Buy Microsoft despite reported OpenAI tensions: Strategist
Tensions between Microsoft and OpenAI over their ongoing partnership are starting to heat up, according to reports. Laffer Tengler Investments CEO and chief investment officer Nancy Tengler expects the fight will continue, but it's not deterring her from buying Microsoft's (MSFT) stock. Find out why in the video above.
To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Domination Overtime here.
There has reportedly been growing friction between OpenAI and Microsoft despite their business partnership. Um, how should investors be thinking about that situation and how it informs maybe how they're investing in Microsoft, maybe how they're investing elsewhere?
Yeah, I, well, I think Sam Altman has put himself in the position to be at war with a number of different individuals in Silicon Valley. Um, you know, look, Microsoft paid 13 billion dollars for 49% of future profits. Uh, part of the deal was they would have an exclusive right to to provide uh open AI's compute power and the right to all intellectual property. Open AI is now objecting to all of that, and we'll see. I mean, they want to become a a public benefit corporation. Uh they need Microsoft to sign off on that, and in in exchange they want to give them 33% of the company. Satya Nadella is not a pushover. So I would expect to see the fight continue. I I think the market kind of yawned today. Microsoft was down about a quarter of a percent. So I I I think you stay tuned if it gets if it does sell off, I think you continue to add to this name. We were adding before earnings. Uh stock's up about over 20% from that pit point, and we'll continue to hold it until we think this this trade has exhausted, and we don't think that's for some time.
There were some skeptics, Nancy, who said, you know, maybe 2025 represents kind of the peak, the high watermark of AI spend. As a long-time investor in that mega AI trade and trend, do you believe that, Nancy?
I don't, Josh. I think uh we're early innings. I mean, you heard Andy Jassy say we're kind of first batter in the first inning. It might even be the first pitch. Uh the hyperscalers did not cut back on spending after deep seek. I don't think it's because they didn't get it. I think it's because they understand they need to continue to spend to to be leaders in this space. And so you're seeing a tremendous amount of capex. It will slow eventually, obviously, but I don't think we're there yet. And if you look at all the trend lines, um you're seeing more and more companies ada adopt uh new technologies in and and they're mostly powered by AI. And just look at Oracle. I mean, it's the largest holding in our RTGLR ETF and you know, they they are talking about a backlog in demand that they can't they can't even meet. And that's what all the hyperscalers said, their supply constraint. So they need more chips from Broadcom and Nvidia, uh and they need more infrastructure, they need more energy, and so we own a number of those names. And I think that that continues for some time. May just be a few more years, uh but I wouldn't get off the bus yet.
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