.
Every new cardholder makes Visa more attractive for merchants. And every new merchant makes Visa more valuable for cardholders. This creates a powerful network effect.

Today, billions of Visa cards are used around the world and millions of businesses accept Visa payments. Visa didn’t just use growth to get bigger. It used growth to build one of the strongest moats in the world.

2️⃣ Nvidia — Intangible Assets 📜 & Switching Costs 🔒
Nvidia’s success is about much more than selling chips. The company built a powerful software ecosystem around CUDA, its AI development platform. Today, millions of developers and companies use Nvidia’s tools to build AI applications. This creates strong switching costs.

Nvidia has also spent decades building unique technology, software and expertise. These advantages are difficult for competitors to replicate. As Nvidia grew, its moat grew with it. It didn’t just sell more chips. It used growth to build an ecosystem that is difficult to compete with.

3️⃣ MercadoLibre — Network Effects 🌐 & Efficient Scale 🏗️
MercadoLibre started as an online marketplace in Latin America. Today, it offers e-commerce, payments, logistics, advertising and financial services. As more buyers join the platform, more sellers are attracted. And as more sellers join, the platform becomes even more valuable for buyers. This creates a strong network effect.

MercadoLibre has also built one of the largest logistics and payments networks in Latin America. This creates efficient scale and makes it harder for competitors to compete. Growth helped MercadoLibre build a wider moat and strengthen its market leadership.

These three companies operate in different industries. But they all followed the same path: They didn’t just use growth to get bigger. They used growth to become stronger.

View Our Portfolios

🔍 How To Identify Future Legends

We’ve seen what made companies like Visa, Nvidia and MercadoLibre successful. The next question is: How can you identify future legends?

There is no perfect formula. But many legendary companies have a few things in common.

1️⃣ Does growth make the business stronger?
This is often the most important question.

Every time Visa gains a new user, its network becomes more valuable.
Every time MercadoLibre adds a new buyer or seller, its ecosystem becomes stronger.
Every time Nvidia sells more AI chips, more developers use CUDA.

Ask yourself:

Does growth make this business stronger, or does it simply make it bigger?

2️⃣ Is the company building a moat?
Look for signs such as:

📜 Intangible Assets
🔒 Switching Costs
🌐 Network Effects
💰 Cost Advantages
🏗️ Efficient Scale

The stronger the moat becomes, the harder it is for competitors to challenge the company.

3️⃣ Can competitors easily copy the business?
Many companies grow quickly. Far fewer companies build something that is difficult to replicate. Ask yourself:

If a competitor had unlimited money, could they realistically build the same business?

For companies like Visa, Nvidia or ASML, the answer is far from simple. That is exactly what makes them special.

4️⃣ Will this company be stronger in 10 years?
The stock market often focuses on the next quarter. Long-term investors should think differently. Ask yourself:

Will this company have a stronger position in ten years?

And another important question:

Will this market be much larger in ten years?

The best investments often combine a company that is building a moat with a powerful long-term trend.

🎯 Key Takeaway

Many investors focus on finding the fastest-growing companies. But growth alone rarely tells the full story.

The best companies use growth to strengthen their position, build a moat and make it harder for competitors to compete.

That is why some companies become legends while others become memories.

The best investors don’t just look for growth. They look for companies that use growth to build a moat.

Because growth alone rarely creates a legend. Building a strong moat does 🏆

Thank you for reading! 🙏
We put a lot of love into creating this post for you. If you enjoyed it, feel free to click the ❤️ button so more people can discover it on Substack or hit the ↪️ share button to share it with friends, family and fellow investors!

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

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

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.

🔍 SpaceX: Buy, Hold or Bubble?

The Future Investors — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 13:10:06 GMT

Last Friday, history was made. SpaceX officially went public in the largest IPO ever. The stock gained almost 50% during its first days of trading, lifting the company's valuation to $2.66 trillion. The company is now the fifth most valuable company in the world. The IPO also made Elon Musk the first trillionaire in history.

Source: Companies Market Cap - Largest Companies by Marketcap

Many investors believe the company could become one of the most valuable companies in the world over the next decade. Others think a $2.66 trillion valuation is hard to justify.

So who’s right? In this article, we'll look at:

📊 The key numbers behind the $2.66 trillion valuation
🧮 What needs to happen to justify today’s valuation
🐂 The bull case for SpaceX
🐻 The bear case for SpaceX
📌 Finally, we’ll share our view on the question every investor is asking: Is SpaceX a buy, hold, or bubble?

📊 Breaking Down the $2.66 Trillion Valuation

Before discussing the future, let's start with the numbers. How much revenue and profit does SpaceX generate, and what are investors paying for the company today?

At a valuation of $2.66 trillion, SpaceX is worth more than Amazon, TSMC and Broadcom. In 2025, the company generated $18.7 billion in revenue and reported a net loss of $4.9 billion.

To understand the valuation, let's start with the key numbers:

Market Cap: $2.66 trillion
Revenue (2025): $18.7 billion
Net income (2025): -$4.9 billion
Free Cash Flow (2025): -$3.4 billion
P/S Ratio: 142x
P/E Ratio: N/A (not profitable)

The valuation is extraordinary, even by tech stock standards. At 142x sales, investors are paying $142 for every $1 of revenue generated by the company. SpaceX is also not profitable, so it doesn't have a P/E ratio.

For comparison, some of today’s highest-quality tech companies trade at much lower valuations. Nvidia trades at 20x sales, CrowdStrike at 34x sales, and Palantir at 61x sales. SpaceX trades at 142x sales.

Investors are clearly not paying for what SpaceX is today. They're paying for what it could become over the next decade.

Let’s take a closer look at where that revenue comes from.

Many investors think of SpaceX as a rocket company. In reality, Starlink generates most of the revenue.

In 2025, revenue came from:

📡 61% Starlink - $11.4 billion
🚀 22% Launch and Space-related activities - $4.1 billion
🤖 17% AI-related services - $3.2 billion

A large part of the investment case depends on Starlink and its future growth.

So what needs to happen for SpaceX to justify its $2.66 trillion valuation?

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

So far, we’ve explored the numbers behind SpaceX’s $2.66 trillion valuation and where the company’s revenue comes from today.

In the rest of this article, we’ll look at what needs to happen for SpaceX to justify its valuation 🧮, the bull case 🐂, the bear case 🐻, and our view on SpaceX as a long-term investment 📌

This content is exclusively available to our paid subscribers ✨

🔥 Upgrade Now and Save 30%!

Get instant access to this article, our Portfolios & Transactions, our monthly Best Buys, all Deep Dives, all Stock Battles — plus 400+ premium articles to explore!

✅ Already trusted by 4,800+ investors.

🧮 Justifying Today's Valuation

At a valuation of $2.66 trillion, SpaceX is already one of the most valuable companies in the world. The key question is simple:

What does SpaceX need to achieve to justify its valuation?

One way to answer that question is to work backwards from today’s valuation using a reverse discounted cash flow (DCF) model.

🗣️ Investor Talk #59: Cole Grinde

The Future Investors — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 09:44:53 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: Cole Grinde @GrindeOptions
Age: 29
Residence/Country: United States
Invests since: 2014

Introduction
I first became interested in investing at the age of 15 after watching an interview with Warren Buffett during a library class in high school. From that moment on, I was hooked. The first stock I ever bought was Microsoft, which turned out to be great timing with Satya Nadella taking over as CEO.

Over the years, I’ve had many different jobs, including working as a cook, in office coffee service (OCS), construction, and various side jobs before moving into sales. Through it all, I’ve always been invested in the stock market and continued learning more about investing.

What is your investment strategy?
My investment strategy is simple. I look for companies that have a great product or service and are either already profitable or getting close to profitability. In most cases, I also prefer founder-led companies.

Once I find a company that checks those boxes, I want to see it continue to grow, scale its business, and keep innovating. Those are the types of companies I enjoy following and investing in for the long term.

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

How many stocks are currently held in your portfolio?
Today, my portfolio consists of around 17 individual stocks.

Which sectors do you mainly focus on?
I’m primarily focused on the AI, robotics, renewable energy, consumer packaged goods (CPG), fintech, space, and semiconductor sectors. These are the industries I spend most of my time researching and following as an investor.

What are your 3 highest conviction stocks?
My three highest conviction stocks are $TSLA, $SOFI and $IREN as of now.
$TESLA - Tesla
$SOFI - SoFi
$IREN - IREN Limited

What is the stock in your portfolio with the highest return?
My highest-returning stock in my portfolio is Rocket Lab $RKLB, which is up more than 400%.

What is the biggest investing mistake you have made?
I’ve made a few mistakes over the years, which I like to think of as paying tuition to the school of hard knocks. Companies like Planet 13, Tattooed Chef, BitMine Immersion, Eos Energy, and a few others didn’t work out the way I had hoped.

Those experiences taught me valuable lessons as an investor. Thankfully, I’ve also had core positions in other companies that performed very well and more than made up for those mistakes over time.

If you could give one piece of advice to investors, what would it be?
My best advice is to keep following your own intuition and gut feeling because it’s often correct.

Cole’s Favorites

📖 Favorite book: The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham.

🎧 Favorite podcast: The Joe Rogan Experience and Modern Wisdom.

💬 Favorite quote: “Life needs to be more than just solving problems every day. You need to wake up and be excited about the future.” - Elon Musk

👤 Favorite FinX account: Amit @amitisinvesting

Where can we find more info about you?
You can find me on 𝕏: @GrindeOptions

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

🔥 Upgrade now to paid and get 30% off!
Unlock instant access to our Portfolios & Transactions, our monthly Best Buys, all Deep Dives, all Stock Battles — plus 400+ premium articles.

✅ Already trusted by 4,800+ investors.

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

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 - June 2026

The Future Investors — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:52:28 GMT

Hey Investors,

Our Best Buys for June are here. 🎯

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

Since December 2024, we’ve shared 54 Best Buys with our paid members.

So far, they've generated an impressive average return of 23.4%, with multiple positions already up triple digits 🔥

🚀 AMD: picked at $97.35, now +457%
🚀 ASML: picked at $662.63, now +161%
🚀 First Solar: picked at $126.43, now +152%
🚀 Alphabet: picked at $168.95, now +112%

Our selection combines valuation and fundamentals, but quality always comes first. 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 our process sharp and ideas fresh, we don’t pick the same Best Buy two months in a row.

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

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: Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG)

This is the second time we’re adding Intuitive Surgical to our Best Buys list. The first time was in September 2025, when shares traded at $473. Today, the stock trades at $407, down 14% since our first pick, 28% this year, and 33% below its all-time high.

What makes this decline interesting to us is that Intuitive Surgical is still one of the highest-quality businesses in the market. More procedures are being performed using its systems, more da Vinci systems are being installed, and recurring revenue continues to grow.

The business is performing better than ever, making this an attractive opportunity for long-term investors 🎯

What Happened?

Intuitive Surgical is the clear leader in robotic surgery. Over the past two decades, the company has built a dominant position with its da Vinci systems, which are now used in thousands of hospitals worldwide.

Thanks to that leadership and consistent growth, investors have historically been willing to pay a premium valuation for the stock. Over the past 10 years, shares traded at an average P/E ratio of 68.8.

This year, the stock has come under pressure. Much of that can be explained by expectations for slower growth. Management expects procedure growth of 13.5% to 15.5% in 2026, compared to 18% growth in 2025. Competition is also increasing as companies like Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson, and several Chinese players continue to invest heavily in robotic surgery.

The company’s Q1 results were still very strong:

📊 Revenue grew 23%
🏥 Procedure volumes increased 17%
🤖 431 new da Vinci systems were installed
🌍 Installed base reached 11,395 systems
📈 Management raised its 2026 outlook

The stock may be under pressure, but the latest report showed that the business is still performing at a very high level.

Source: Intuitive Surgical Q1 2026 Investor Presentation

Why Intuitive Surgical Looks Attractive Now

Intuitive Surgical scores 78🟢 in our Fundamental Scoring Framework. That places the company in our Quality category and close to reaching High Quality status.

As we mentioned earlier, Intuitive Surgical has almost always traded at a premium valuation. Over the past 10 years, the stock traded at an average P/E ratio of 68.8.

Today, the stock trades at a P/E ratio below 50 and a forward P/E of 39.1. That’s about 43% below its historical average.

Free cash flow tells a similar story. Intuitive Surgical trades at a P/FCF ratio of 51.9, about 23% below its 10-year average.

Growth expectations also look healthy. Analysts expect both revenue and EPS to grow by around 14% per year over the next three years.

You’re buying a high-quality company with a dominant position in robotic surgery, a huge moat, and a long runway for growth. The key difference today is that you’re no longer paying the same premium valuation investors were willing to pay for most of the past decade.

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

Fundamental Score: 78 🟢 → Quality
Current Stock Price: $407.29

The next two? One Quality 🟢 and one High Quality 🔵 company, both trading at extremely attractive valuations today:

👑 One is a global platform with exceptional cash flow growth.
🚀 The other is a market leader with exceptional margins and strong growth.

Ready to discover our #1 and #2 Best Buys?
Get instant access as a paid member 🔓✨

🔥 Upgrade Now and Save 30%

Get direct access to our other 2 Best Buys for June, all previous Best Buys, our Portfolios & Transactions, all Deep Dives, all Stock Battles — and 400+ premium articles.

✅ Already trusted by 4,700+ investors.

📈 Portfolio Update – May 2026

The Future Investors — Sat, 30 May 2026 12:19:27 GMT

May was another strong month for the markets, as the rally from April continued 📈

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

Dive into our full May Recap below 👇

📢 Our Best Buys for June will be released at the end of next week — don't miss it 🎯

What Moved the Markets in May?

May was another strong month for the markets, building on the gains from April. On the macro side, investors focused on the talks between the U.S. and Iran. No agreement has been announced yet, but markets became optimistic that a deal could be reached soon.

One of the biggest stories was the return of software stocks. After a very difficult start to the year, investors became less worried that AI could replace many software products. Strong results from Datadog and Snowflake gave investors more confidence in the sector. Atlassian (+53%), Figma (+51%) and ServiceNow (+40%) all had an excellent month.

GameStop made headlines after making a surprising $56 billion offer for eBay. The proposal was quickly rejected, as investors and eBay both questioned how GameStop would finance such a large deal.

Memory stocks also had a great month. Samsung, Micron and SK hynix all moved higher as demand for AI memory stayed extremely strong. During the month, all three companies crossed the $1 trillion market cap mark, joining the world’s largest and most valuable companies.

Amazon launched Amazon Now, bringing 30-minute delivery to cities across the U.S. Airbnb announced its biggest expansion in years by adding hotels, car rentals and grocery delivery to its platform.

Meta launched Forum, a new app inspired by Reddit that focuses on communities, discussions and AI-powered features. The company also introduced paid subscription options for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Cerebras, a company that develops AI chips for training and inference, went public this month. The stock jumped more than 65% on its first trading day before falling back later in the month. Investors also got excited about a possible SpaceX IPO, with June 12 being mentioned as the expected listing date.

NextEra Energy announced a $67 billion acquisition of Dominion Energy, creating one of the largest utility companies in the world. Uber also increased its stake in Delivery Hero and is interested in a full takeover of the company.

Dell stole the show during the final week of May. AI-optimized server revenue jumped from $1.9 billion to $16.1 billion in just one year. Dell also secured a $9.7 billion Pentagon contract, making May the best month in the company's history.

How strong was May for the markets? Here’s how the three major indexes performed:

S&P 500: +5.2% 📈 (+10.7% YTD)
Nasdaq: +8.4% 📈 (+16.1% YTD)
Dow Jones: +2.8% 📈 (+6.2% YTD)

🔥 Upgrade Now & Save 30%!

Unlock full access to this Portfolio Review, our Portfolios & Transactions, our monthly Best Buys, all Deep Dives, all Stock Battles — plus 400+ premium articles.

✅ Already trusted by 4,700+ investors.

Portfolio Performance: How Did We Do?

How did our portfolios perform in May?

In this update, we compare our results with the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones, look at the biggest winners and losers, and review the changes we made during the month.

Curious to see what we bought and sold? Dive into the full breakdown below 👇

Available exclusively for our paid members ✨

📦 Unpacked #13: SanDisk

The Future Investors — Thu, 28 May 2026 10:36:13 GMT

Welcome to the 13th edition of Unpacked, our monthly series where we take a deep dive into a company. This time, we’re taking a closer look at SanDisk — one of the world’s leading NAND flash and storage companies, powering AI datacenters, cloud infrastructure, PCs, smartphones, and enterprise systems worldwide.

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 SanDisk and see how we score it!

History and Business Model

The story of SanDisk started in 1988, when Eli Harari, Sanjay Mehrotra (now CEO of Micron), and Jack Yuan founded the company in California under the name SunDisk.

Source: Business Insider - The Founding Story of SanDisk

Their goal was ambitious: replace traditional hard disk drives (HDDs) with flash memory that could store data faster, more efficiently, and without moving parts.

As the company prepared to go public, it changed its name from SunDisk to SanDisk in late 1995 to avoid confusion with Sun Microsystems. Later that same year, SanDisk went public on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol SNDK, helping accelerate the development of flash memory technology.

A major breakthrough came in 2000, when SanDisk partnered with Toshiba to scale NAND flash memory production.

As smartphones, laptops, digital cameras, and gaming devices became more popular, demand for flash storage exploded. SanDisk became widely known for products such as SD cards, microSD cards, USB flash drives, and SSDs.

Source: SanDisk investor material, adapted by ChatGPT

Over time, the company expanded beyond consumer memory cards and became a broader storage company serving consumers, enterprises, and data centers.

One of the biggest moments came in 2016, when Western Digital acquired SanDisk for $19 billion, combining Western Digital’s HDD business with SanDisk’s flash memory expertise. In February 2025, SanDisk officially completed its spin-off from Western Digital and returned to the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol SNDK.

Today, SanDisk focuses on NAND flash storage solutions used in smartphones, PCs, data centers, gaming devices, automotive systems, and AI infrastructure.

Its mission reflects this focus:

“Delivering innovative flash and memory solutions that keep people and businesses moving forward.”

Business Model Explained

SanDisk operates in the global NAND flash memory market and develops storage solutions used in consumer devices, edge systems, and data centers.

In simple terms, the company helps devices and systems store data faster, more efficiently, and with lower power consumption than traditional hard disk drives

Its business is built around three core end markets:

📱 1. Consumer
SanDisk sells products such as SD cards, microSD cards, USB flash drives, and portable SSDs used in smartphones, cameras, gaming devices, and laptops.

🌐 2. Edge
The company also provides flash storage for cars, industrial systems, PCs, and connected devices that continuously generate and process data closer to the user.

🏢 3. Data Center
SanDisk supplies high-performance storage solutions for cloud providers and AI workloads. The rapid growth of AI and cloud computing is increasing demand for fast and energy-efficient storage.

How SanDisk makes money 💰
SanDisk earns money by selling NAND flash memory and storage products to consumers, device makers, businesses, and cloud companies.

Revenue depends on:

Demand for smartphones, PCs, and data centers
Growth in AI infrastructure
NAND memory prices
More storage needed per device

One important thing about the business is that the NAND market is cyclical. When there is too much supply, prices and profits can fall quickly. When demand picks up again, profitability often recovers fast as well.

Over the long term, SanDisk benefits from one major trend: the world keeps creating more data through AI, cloud computing, gaming, video, and connected devices.

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

Revenue Breakdown

On April 30, 2026, SanDisk reported its fiscal Q3 2026 results. Total revenue came in at $5.95 billion (+251% YoY).

🌐 Edge – $3.66 billion (61%)
The largest part of the business, supported by demand from PCs, automotive, and industrial markets.

🏢 Data Center – $1.47 billion (25%)
The fastest-growing segment, benefiting from rising AI and cloud infrastructure demand.

📱 Consumer – $0.82 billion (14%)
Driven by consumer storage products, although growth is slower than in AI-related markets.

Recent Developments

SanDisk is going through one of the biggest transitions in its history, shifting from a traditional consumer storage company into a more AI- and data-center-focused storage player. Here are the key recent developments:

1️⃣ Spin-Off from Western Digital
In February 2025, SanDisk officially completed its spin-off from Western Digital and returned to the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol SNDK.

David Goeckeler became CEO of the independent SanDisk, with the company now fully focused on NAND flash memory and SSDs. SanDisk also started transitioning several WD-branded flash and SSD products back under the SanDisk name.

2️⃣ AI Push with High Bandwidth Flash
In 2025, SanDisk partnered with SK hynix to develop High Bandwidth Flash (HBF), a new NAND-based memory technology designed for AI inference workloads. The goal is to deliver:

Higher storage capacity
Lower power consumption
Lower AI infrastructure costs

Source: SanDisk HBF Factsheet

In February 2026, both companies launched an initiative through the Open Compute Project to standardize HBF technology for future AI systems. First HBF samples are expected in the second half of 2026.

3️⃣ New BiCS9 NAND Technology & Kioxia Partnership
SanDisk continues working closely with Kioxia on next-generation BiCS 3D NAND technology.

In 2025, the companies started shipping BiCS9 samples for enterprise SSDs and AI workloads, improving speed, storage density, and power efficiency. At the same time, both companies extended their Yokkaichi joint venture agreement through 2034, strengthening one of the world’s largest NAND flash partnerships.

4️⃣ Massive Stock Surge & AI Momentum
Since returning to the stock market in February 2025, SanDisk has become one of the fastest-rising stocks in the market.

The stock surged more than 4,000% last year, pushing SanDisk’s market capitalization to $235 billion.

Source: Yahoo Finance - SanDisk stock performance

Here’s why the stock has been rallying:

Strong AI infrastructure demand
Rising NAND memory prices
Growing demand for enterprise SSDs
Increasing hyperscaler AI spending
Excitement around High Bandwidth Flash

Investors increasingly see SanDisk as a major beneficiary of the long-term growth in AI data infrastructure.

🔥 Upgrade Now and Save 30%!

Get instant access to this SanDiskFull Deep Dive, all other Deep Dives, our Portfolios & Transactions, our monthly Best Buys, 95+ Stock Battles — plus 400+ premium articles!

✅ Already trusted by 4,700+ investors.

Fundamental Analysis

Now it’s time for the fundamental analysis of SanDisk.

Final Scoring

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

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

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

🎓 The Art of Not Selling

The Future Investors — Sun, 24 May 2026 17:40:24 GMT

Most investors think their biggest investing mistake will be buying the wrong stock. A company with slowing growth. A stock that falls 80%. A business that disappoints quarter after quarter.

But in reality, the biggest mistake is often something completely different:
Selling a great company too early.

Almost every long-term investor has a painful story like this:

🗣️ “I bought Nvidia at $40… and sold at $90.”
🗣️ “I owned Amazon at $60… but sold after it doubled.”
🗣️ “If I had just held that stock, I’d be a millionaire today.”

At the time, selling felt smart. The stock had already doubled, the valuation looked high, and taking profits felt disciplined and responsible.

But many of the biggest investing mistakes started with exactly that decision.
Because the biggest returns in investing often don’t come in the first few years.
They come later, when compounding becomes much more powerful.

In this article, we’ll break down:

🧠 Why investors sell winners too early and hold losers too long
⏳ Why compounding becomes so powerful over time
💰 When selling actually makes sense

Let’s start with a simple question:
Why do investors sell great companies too early?

🧠 Why Investors Sell Winners Too Early

Investing is not just about numbers and valuation models. It’s also about psychology.

Why do investors often sell their winners too early while holding their losers for too long?

The answer lies in how the human brain works. The brain naturally wants to protect profits and avoid pain. That’s why many investors start thinking differently once a stock doubles or triples. The focus shifts from future upside to what they could lose.

Many investors also start questioning the company and looking for reasons why the stock may fall:

🗣️ “Can this company really keep growing?”
🗣️ “Maybe the best years are behind it.”
🗣️ “What if this is the top?”
🗣️ “Maybe I should take some profits.”

Emotionally, selling feels right. It feels smart, disciplined, and responsible. A stock that already went up 300% starts feeling expensive, risky, and too high, even when the business itself is performing better than ever.

Investors react very differently to losing positions. When a stock falls 60% or 70%, many investors convince themselves the stock is now “cheap” and keep holding, hoping it eventually recovers.

Peter Lynch described this perfectly:

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

Selling a losing investment means accepting that you were wrong. Emotionally, that is very difficult.

That’s why many investors prefer taking profits quickly while holding losing positions for much longer. But the stock market often works the other way around. Weak companies often continue getting weaker, while great companies continue getting stronger.

That’s what makes investing psychologically difficult. Investors become more fearful as great companies rise… and more optimistic as weak companies fall.

Selling often feels intelligent, while holding often feels uncomfortable.

Peter Lynch talked about this many times in the past. In the video below, he explains how even he sold great companies too early, and later realized it was a mistake. 🎥👇

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

⏳ The Power of Compounding

The biggest returns in investing often don’t come in the beginning. They usually come much later. That’s because compound interest looks slow at first… but becomes incredibly powerful over time. Albert Einstein even called it the “eighth wonder of the world.”

A company growing at 20% per year doubles in around 4 years, becomes 6x larger in 10 years, and almost 40x larger in 20 years. And that’s exactly why selling great companies too early can become so expensive.

Most investors never experience the most powerful phase of compounding because they sell years too early. Or as Charlie Munger once said:

“The first rule of compounding: never interrupt it unnecessarily.”

The chart below shows why compounding becomes so powerful over time. In the beginning, growth looks relatively slow. But later, growth becomes much faster and more powerful. That’s why patience is so important in investing.

Source: Four Pillar Freedom Blog

Many investors think a stock that already went up a lot can no longer outperform. But history often shows otherwise. Companies like Amazon, Nvidia, Apple, and ASML looked “expensive” many times during their rise. But they kept growing for years because the businesses became stronger over time, with larger moats, scale advantages, pricing power, and growing cash flows. That’s one of the reasons why some of the best companies keep outperforming for far longer than most investors expect.

One of the most powerful things about investing is that your downside is limited, while your upside can be enormous. A stock can only fall 100%. But a great company can rise 500%, 1,000%, 5,000%, or even more over long periods of time. That asymmetry is incredibly powerful.

Just one exceptional investment can completely change the returns of an entire portfolio. A stock falling 50% needs to rise 100% just to break even. But a stock rising 1,000% can easily outweigh many smaller mistakes and losses.

The longer time and compounding can do their work, the bigger the impact becomes. A stock rising another 20% after already gaining 1,000% may not sound very impressive at first. But that extra gain can create more wealth than all the earlier years combined.

That’s why many of the biggest fortunes in investing were not built through constant trading. They were built through patience, time, and uninterrupted compounding.

🔥 Upgrade Now & Save 30%

Get full access to our Portfolios & Transactions, our Best Buys, all Deep Dives, all Stock Battles — plus 400+ premium articles to explore!

✅ Join 4,700+ investors already inside.

💰 When Should You Sell?

So does this mean you should never sell a stock? Not at all. Sometimes, selling is absolutely the right decision. But as an investor, you should be very critical before selling a great company.

Just because a stock went up a lot doesn’t mean you should sell it. But changes in the company can be a good reason to sell. For example:

📉 slower growth
🛡️ weaker competitive advantages
👔 poor management decisions
🏦 rising debt
🔄 big changes in the industry
💡 a much better investment opportunity somewhere else

Valuation matters too. Even a great company can become too expensive when expectations get too high. But many investors sell for the wrong reason: simply because the stock already went up a lot. And historically, that has often been a very expensive mistake.

That’s why selling decisions should usually be based more on changes in the business than on short-term moves in the stock price.

View Our Portfolios

📌 Final Takeaway

One of the hardest parts of investing is doing… nothing.

Holding great companies for many years sounds easy in theory. In reality, it can feel emotionally uncomfortable. Stocks become volatile, valuations rise, negative headlines show up, and investors start questioning the company. That’s why so many investors sell their biggest winners too early.

But history shows that some of the greatest investments of all time created life-changing wealth not because investors traded perfectly, but because they held exceptional companies long enough for time and compounding to do their work.

As Charlie Munger once said:

“The big money is not in the buying or the selling, but in the waiting.”

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

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

🔍 Is This Time Really Different for Memory?

The Future Investors — Tue, 19 May 2026 12:34:33 GMT

Artificial intelligence is creating a huge boom in the semiconductor industry. Companies like Nvidia get most of the attention, but another part of the market has become critical for AI: memory.

Demand for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) has exploded over the past year, sending memory stocks much higher. Companies like Samsung, SK hynix, and Micron have become major winners of the AI boom.

The memory industry has long been known for brutal cycles. Demand rises, companies increase production, supply catches up, and prices eventually fall again.

But AI may be changing the rules.

In this article, we look at:

📉 Why memory has historically been so cyclical
🤖 How AI and HBM are changing the industry
🏆 Which company is leading the AI memory race?
⚖️ The bull and bear case for memory stocks
📌 Is this time really different for memory?

📉 The Industry Nobody Trusted

For decades, memory was seen as one of the most cyclical industries in tech. The pattern was almost always the same. Demand increased, companies rapidly expanded production, supply eventually caught up, and prices collapsed again. What started as a boom often ended with falling margins, weak profits, and big stock declines. That made memory stocks difficult to trust for many investors.

Memory companies were heavily exposed to supply and demand cycles. Even a small oversupply could put enormous pressure on prices and profitability.

This is also why memory stocks often traded at relatively low valuations compared to other semiconductor companies. Historically, low P/E ratios were often not a sign that memory stocks were cheap, but that the industry was close to the top of the cycle and profits were temporarily very high.

And history shows how brutal these cycles could become. During weaker periods, memory prices sometimes fell more than 50% in a relatively short time, pushing profits much lower across the industry.

Source: Nikhs Substack — How AI Broke the Memory Market

For decades, many investors saw memory as a commodity business instead of a high-quality long-term investment.

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

🤖 How AI and HBM Are Changing the Industry

AI completely changed the role of memory. The memory market is divided into DRAM and NAND. DRAM is used for computing and processing data, while NAND is used for storage products like SSDs and smartphones.

In the past, memory demand was driven by PCs, smartphones, and traditional data centers. Today, AI data centers need much larger amounts of memory and much higher bandwidth. This is where High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) became critical.

HBM is a much more advanced and faster form of DRAM designed for AI workloads. It is placed very close to AI chips like GPUs, helping data move much faster and more efficiently. Without fast memory, even the most powerful AI chips cannot perform at their full potential.

AI servers already need far more memory than traditional servers, and demand keeps rising as AI models become larger and more complex.

HBM supply is also very limited. Production is extremely difficult, capacity is tight, and only a few companies currently have the technology and scale to compete at the highest level. This pushed HBM prices significantly higher over the past year and helped memory companies improve margins and profitability much faster than in previous cycles.

Bloomberg Intelligence expects the HBM market to grow from $35 billion in 2025 to $100 billion around 2030, making it one of the fastest-growing areas in the semiconductor industry.

Source: Bloomberg Intelligence

Historically, memory was seen as a commodity business. HBM could be changing that. AI is not only increasing memory demand, it is also improving the quality of the industry itself.

So far, we’ve looked at why memory has historically been so cyclical and how AI and HBM may be changing the rules.

But which memory company is best positioned? And is this boom still early, or are we nearing another cycle peak?

The rest of this article is exclusively available to paid subscribers ✨

Upgrade now to discover which company is leading the AI memory race 🏆, the bull & bear case ⚖️ and our final conclusion: is this time really different? 📌

🔥 Upgrade Now and Save 30%!

Get instant access to this article, our Portfolios & Transactions, our monthly Best Buys, all Deep Dives, all Stock Battles — plus 400+ premium articles to explore!

✅ Already trusted by 4,700+ investors.

🚀 Rising Star - May 2026

The Future Investors — Fri, 15 May 2026 10:59:38 GMT

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

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

However, we’re very selective with these picks — and the early results have been strong. Since January 2025, we’ve shared eight Rising Stars, including one already up +128% and another gaining +123% 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 a mission-critical platform for an increasingly digital world 🔥

🚀 Strong growth: ARR growing 21% YoY
📊 Elite metrics: 85% gross margins and 92% gross revenue retention
💰 Attractive valuation: free cash flow yield of around 5%

Ready to discover our next potential multibagger? 🚀
Unlock it now — exclusively for our paid subscribers 🔓✨

🔥 Upgrade Now and Save 30%

Get instant access to this potential multibagger, all other Best Buys, our Portfolios & Transactions, all Deep Dives, all Stock Battles — and 400+ premium articles to explore.

✅ Already trusted by 4,700+ investors.

🗣️ Investor Talk #58: Hamid Shojaee

The Future Investors — Mon, 11 May 2026 13:40:02 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: Hamid Shojaee @hamids
Age: 52
Residence/Country: United States
Invests since: the 1990’s

Introduction
I have been fascinated by businesses for as long as I can remember, how they are created, how ownership is divided among shareholders, and how public markets allow everyday investors to participate in the growth of great companies.

That interest started when I was a teenager, and during high school I began paper investing to better understand how the stock market worked. Tracking companies and simulating investments taught me the basics of buying and selling stocks, but more importantly, it helped me realize that investing was far more than simply watching stock prices move, it was about understanding businesses. Over time, that curiosity developed into a lifelong passion for investing and analyzing companies.

What is your investment strategy?
As I became a more experienced investor, I noticed a clear pattern in my results: the overwhelming majority of my gains came from just a small number of investments, typically the companies I understood best and had the highest conviction in. That realization completely changed the way I approached investing. Rather than spreading capital across dozens of positions, I adopted a highly concentrated strategy focused on owning only my very best ideas.

Today, I invest in just six companies and look exclusively for businesses that I believe are great companies trading at good or great prices. My philosophy is simple: if you truly understand a business and believe the upside is compelling, it makes sense to size that position accordingly rather than dilute returns through over-diversification.

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 just six stocks:
$MU - Micron
$RKLB - Rocket Lab
$META - Meta
$HOOD - Robinhood
$RIVN - Rivian
$BMBL - Bumble

My portfolio is fully public and can be seen here: SavvyTrader profile (it’s free to subscribe)

Which sectors do you mainly focus on?
My primary focus is on technology and software companies, largely because that aligns with my professional background and area of expertise. I believe investing within sectors you deeply understand can provide a meaningful edge over time.

What are your 3 highest conviction stocks?
$MU - Micron
$META - Meta
$RIVN - Rivian

I believe each of these companies has substantial long-term upside and the potential to deliver outsized returns from current levels.

What is the stock in your portfolio with the highest return?
$RKLB - Rocket Lab has delivered the highest return in my current portfolio. Looking back over my investing career, some of my biggest winners have included Netflix, Tesla, Uber, Apple, and Meta.

What is the biggest investing mistake you have made?
One of the biggest mistakes I made early in my investing journey was believing that diversification was inherently a smart strategy. In my experience, excessive diversification often leads to mediocre returns rather than true outperformance.

I also believed I could time the market, which proved to be another misconception. Over time, I learned that while market timing is extremely difficult, identifying when great companies are clearly overvalued or undervalued is much more achievable. My strategy evolved accordingly into buying underpriced, high-quality businesses.

If you could give one piece of advice to investors, what would it be?
Don’t follow hype. Valuation always matters. Focus on buying good or great companies at attractive prices rather than chasing whatever is popular in the market at the moment.

Hamid’s Favorites

📖 Favorite book: One Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch

🎧 Favorite podcast: Buy Hold Rant, where I am the co-host

💬 Favorite quote: “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” by Warren Buffett. In my view, Buffett has some of the greatest investing quotes of all time.

👤 Favorite FinX account: Shay Boloor @StockSavvyShay

Where can we find more info about you?
You can watch and listen to all of our podcasts and videos on our YouTube channel: Buy Hold Rant

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

🔥 Upgrade now to paid and get 30% off!
Unlock instant access to our Portfolios & Transactions, our monthly Best Buys, all Deep Dives, all Stock Battles — plus 375+ premium articles.

✅ Already trusted by 4,600+ investors.

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

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 - May 2026

The Future Investors — Tue, 05 May 2026 10:27:54 GMT

Hey Investors,

Fresh month, fresh opportunities. Our Best Buys for May are here. 🎯

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

Since December 2024, we’ve shared 51 Best Buys with our paid members.

They’ve delivered outstanding results so far, with multiple positions already up close to or over 100% in such a short timeframe 🔥

🚀 AMD at $97.35 (+250%)
🚀 Alphabet at $168.95 (+127%)
🚀 BE Semiconductor at €113.85 (+117%)
🚀 ASML at $662.63 (+99%)

Our selection combines valuation and fundamentals, but quality always comes first. 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 our process sharp and ideas fresh, we don’t pick the same Best Buy two months in a row.

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

#3: Hermès (OTC: HESAY)

This is the first time we’re adding Hermès to our Best Buys list. In early 2025, the stock peaked at $303. Since then, shares have fallen to $186, leaving this world-class business more than 38% below its highs.

While the stock has corrected sharply, the quality of the business has not changed. That disconnect has created an attractive opportunity for long-term investors 🎯

What Happened?

Hermès has been building one of the strongest luxury brands in the world since 1837. Across 16 product categories (métiers), the company has built a reputation for exclusivity and craftsmanship that very few brands can match.

That is why investors have historically been willing to pay a premium valuation for the stock. But this year, even Hermès has come under pressure.

Source: Hermès investor materials, adapted by ChatGPT

The war in Iran hurt spending in the Middle East, one of the most important growth regions for luxury brands. Sales in the region fell more than 13% in the first quarter. Fewer wealthy tourists also visited Europe, which impacted sales there.

China was another weak spot. Many consumers are still spending more cautiously due to economic uncertainty, putting pressure on luxury demand. Growth in Asia-Pacific slowed to just 2.2%. On top of that, currency effects reduced reported revenue by €290 million. As a result, Hermès reported Q1 organic growth of 5.6%, below expectations of 7.1%.

Luxury as a whole is under pressure right now, and companies like LVMH and Kering are seeing an even steeper slowdown. The difference is that Hermès operates at the very top of the luxury market:

📊 Excluding currency effects, Hermès still grew in a difficult quarter
👜 Hermès still cannot keep up with demand for its most exclusive products
📈 Hermès has the highest gross and net margins of any major luxury company

That is why many investors see Hermès as a class apart within luxury.

Why Hermès Looks Attractive Now

Hermès scores 79 🟢 in our Fundamental Scoring Framework, which is an excellent score. If the company had met earnings expectations this quarter, it would have received our High-Quality label 🔵.

Hermès has always traded at a premium valuation, which makes sense given the strength of the business. Over the past 10 years, the stock traded at an average P/E ratio of 49.2x. Today, that has dropped to 36.7x, which is more than 25% below its historical average.

Its forward P/E of 34.0x is also below the lowest valuation level of the past decade (10-year low: 34.2x).

That means investors can now buy the best luxury company in the world at its most attractive valuations in years.

No luxury brand matches Hermès when it comes to brand strength, pricing power, and exclusivity. The company has been around for nearly 200 years, and if one luxury business is built to keep winning long term, it is Hermès.

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

Fundamental Score: 79 🟢 → Quality
Current Stock Price: $185.79

The next two? Two high-quality 🔵 businesses trading at very attractive valuations right now:

👑 One is a near-monopoly business with industry-leading margins.
🚀 The other is a fast-growing fintech leader with plenty of room to grow.

Ready to discover our #1 and #2 Best Buys?
Get instant access as a paid member 🔓✨

🔥 Upgrade Now and Save 30%

Get direct access to our other 2 Best Buys for May, all previous Best Buys, our Portfolios & Transactions, all Deep Dives, all Stock Battles — and 375+ premium articles to explore.

✅ Already trusted by 4,600+ investors.

📈 Portfolio Update – April 2026

The Future Investors — Sat, 02 May 2026 09:19:57 GMT

March was brutal, but the markets bounced back strongly in April as hopes grew that the conflict with Iran may soon come to an end 📈

In this recap, we break down what happened. How did the indexes perform? What did our portfolios do? Which stocks led the rebound, and which lagged behind? We end with the moves we made this month.

Dive into our full April Recap below 👇

📢 Our Best Buys for May drop early next week — don’t miss it 🎯

What Moved the Markets in April?

April was a strong month for the markets. After the heavy sell-off in March, stocks rebounded as the U.S. and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, removing a lot of uncertainty from the market.

TSMC and ASML kicked off Q1 earnings season with strong results, showing AI demand is still incredibly strong. Big Tech earnings last week only reinforced that view, with the hyperscalers once again raising their AI spending plans. Combined capex for the four largest players is now expected to reach up to $725 billion in 2026. Alphabet impressed the most with 63% growth in Google Cloud, while Meta disappointed investors after raising its capex outlook by another $10 billion.

Memory companies like SK hynix, Western Digital and Sandisk also posted strong numbers, with demand for AI memory and storage staying very strong.

April also brought a wave of AI and product launches. Anthropic launched Project Glasswing, opening access to Claude Mythos for a select group of companies. OpenAI introduced ChatGPT Images 2.0, and rumors emerged that the company may be developing an OpenAI Phone powered by Qualcomm chips.

Amazon launched Amazon Quick, its new desktop AI assistant, and Microsoft announced its biggest Copilot rollout ever with Accenture, bringing the software to 743,000 employees. Adobe launched CX Enterprise Coworker and announced a $25 billion buyback, and Salesforce introduced Headless 360.

Eli Lilly launched Foundayo, its new GLP-1 weight loss pill, in the U.S. Amazon launched a GLP-1 weight loss program through One Medical, and Novo Nordisk partnered with OpenAI on drug discovery.

Amazon acquired Globalstar for $11.6 billion, and Adyen acquired Talon.One. Uber expanded further into travel by adding hotel bookings through Expedia.

Intel and AMD rallied last month as investors started realizing CPUs are becoming more important and could play a crucial role in an agentic AI era.

SpaceX confidentially filed for an IPO, with a potential listing expected in June.

Finally, Apple announced that Tim Cook will step down as CEO later this year and remain chairman, with John Ternus taking over as his successor. Reed Hastings also stepped down as chairman of Netflix after more than two decades.

So how did the markets respond this month? Here’s how the three major indexes performed:

S&P 500: +10.4% 📈 (+5.3% YTD)
Nasdaq: +15.3% 📈 (+7.1% YTD)
Dow Jones: +7.1% 📈 (+3.3% YTD)

🔥 Upgrade Now & Save 30%!

Unlock full access to this Portfolio Review, our Portfolios & Transactions, our monthly Best Buys, all Deep Dives, all Stock Battles — plus 375+ premium articles.

✅ Already trusted by 4,600+ investors.

Portfolio Performance: How Did We Do?

How did our portfolios perform in April?

In this update, we break down our performance versus the S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones, and highlight which stocks performed best and which lagged behind.

Want to see what we bought and sold during the month? Check out the full breakdown below 👇

Available exclusively for our paid members ✨

📦 Unpacked #12: Palo Alto Networks

The Future Investors — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 10:31:53 GMT

Welcome to the 12th edition of Unpacked, our monthly series where we take a deep dive into a company. This time, we’re taking a closer look at Palo Alto Networks — a global leader in cybersecurity, protecting thousands of organizations worldwide with its advanced network, cloud, and AI-driven security platforms.

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 Palo Alto Networks and see how we score it!

History and Business Model

In 2005, Nir Zuk founded Palo Alto Networks after seeing that companies had limited insight into what was happening on their networks. Firewalls could block traffic, but didn’t show which apps were being used or who was behind it.

Zuk believed security needed to go further, not just block, but also understand what’s happening inside the network.

In 2007, Palo Alto Networks launched its first product: the Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW), introducing:

App-ID (which applications are running)
User-ID (who is behind the activity)
Content-ID (what data and threats are inside)

Source: Palo Alto Networks’ first next-generation firewall (PA-4000 series)

As cloud, mobile, and remote work increased, Palo Alto Networks moved beyond hardware and built a broader platform across networks, cloud, and endpoints.

In the summer of 2012, the company went public, helping expand globally.

From 2018, Palo Alto Networks moved from separate products to one integrated platform across network security, cloud security, and security operations, accelerated by acquisitions such as Evident.io (2018), RedLock (2018), and Demisto (2019).

Today, its platform is built around three core areas:
🔐 1. Network Security
☁️ 2. Prisma Cloud
🤖 3. Cortex

Over the past few years, Palo Alto Networks has been adding AI to detect and respond to threats faster, and now serves tens of thousands of organizations worldwide.

Its mission says it all:

“To be the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life.”

Want to go deeper? A recent podcast with Nir Zuk and CEO Nikesh Arora shares the full Palo Alto Networks story 🎧👇

Source: Sequoia Capital, Crucible Moments Podcast

Business Model Explained

Palo Alto Networks helps companies stay secure in a world where everything is connected, from office networks to cloud systems and employee devices.

Instead of using many separate security tools, customers can use one platform that covers multiple areas of cybersecurity.

Its business is built around three core areas:

🔐 1. Network Security
Protects company networks with firewalls and software that monitor and control traffic. This is where the company started.

☁️ 2. Prisma Cloud
Secures cloud environments like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. As more companies move to the cloud, this has become a key growth area.

🤖 3. Cortex
Helps security teams detect and respond to threats using automation and AI, reducing manual work and improving response times.

How Palo Alto Networks makes money 💰
The model combines products with recurring subscriptions. Companies often start with a firewall or a specific product, but most revenue comes from ongoing subscriptions for threat detection, cloud security, monitoring, and continuous updates.

As customers add more products over time, revenue becomes more predictable and grows. Once a company uses one part of the platform, it becomes easier to expand into others, leading to more products per customer, higher switching costs, and deeper integration in daily operations.

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

Revenue Breakdown

On February 17, 2026, Palo Alto Networks reported its fiscal Q2 2026 results (quarter ended January 31, 2026). Total revenue came in at $2.59B (+15% YoY).

🔄 Subscription & Support – $2.08B (80%)
Recurring revenue from cloud security, threat detection, and ongoing services. This is where most of the growth comes from, as customers use more parts of the platform.

🔐 Product – $0.51B (20%)
Includes hardware like firewalls, plus the basic software that runs on them. This is a smaller part of the business, but still growing and important for bringing in new customers.

Recent Developments

Palo Alto Networks is moving beyond firewalls into a broader platform across cloud, AI, identity, and security operations. Here are the key developments:

1️⃣ Strategic Acquisitions
In 2025 and 2026, Palo Alto Networks made several acquisitions to expand into new areas of cybersecurity:

Protect AI ($650M+): early move into securing AI models and applications
Chronosphere ($3.3B): helps monitor and secure large amounts of data
CyberArk ($25B): adds identity security for users, machines, and AI agents
Koi ($400M): focused on securing AI agents and endpoints

These deals show a clear direction: the company is building out its platform across AI, data, and identity.

2️⃣ AI & New Product Launches
Palo Alto Networks launched new products focused on AI security:

Prisma AIRS 3.0: helps companies discover, monitor, and protect AI systems from development to real-world use
Prisma Browser for Business: secures work done in the browser, where employees increasingly use SaaS tools and AI applications

Source: Palo Alto Networks Blog - Securing the AI Enterprise

These launches show how cybersecurity is shifting. More work is happening in the cloud and the browser, and more processes are supported by AI, creating new risks that need to be secured.

3️⃣ Google Cloud Partnership & Migration
Palo Alto Networks expanded its partnership with Google Cloud through a multi-billion dollar deal.

The company is moving part of its own systems to Google Cloud, while also integrating its security tools more deeply into Google’s platform. This includes protecting AI workloads and data using solutions like Prisma AIRS.

Palo Alto Networks is also using Google’s AI models within its own platform, showing a deeper level of integration beyond a typical partnership.

This also supports products like Prisma SASE, as companies move more of their networks and applications to the cloud and look to use fewer vendors.

4️⃣ Founder Nir Zuk Steps Down
In 2025, founder and CTO Nir Zuk stepped down after leading the company’s technology strategy for nearly two decades.

Lee Klarich, a long-time product leader at the company, took over as CTO. He has been closely involved in building many of the company’s key products.

5️⃣ Project Glasswing: Collaboration with Anthropic
Palo Alto Networks is a launch partner in Project Glasswing, an initiative led by Anthropic. The project uses advanced AI models to automatically find and fix software vulnerabilities. This is important because AI is not only used by companies, but also by attackers.

Source: Anthropic website

Together, these developments show how Palo Alto Networks is building a broader cybersecurity platform, with AI at the center.

🔥 Upgrade Now and Save 30%!

Get instant access to this Palo Alto Networks Full Deep Dive, all other Deep Dives, our Portfolios & Transactions, our monthly Best Buys, 95+ Stock Battles — plus 375+ premium articles!

✅ Already trusted by 4,600+ investors.

Fundamental Analysis

Now it’s time for the fundamental analysis of Palo Alto Networks.

Final Scoring

This score reflects how fundamentally attractive we believe Palo Alto Networks is as an investment, ranging from:

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

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

🎓 GAAP vs Non-GAAP: What Investors Overlook in Earnings

The Future Investors — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 14:14:30 GMT

Many investors look ahead to decide if a stock is cheap or expensive. To do that, they use the forward P/E ratio, and based on that number, they conclude if a stock is cheap or expensive. But here’s the problem: not all earnings are the same.

Companies can report different versions of earnings, and the difference between them can be significant. That means a stock that looks cheap can actually be much more expensive. And that has a direct impact on valuation.

That’s why it’s so important to understand which earnings you’re using when valuing a company, and how they can lead to very different valuations.

In this article, we’ll break down the two types of earnings: GAAP and non-GAAP.

You’ll learn:
📊 what the key differences are between GAAP and non-GAAP
🧾 what is included (and what is excluded)
🎯 how they impact valuation

We’ll also use a real-world example to show how big the difference can be.

Let’s start with GAAP, the official way companies report earnings.

📊 What is GAAP?

GAAP stands for Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. It’s the industry standard for reporting financial results, which makes companies comparable. These are the numbers you’ll find in their income statements.

GAAP includes all costs. That means the following is included:

operating expenses
interest and taxes
stock-based compensation
restructuring and other charges

These are all costs related to running the business. Nothing is excluded, which means GAAP reflects the full financial picture of a company’s performance.

GAAP earnings show what a company actually earned over a period. There are no adjustments, no “cleaned” numbers, and no exclusions to make results look better. It reflects the true bottom line.

Because GAAP includes everything, earnings can sometimes look lower, especially in the short term. One-time charges, restructuring costs, or acquisition-related expenses can impact results in a given quarter or year. That doesn’t always mean the underlying business is weaker.

If you want to understand a company’s profitability, GAAP is your starting point. It shows what is actually reported and what shareholders are left with. But GAAP doesn’t tell the whole story about how a business is performing. That’s where non-GAAP comes in.

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

📊 What is Non-GAAP?

Non-GAAP earnings are adjusted numbers. Companies start with their GAAP results and then exclude costs. These are costs such as:

stock-based compensation
restructuring costs
acquisition-related expenses
other “one-time” items

The goal is to show a clearer view of the underlying business. One example of a non-GAAP metric is EBITDA, which excludes interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. This allows non-GAAP to focus more on the core performance.

Unlike GAAP, non-GAAP is not standardized. Companies decide what they exclude and how they present these numbers, which means results are not always comparable.

Non-GAAP is a useful way to understand how a business is performing without short-term impact. However, it’s important to be careful. Some of the costs that are excluded are not always one-time. Stock-based compensation, for example, is often excluded, while it is a recurring cost for many companies. This can make earnings look higher than they are.

Non-GAAP can help you understand the business, but it doesn’t always show the full picture when valuing a company.

Source: The Motley Fool

🔥 Upgrade Now & Save 30%
Get full access to our Portfolios & Transactions, our Best Buys, all Deep Dives, all Stock Battles — plus 375+ premium articles to explore!

✅ Join 4,500+ investors already inside.

🎯 The Impact on Valuation

Most investors use the forward P/E ratio to value a company, meaning they look at expected future earnings. But here’s the problem: the “E” in that ratio is often based on non-GAAP EPS.

As discussed earlier, this means costs such as stock-based compensation, restructuring costs, and acquisition-related expenses are excluded. As a result, the EPS used in the forward P/E is often higher than the actual EPS, which leads to a lower P/E ratio.

For example, a stock might trade at a forward P/E of 25, which at first glance can look reasonable. However, that multiple is based on non-GAAP EPS. If you instead look at GAAP EPS, those costs are included, which usually results in lower earnings, especially for growth companies where stock-based compensation can be significant.

The same stock trading at 25x non-GAAP EPS might actually trade at 40x or more based on GAAP EPS. It’s the same company and the same business, but a very different valuation.

This is where many investors get it wrong, and it’s not just theory. Let’s look at a real example: Axon Enterprise.

🛡️ Example: Axon Enterprise

The difference between GAAP and non-GAAP can have a big impact on valuation. You often see this with high-growth companies. Let’s take Axon as an example.

As you can see in the image below, for Q4 2025, Axon reported a non-GAAP net income of $177.8 million and an EPS of $2.15. But on a GAAP basis, net income was just $2.7 million, with EPS of only $0.03.

The biggest impact comes from stock-based compensation, which was $184.5 million in the quarter. This has a major impact on reported earnings and brings net income close to zero.

So GAAP EPS is much lower than non-GAAP EPS, and that’s exactly the point, because GAAP EPS is the actual “E” used in the trailing (TTM) P/E ratio.

Source: Q4 2025 Axon Enterprise Shareholder Letter

At the current share price of $402.85 and a GAAP EPS of $1.51, Axon trades at a P/E ratio of 267.

If we look, like many investors do, at Axon’s forward P/E ratio for 2026, it is 51.7 (source: GuruFocus). At first, that may look reasonable. You might think earnings will grow quickly and the valuation will come down next year. But here’s the problem: that 51.7 is based on non-GAAP EPS of 7.79, which means costs are excluded. And we know that can have a big impact on the valuation.

The expected GAAP EPS for 2026 is 1.68. Based on that, the real forward P/E at the current stock price would be around 240.

Still very high, and very different from what the forward P/E shows.

View Our Portfolios

📌 Final Takeaway

Not all earnings are the same. GAAP shows the full picture. Non-GAAP shows a cleaner version of the business. Both matter, but for different reasons.

If you want to understand how a business is performing, non-GAAP helps.
If you want to value a company, GAAP matters most.

Make sure you understand the numbers and use the right earnings. Otherwise, you risk reaching the wrong conclusions, and making the wrong decisions. Good luck!

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

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

🗣️ Investor Talk #57: Amrita Roy

The Future Investors — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:27:24 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 🚀

👉 Check out all previous Investor Talks here
Including interviews with Brian Feroldi (Founder - Long Term Mindset), Shay Baloor (Host of Stocktwits) and Gav Blaxberg (CEO - WOLF Financial).

In this edition, we have the pleasure of interviewing:

Name: @amritaroy2011
Age: 36
Residence/Country: Originally from India, now living in Tbilisi, Georgia
Invests since: 2020

Introduction
I have an extensive background working in technology startups in San Francisco Bay Area for several years before I made a career pivot into investing and finance in 2020/2021. During that period of time, I got deeply interested in understanding how the global economies and financial markets work. Ray Dalio’s “The Principles of Dealing with a Changing World Order” had a big role to play in inspiring me to embark on a quest to study and disentangle how the world’s financial markets and economies work and use the insights to discover and invest in companies that sit at the intersection of key technological and cultural waves.

Less than two years later, I started my Substack called The Pragmatic Optimist. In 2024, I also started actively contributing to Seeking Alpha & other financial platforms to share my research on technology companies that I had started investing in. Today, my work on both these platforms share a tight synergy in terms of our core macroeconomic thesis, industry trends in AI and investing themes and companies. Additionally, we also share our portfolio along with real-time trades through our paid service on The Pragmatic Optimist newsletter.

What is your investment strategy?
We focus on high-growth assets that generally sit within AI or the digitally native ecosystem, along with some exposure to cryptocurrency. Of late, we’ve been utilizing a lot of thematic investment strategies to deploy our capital, possibly even in multi-phased approaches.

On a more tactical basis, we lean a lot on top-down methodologies, looking at industries, sectors, themes, dependencies, competitive positioning and then picking out our winners which we believe will deliver category-leading performances over the rest of its peers. A lot of our research is also centered in identifying market mispricing in companies, particularly, where revenue and/or margins may be about to inflect in either direction.

The thing is that the pace of progress in AI is much faster than the previous innovation cycles like cloud computing, internet, etc., so this is a constant process of keeping ourselves updated across the demand signals developing across the entire AI ecosystem.

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

How many stocks are currently held in your portfolio?
In The Pragmatic Optimist portfolio, we own a total of 22 stocks, including Bitcoin, Ethereum as well as iShares MSCI India ETF for exposure in the Indian markets.

Which sectors do you mainly focus on?
I tend to focus my research on hyperscalers, software and cybersecurity. Particularly, I am keen on finding long-term opportunities in platform companies with embedded distribution, ecosystems that lock in users, system-level integration that competitors can’t easily replicate.

What are your 3 highest conviction stocks?
$META - Meta
$PLTR - Palantir
$CRWD - CrowdStrike

What is the stock in your portfolio with the highest return?
The current position in our portfolio with the highest return is AMD $AMD, yielding 77%.

Since the start of 2026, we have trimmed and/or exited several positions at significant gains, which include iShares Silver Trust ETF at 200%, SPDR Gold Shares ETF at 110%, Celestica at 250%, Alphabet at 50% and TSMC at 50%.

What is the biggest investing mistake you have made?
My two biggest mistakes since launching The Pragmatic Optimist portfolio include investing in Zscaler and remaining overly patient with the stock. Since 2026, it has seen the largest decline in the cybersecurity complex as the competition in the Zero Trust space heats up, with companies like Cloudflare that are eating its lunch. At the moment, we are planning to exit the position altogether, as we consolidate our holdings in our higher conviction names.

My second mistake is building too heavy a position in Microsoft for the portfolio at the end of last year, which is also weighing down on the portfolio performance.

If you could give one piece of advice to investors, what would it be?
The macro narrative at the moment is “higher for longer”. With inflation projected to tick up higher in the short-term, I believe any bounce in the S&P 500 should be treated with caution, at least until we get evidence that inflation expectations has peaked. This will create a lot of short-term volatility and it is important to practice appropriate risk management strategies as you navigate between cash preservation vs. selective investments.

Amrita’s Favorites

📖 Favorite book: -

🎧 Favorite podcast: -

💬 Favorite quote: -

👤 Favorite FinX account: I have several favourites: @RihardJarc, @StockSavvyShay, @SemiAnalysis_, @damnang2, @Beth_Kindig

Where can we find more info about you?
Substack:
Seeking Alpha: https://seekingalpha.com/author/amrita-roy
X: @amritaroy2011

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

🔥 Upgrade now to paid and get 30% off!
Unlock instant access to our Portfolios & Transactions, our monthly Best Buys, all Deep Dives, all Stock Battles — plus 375+ premium articles.

✅ Already trusted by 4,500+ investors.

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

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

🔍 The Mag 7: Which Stocks Are Most Attractive?

The Future Investors — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 10:03:30 GMT

For years, The Magnificent 7 have dominated the market. They still make up a large part of the S&P 500 and have been responsible for a big share of the returns. But recently, something has started to shift. Not in their businesses, but in their stock prices. A number of these stocks have dropped significantly from their highs. So what’s actually going on?

They are often seen as one group, but they are no longer moving in the same way. Some are now much more attractive than others.

In this article, we take a closer look at:

📉 How far these stocks have fallen and why they’ve come down
📊 What the growth expectations are for the Mag 7
🔢 And how we rank the Mag 7 from #7 to #1

📉 The Drop

The Magnificent 7 are no longer trading near their highs. After a strong run over the past few years, these stocks have come down. Many of them are now down double digits from their all-time highs:

Amazon: -7.8% 📉
Alphabet: -9.1% 📉
Apple: -9.8% 📉
Nvidia: -11.1% 📉
Meta: -20.9% 📉
Tesla: -30.1% 📉
Microsoft: -33.2% 📉

The S&P 500 is only 2.6% below its all-time high, which shows how much bigger the declines have been in these stocks.

The chart below shows the recent drop in the Magnificent 7 compared to the rest of the market. But zoom out, and they’ve still significantly outperformed the market over the past 10 years.

Source: Yardeni Research, Magnificent 7 performance vs S&P 500

What’s behind the drop in Mag 7 stock prices? There are a few clear reasons:

1️⃣ Geopolitics
The situation around Iran has pushed oil prices higher, which brings more uncertainty to the market and puts pressure on growth stocks.

2️⃣ AI investments
Big Tech is set to spend around $600–700 billion this year on AI infrastructure, and investors are starting to question the returns.

3️⃣ Tariffs & trade
Trump’s tariff plans increase costs for companies and create uncertainty around global trade. That puts pressure on earnings expectations and stock prices.

In uncertain times, Big Tech stocks often get hit harder. Over the past month, investors have been rotating into “defensive” parts of the market, such as value stocks, energy and consumer staples. This creates opportunities for investors with a long-term horizon.

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

📊 The Expectations

We’ve seen that Magnificent 7 stocks have come down, all of them more than the S&P 500. But maybe that’s justified. To understand that, we need to look at expectations, in this case, earnings growth.

The chart below shows expected earnings growth over the next 12 months for the Mag7, the S&P 500, and the S&P 500 ex-Mag 7.

Source: Yardeni Research, Magnificent 7 vs S&P 500 Forward Earnings Growth

The Magnificent 7 are still expected to grow faster than the rest of the market. Over the next 12 months, earnings are expected to grow around 23.6% for the Mag 7, compared to 16.1% for the S&P 500 ex-Mag 7.

We’ve just seen that many of these stocks have fallen well below their highs. Strong growth and lower prices mean that the Mag 7 stocks have become more attractive. But not all of them. So which ones stand out right now?

We’ve done the work and ranked the Magnificent 7 from least to most attractive (#7 → #1) 🏆

Let’s start with #7 🔍👇

#7: Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA)

Tesla is by far the most expensive stock within the Magnificent 7. With a forward P/E of 172, a PEG ratio of 4.65, and a P/FCF of 210, the valuation is far above the rest of the group.

Tesla is not being valued as a traditional car manufacturer. Investors are paying for Elon Musk’s long-term vision. That includes projects like the robotaxi and the Tesla Optimus, both with huge potential, but also a lot of uncertainty around timing and execution.

Based on current results and expectations, the stock looks very expensive. Tesla still needs to prove it can deliver on this vision. If not, the stock could be revalued lower, but if it does, the potential is still significant.

Metrics 📊
P/E (NTM): 172.2
PEG-ratio: 4.65
P/FCF: 210.5
EPS 5Y Forward Growth: 37.0%

#6: Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)

Apple is still trading at a high valuation, and growth is limited. With a forward P/E of 30, a PEG ratio of 2.73, and a P/FCF of 31, the stock looks expensive for a company expected to grow earnings by 11% over the next five years.

Apple does not yet have a clear AI strategy that supports future growth, but that could change. Apple has a massive iPhone user base, which gives it a strong position to launch new products and services.

Based on current expectations, the mix of high valuation and lower growth makes the stock less attractive. There is still potential, but Apple needs a new growth driver, likely in AI, to justify its valuation.

Key Metrics 📊
P/E (NTM): 30.3
PEG-ratio: 2.73
P/FCF: 31.0
EPS 5Y Forward Growth: 11.1%

With Tesla at #7 and Apple at #6, we’re left with five Mag 7 stocks: Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta. Which ones are the most attractive right now?

This part of the article is exclusively available to paid subscribers ✨
Upgrade now to discover our full ranking (#5 → #1) 👇

🔥 Upgrade Now and Save 30%!
Get instant access to this article, our Portfolios & Transactions, our monthly Best Buys, all Deep Dives, all Stock Battles — plus 375+ premium articles to explore!

✅ Already trusted by 4,500+ investors.

The top 3 names look like screaming buys 🔥

But let’s start with #5 first 👇

🎯 Best Buys - April 2026

The Future Investors — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 11:38:21 GMT

Hey Investors,

April is here and so are our new Best Buys 🎯

Every month, we search the market for great companies trading at fair prices — and highlight three stocks we believe stand out right now.

Since December 2024, we’ve shared 48 Best Buys with our paid members.

And the results speak for themselves 🔥

🚀 AMD at $97.35 (+123%)
🚀 ASML at $662.63 (+89%)
🚀 Alphabet at $168.95 (+75%)
🚀 BESI at €113.85 (+67%)

Our selection combines fundamentals and valuation, but we always prioritize quality. Because in the end:

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

If you’re curious how we score companies, you can read more in our Fundamental Scoring Framework article.

To keep our process sharp and ideas fresh, we don’t pick the same Best Buy two months in a row.

Now it’s time to reveal our Top 3 Best Buys for April ✨

No. 1 is trading near its 10-year low valuation 🎯

#3: Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META)

This is the second time we’re recommending Meta Platforms as one of our Best Buys.

We first highlighted it in November. Since then, the stock is down another 12% as market fear increased due to the war in Iran.

The business keeps growing, and the valuation has come down. That makes the opportunity even more attractive today 🎯

What Happened?

Investors in Meta have been worried about one thing in recent months: spending. The company plans to invest heavily, with expected capex of $115–135B in 2026, up from around $72B in 2025. A large part of this is going into AI infrastructure like data centers and computing power.

Investors didn’t like that. But the impact of those investments is already visible. AI is already improving Meta’s core business:

🎯 Ad performance is getting stronger
+3.5% more clicks, +1%+ conversions, +3% higher conversion rate, and +24% incremental conversions, driven by better AI targeting and ranking.

📈 Engagement keeps rising
+7% views on Facebook and +20% time spent on Threads, powered by AI-driven recommendations.

💰 AI is already generating revenue
$10B run-rate from AI tools, including video generation

Even Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, said that no one uses AI better than Meta 🎥👇

Source: CNBC Television, Halftime Report

Meta is also cutting costs and reorganizing the company. It plans major layoffs, possibly up to around 20% of its workforce. So while the market is focused on the high level of spending, the results are already there. Meta is investing heavily, and it’s starting to pay off.

Why Meta looks attractive now

Meta Platforms scores 81 🔵 in our Fundamental Scoring Framework, which makes it a high-quality company.

It’s founder-led, has a very dominant position in digital advertising, and reaches 3.48 billion daily users across its platforms. The company delivers strong financials and still has strong growth ahead.

What stands out today is the valuation. Meta trades at a P/E of 24.4, with a forward P/E of just 19.4. Over the past 10 years, the average P/E was around 27.4, which means the forward valuation is about 30% lower than usual. It’s also the lowest forward P/E within the Magnificent 7.

Looking at growth, the PEG ratio is 0.85. A PEG below 1 is generally seen as attractive, especially for a company of this quality.

Meta is investing heavily in AI, and it’s already delivering real results. This means you can now buy a proven, high-quality company that is clearly benefiting from AI at a more attractive valuation.

A wonderful company… now at a wonderful price! 💎

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

Fundamental score: 81 🔵 → High-Quality
Current stock price: $574.46

The next two? Two quality businesses trading at very attractive valuations right now:

🚀 A high-growth company, expected to grow revenue 25%+ this year — now priced like a value stock.
💎 The other is a world-class company, trading near its lowest valuation in a decade.

Ready to discover our #1 and #2 Best Buys?
Get instant access as a paid member 🔓✨

🔥 Upgrade Now and Save 30%!
Get full access to this article, all other Best Buys, our Portfolios & Transactions, all Deep Dives, all Stock Battles — plus 375+ premium articles to explore!

✅ Already trusted by 4,500+ investors.

📈 Portfolio Update – March 2026

The Future Investors — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 10:55:30 GMT

March is over… and what a month it was 😬. The war in Iran dominated the month. Oil prices jumped, and that brought a lot of fear into the markets ⚔️📉

In this recap, we break down what happened. How did the indexes perform? What did our portfolios do? Which stocks held up during the fear, and which ones didn’t? We end with the moves we made this month.

Dive into our full March Recap below 👇

📢 Our Best Buys for April drop this weekend — don’t miss it 🎯

What Moved the Markets in March?

March was a brutal month for markets. The war in Iran dominated the whole month. Iran responded with missiles and drones across the region, targeting U.S. bases and countries like Qatar and the UAE.

Iran also made it clear ships were no longer safe in the Strait of Hormuz. Tankers were attacked, traffic dropped sharply, and in practice the route was almost shut down. Around 20% of the world’s oil normally goes through that route, so this had a big impact. Supply dropped, and Brent oil prices shot up to well above $100.

That brought a lot of fear back into the markets. High-growth stocks were hit the hardest, but big tech names like Meta and Microsoft also dropped sharply. Almost all companies, except oil companies, came under pressure.

The VIX moved above 30, and the Fear & Greed Index dropped to 13, clear signs that extreme fear had taken over.

Source: CNN Fear & Greed Index

But yesterday, on the last day of the month, sentiment shifted. Iran signaled it wants to end the war, as long as it gets guarantees the conflict won’t return. At the same time, reports suggested Trump is open to ending the war as well, even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed. Markets reacted immediately, with indexes up more than 2–3%.

The big question now: is the war really nearing its end, and on what terms?

If a deal is reached soon, markets could recover further. But if the war continues, markets could fall again, and possibly even further than before.

Besides geopolitics, there was also a lot of company news. Nvidia announced major investments in U.S. photonics companies Lumentum and Coherent. During GTC, Jensen Huang said demand for Blackwell and Rubin could reach $1 trillion through 2027. He also introduced Feynman as the next step after Rubin, and expanded partnerships with Uber, Adobe and BYD.

Uber moved further into autonomous driving, announcing partnerships with Zoox, Rivian, Wayve, Nissan and Nvidia to bring robotaxes onto the platform, and acquiring Blacklane to expand into premium rides.

The leak of Anthropic’s Claude Mythos model showed how fast AI is moving, and investors started selling cybersecurity stocks.

Meta announced layoffs of around 20% of its workforce, shifting focus toward AI and moving away from the metaverse, shutting down parts of Horizon Worlds.

MercadoLibre plans to invest $3.4 billion in Argentina and $11 billion in Brazil across logistics, its marketplace and fintech platform MercadoPago.

Novo Nordisk and Hims & Hers resumed their partnership, with Wegovy available again on the platform as both a pill and pen.

Elon Musk introduced “Terafab,” a new initiative where Tesla and SpaceX plan to build massive AI compute in-house, instead of relying on external infrastructure.

So how did the markets respond to all of this? Let’s take a look at how the three major indexes performed in March:

S&P 500: -5.1% 📉 (-4.6% YTD)
Nasdaq: -4.8% 📉 (-6.0% YTD)
Dow Jones: -5.4% 📉 (-3.6% YTD)

🔥 Upgrade Now & Save 30%!

Unlock full access to this Portfolio Review, our Top 10 Picks 2026, our Portfolios, our monthly Best Buys, all Deep Dives, all Stock Battles — plus 375+ premium articles.

✅ Already trusted by 4,500+ investors.