Summary
Highlights
The video introduces a list of top stocks for 2026, all working together in five AI-driven markets. The presenter emphasizes accountability by reviewing his past stock lists and their performance against the S&P 500. His 2024 list returned 77% on average, tripling the S&P 500's 25%. His 2025 list returned 36% on average, doubling the S&P 500's 18%, resulting in a 140% return over two years. He stresses that this is not an 'all or nothing' list but a foundation for his portfolio, shared for educational purposes, focusing on long-term AI investments.
Beating the market, while simple in concept, requires strategic investment. The presenter suggests starting with the NASDAQ 100 (QQQ) for its tech focus and historical outperformance. However, for a more AI-focused approach, he recommends Vanguard's Information Technology ETF (VGT). VGT, with 322 companies, specifically targets semiconductors, hardware, system software, and applications, all benefiting from generative AI, while avoiding non-AI-centric companies. VGT's top 10 holdings include key AI players like Nvidia, Microsoft, Broadcom, Palantir, AMD, and Micron, offering a concentrated AI exposure with lower fees than SPY or QQQ.
AI models are crucial as they dictate APIs, features, and pricing for developers. The presenter highlights Nvidia (NeMo/Neotron), Meta Platforms (Llama), and Google (Gemini) as key players due to their established ecosystems and widespread adoption. These companies have integrated their AI models into their vast services and products, providing them with unparalleled access to revenue streams, user feedback, and data. Investing in these companies means investing in powerful and widely used AI models already generating revenue.
The second key market is AI chips, the 'picks and shovels' of the AI gold rush. The presenter recommends Nvidia, Google, Broadcom, Taiwan Semiconductor (TSMC), and Micron. Nvidia dominates the data center GPU market and recently acquired Groq's assets to enhance its inference capabilities. Google's TPUs power Gemini and are being considered for external sales to compete with Nvidia. Broadcom leads in custom chips and Ethernet switch chips, crucial for data centers. TSMC is the world's largest chip manufacturer, making advanced processors for nearly all major tech companies. Micron specializes in High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) for AI, essential for increasing model sizes. These companies benefit from the massive capital, IP, and supply chain relationships required to operate in this sector, creating significant economic moats.
AI chips require robust infrastructure. This section covers Nvidia, Google, Vertiv Holdings, and CoreWeave. Vertiv Holdings (VRT) provides power and cooling infrastructure, specifically liquid cooling systems critical for high-density AI data centers and GPU clusters. CoreWeave is building AI-first data centers, offering bare-metal Nvidia and AMD GPUs, with massive campuses planned for liquid-cooled deployments. CoreWeave's strategy of utilizing cheap renewable power and forming long-term partnerships with Nvidia and Microsoft makes it a strong play for the physical infrastructure underlying AI.
For AI to be integrated into existing and new applications, digital infrastructure is essential. Palantir and CrowdStrike are highlighted in this segment. Palantir, with its Gotham, Foundry, and Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), acts as a digital AI infrastructure, integrating disparate data and enabling customers to embed LLMs into real-world workflows across various industries. CrowdStrike provides the security backbone for AI enterprises through its Falcon platform, which uses generative AI tools to detect and block cyber threats in real-time. Both companies are positioned to thrive as AI adoption accelerates, addressing the growing needs for trusted AI applications and robust cybersecurity.
The market rewards fast and flexible companies in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. The presenter illustrates this with examples like Google selling its TPUs, Nvidia acquiring Groq, Meta open-sourcing models, and Micron pivoting to HBM. These companies demonstrate a willingness to adapt and innovate to stay competitive. The video concludes by reiterating the 2024 and 2025 list performances and presenting his updated 2026 list, which swaps Amazon for Micron, ARM for Taiwan Semiconductor, and Fortinet for CoreWeave to gain more exposure to pure AI hardware plays. The overall strategy is to focus on fast-growing markets and hold winners by understanding the underlying science, aiming to get rich without relying on luck.