Latest news with #ChrisVersace
Miami Herald
3 hours ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Veteran fund manager reboots Palantir stock price target
There's been a lot of debate surrounding artificial intelligence stocks this year. A boom in AI spending, particularly by hyperscalers ramping infrastructure to meet surging research and development of chatbots and agentic AI, led to eye-popping returns for companies like Palantir Technologies, which markets data analytics platforms. However, concern that spending could decelerate has picked up in 2025 because of worry over a tariffs-driven recession, causing many AI stocks like chip-maker Nvidia to stumble. Related: Legendary fund manager sends blunt 6-word message on bitcoin While the eventual impact of tariffs on recession remains a question mark, there's been little to suggest demand for Palantir's services is slipping. Solid first-quarter earnings results and optimism that trade deals could make tariffs manageable have helped Palantir shares rally 63% this year after a 340% surge in 2024. Palantir's resiliency isn't lost on long-time money manager Chris Versace. Versace, who first picked up shares last year, recently updated his price target as Palantir's stock challenges all-time highs. Bloomberg/Getty Images Investors' interest in Palantir stock swelled after OpenAI's ChatGPT became the fastest app to reach one million users when it was launched in December 2022. ChatGPT's success has spawned the development of rival large language models, including Google's Gemini, and a wave of interest in agentic AI programs that can augment, and in some cases, replace traditional workers. Related: Palantir's stock price surges on AI news, gamma squeeze The activity is widespread across most industries. Banks are using AI to hedge risks, evaluate loans, and price products. Drugmakers are researching AI's ability to predict drug targets and improve clinical trial outcomes. Manufacturers are using it to boost production and quality. Retailers are using it to forecast demand, manage inventories, and curb theft. The U.S. military is even seeing if AI can be effective on the battlefield. The seemingly boundless use cases-and the ability to profit from them-have many companies and governments turning to Palantir's deep expertise in managing and protecting data to train and run new AI apps. Palantir got its start helping the U.S. government build counterterrorism systems. Its Gotham platform still assists governments in those efforts today. It also markets its Foundry platform to manage, interpret, and report data to large companies across enterprise and cloud networks. And its AI platform (AIP) is sold as a tool for developing AI chatbots and apps. Demand for that platform has been big. In the fourth quarter, Palantir closed a "record-setting number of deals," according to CEO Alex Karp. The momentum continued into the first quarter. Revenue rose 39% year-over year to $884 million. Meanwhile, Palantir's profit has continued to improve as sales have grown. In Q1, its net income was $214 million, translating into adjusted earnings per share of 13 cents. "Our revenue soared 55% year-over-year, while our U.S. commercial revenue expanded 71% year-over-year in the first quarter to surpass a one-billion-dollar annual run rate," said Karp in Palantir's first-quarter earnings release. "We are delivering the operating system for the modern enterprise in the era of AI." AI's rapid rise has opened Palantir's products to an increasingly new range of industries, allowing it to diversify its customer base. For example, Bolt Financial, an online checkout platform, recently partnered with Palantir to use AI tools to analyze customer behavior better. More Palantir Palantir gets great news from the PentagonWall Street veteran doubles down on PalantirPalantir bull sends message after CEO joins Trump for Saudi visit The potential to ink more deals like this has caught portfolio manager Chris Versace's attention. "The result [of the Bolt deal] will be technology that can offer shoppers a customized checkout experience, embedded within retailers' sites and apps, and it is one that will extend to agentic checkout as well," wrote Versace on TheStreet Pro. "We see this as the latest expansion by Palantir into the commercial space, and we are likely to see more of this as AI flows through payment processing and digital shopping applications." Alongside Palantir's deeply embedded government contracts, growing relationships with enterprises should provide Palantir with cross-selling opportunities, further driving sales and profit growth, allowing for increased financial guidance. Palantir is guiding for full-year sales growth of 36%, and U.S. commercial revenue growth of 68%. The chances for Palantir growth to continue accelerating has Versace increasingly optimistic about its shares. As a result, he's increased his price target to $140 per share from $130. Related: Veteran fund manager revamps stock market forecast The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Fund-management veteran skips emotion in investment strategy
Fund-management veteran skips emotion in investment strategy originally appeared on TheStreet. This article is based on TheStreet's Stock & Markets Podcast, Episode 8. Hosted by the veteran Wall Street investor Chris Versace, the weekly podcasts are available early to members of TheStreetPro investing club. The podcasts are also available on YouTube. More than 40 years ago Tina Turner famously asked the world: "What's love got to with it?" If the subject is investing, David Miller has a simple answer: not much. 💵💰Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter 💰 Miller, chief investment officer of Catalyst Funds, spoke with Chris Versace, lead portfolio manager for TheStreet Pro Portfolio, in the June 4 edition, episode 8, of TheStreet Stocks & Markets Podcast, to talk about what his firm is looking for in a candidate for investment. "I think the sweet spot is where you have such a good business that even if people hate them they continue to grow and grow with high margins and high EPS growth," he said. Miller cited the billionaire entrepreneur, venture capitalist and political activist Peter Thiel, who advises founders and entrepreneurs to aim for a monopoly and avoid competition. "You're either in perfect competition or you have a monopoly or an oligopoly," he said. "And clearly, anyone who owns a business wants to be in that position where you have a monopoly rather than being in perfect competition."He described how airlines historically haven't even earned their cost of capital and frequently end up going bankrupt. Restaurants, he said, have very high fixed costs and "just never earn outsized economic profits." "Whereas you look at a company like a Visa () or Mastercard () or a Microsoft or an Apple or an Adobe () or an Nvidia," () Miller said. "Phenomenal businesses, phenomenal margins, great tailwinds, really strong free cash flows." So why invest in companies that aren't monopolies when many of the best returning stocks in history have turned into monopolies? "[Frankly,] you don't have to try to pick which stock is going to be the best stock," Miller said. "You can just take these categories that are far superior businesses and invest in those. That's the ideology behind that fund and why we launched it." Miller pointed to Apple () , explaining that "once you're in the Apple ecosystem, they own you." More Wall Street Analysts: Wells Fargo analysts reboot stock price targets after Fed action Apple analyst raises alarm about earnings, revenue growth Analyst initiates SoFi coverage, mulls loans, growth prospects "You don't have a whole lot of choices and they can get great margins," he said. "As someone who's been trapped in the Apple ecosystem willingly since 2005 I am perfectly content and happy," Versace responded. "I certainly understand why a lot of people love Apple," Miller said. "I have the iPhone. I like Apple and I don't particularly like Microsoft, but I'm definitely a customer of Microsoft. I think the best businesses are those where you'll do business with them even if you don't like them." Miller said Tesla () fits this dynamic, as the electric-vehicle maker "launched a new monopoly or an oligopoly depending on how you look at it certainly from a market share perspective." "Once you decide you're going to get an EV, it's a lot easier to go ahead and buy a Tesla and be part of their ecosystem than it is to ... buy an EV that's not part of that Tesla ecosystem," he added. Tesla shares have been thrashed lately — off 14% in regular trading June 5 — in light of Chief Executive Elon Musk's controversial involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency and backing of President Donald Trump. (The two have fallen out and Musk has rankled the White House by describing what the president called his "big, beautiful" budget bill as pork-laden and a 'disgusting abomination.') And while Tesla stock is down nearly 22% in 2025, it remains up about 60% from a year ago. Miller said the courts provide one of the most telltale signs of a monopoly. "Once the courts start coming after you for being a monopoly, that's a pretty good indication that you have some monopolistic characteristics in your business whether or not you want to admit it," he that historically been the targets of court action for their monopolistic characteristics have been phenomenal investments, he added. "If you look at a company like Microsoft, () if you got into [it when] the courts first came after them pretty hard, you'd be sitting pretty today," he said. Monopolies to avoid include electric and water companies. "If you're in a space where you have a product where your profits are regulated as to how much return on equity you can actually generate, we avoid those because what we want to go for is those that are growing monopolies." And Miller prefers to leave emotion out of the equation. "If people like a product, that's great," he said, "but what I really prefer is that they need the product rather than they like the product, and that there's some growing demand around it."Fund-management veteran skips emotion in investment strategy first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 6, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Fund-management veteran skips emotion in investment strategy
This article is based on TheStreet's Stock & Markets Podcast, Episode 8. Hosted by the veteran Wall Street investor Chris Versace, the weekly podcasts are available early to members of TheStreetPro investing club. The podcasts are also available on YouTube. More than 40 years ago Tina Turner famously asked the world: "What's love got to with it?" If the subject is investing, David Miller has a simple answer: not much. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Miller, chief investment officer of Catalyst Funds, spoke with Chris Versace, lead portfolio manager for TheStreet Pro Portfolio, in the June 4 edition, episode 8, of TheStreet Stocks & Markets Podcast, to talk about what his firm is looking for in a candidate for investment. "I think the sweet spot is where you have such a good business that even if people hate them they continue to grow and grow with high margins and high EPS growth," he said. Miller cited the billionaire entrepreneur, venture capitalist and political activist Peter Thiel, who advises founders and entrepreneurs to aim for a monopoly and avoid competition. "You're either in perfect competition or you have a monopoly or an oligopoly," he said. "And clearly, anyone who owns a business wants to be in that position where you have a monopoly rather than being in perfect competition." Related: Adviser who thrived on Black Monday sends warning on tariffs' next victim He described how airlines historically haven't even earned their cost of capital and frequently end up going bankrupt. Restaurants, he said, have very high fixed costs and "just never earn outsized economic profits." "Whereas you look at a company like a Visa (V) or Mastercard (MA) or a Microsoft or an Apple or an Adobe (ADBE) or an Nvidia," (NVDA) Miller said. "Phenomenal businesses, phenomenal margins, great tailwinds, really strong free cash flows." So why invest in companies that aren't monopolies when many of the best returning stocks in history have turned into monopolies? "[Frankly,] you don't have to try to pick which stock is going to be the best stock," Miller said. "You can just take these categories that are far superior businesses and invest in those. That's the ideology behind that fund and why we launched it." Miller pointed to Apple (AAPL) , explaining that "once you're in the Apple ecosystem, they own you." More Wall Street Analysts: Wells Fargo analysts reboot stock price targets after Fed actionApple analyst raises alarm about earnings, revenue growthAnalyst initiates SoFi coverage, mulls loans, growth prospects "You don't have a whole lot of choices and they can get great margins," he said. "As someone who's been trapped in the Apple ecosystem willingly since 2005 I am perfectly content and happy," Versace responded. "I certainly understand why a lot of people love Apple," Miller said. "I have the iPhone. I like Apple and I don't particularly like Microsoft, but I'm definitely a customer of Microsoft. I think the best businesses are those where you'll do business with them even if you don't like them." Miller said Tesla (TSLA) fits this dynamic, as the electric-vehicle maker "launched a new monopoly or an oligopoly depending on how you look at it certainly from a market share perspective." "Once you decide you're going to get an EV, it's a lot easier to go ahead and buy a Tesla and be part of their ecosystem than it is to ... buy an EV that's not part of that Tesla ecosystem," he added. Tesla shares have been thrashed lately - off 14% in regular trading June 5 - in light of Chief Executive Elon Musk's controversial involvement with the Department of Government Efficiency and backing of President Donald Trump. (The two have fallen out and Musk has rankled the White House by describing what the president called his "big, beautiful" budget bill as pork-laden and a "disgusting abomination.") And while Tesla stock is down nearly 22% in 2025, it remains up about 60% from a year ago. Miller said the courts provide one of the most telltale signs of a monopoly. "Once the courts start coming after you for being a monopoly, that's a pretty good indication that you have some monopolistic characteristics in your business whether or not you want to admit it," he said. Related: Tesla analysts raise red flag about rivalry, consumer interest in key market Companies that historically been the targets of court action for their monopolistic characteristics have been phenomenal investments, he added. "If you look at a company like Microsoft, (MSFT) if you got into [it when] the courts first came after them pretty hard, you'd be sitting pretty today," he said. Monopolies to avoid include electric and water companies. "If you're in a space where you have a product where your profits are regulated as to how much return on equity you can actually generate, we avoid those because what we want to go for is those that are growing monopolies." And Miller prefers to leave emotion out of the equation. "If people like a product, that's great," he said, "but what I really prefer is that they need the product rather than they like the product, and that there's some growing demand around it." Related: Veteran fund manager who forecast S&P 500 crash unveils surprising update The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trust the process, not the pitch
You can catch Trader Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. In the latest episode of Trader Talk, Kenny Polcari sits down with Chris Versace, chief investment officer at Tematica Research, to discuss how thematic investing can help navigate today's volatile markets. Versace shares insights into identifying structural changes like AI, digital infrastructure, and sustainability, as well as building portfolios aligned with these long-term trends. They also touch on the recent rebound in tech, rising trade tensions, and shifting earnings expectations, concluding that clear strategies and adaptability are key to success in uncertain times. Watch more episodes of Trader Talk here. Trader Talk with Kenny Polcari on Yahoo Finance delivers expert analysis and actionable insights, empowering you to navigate market volatility and secure your financial future. This post was written by Langston Sessoms. Welcome to Trader Talk where we dish out the latest Wall Street buzz to keep your portfolio sizzling. I'm Kenny Polcari coming to you live from the iconic New York Stock Exchange, a place that had been my home for decades and still fuels the pulse of capitalism, entrepreneurship, and freedom. Now let's jump into my big take for the week. Turn on the TV, open scroll your feed, and there are all the financial gurus shouting predictions with god-like confidence. Stocks to buy now, crash warnings, millionaire blueprints. They look slick, they talk fast, they package themselves as shortcut to riches. But here's the truth. No one likes to say it out loud. Most of these gurus aren't in the markets. They're in more certain someone sounds about the future of the market, the less you should trust them because real investors, those who've spent decades in the trenches, don't speak in absolutes. They speak in probabilities. They know no one can predict the market consistently and they certainly don't promise you guaranteed returns in exchange for a subscription does this work? Because uncertainty is uncomfortable. So when someone steps up and says, I've cracked the code, people listen. Even when it's snake oil wrapped in financial jargon, even when they're selling fear, or worse, real investing is messy. It's slow. It's full of risk and mistakes and adjustments. There's no cheating code, just hard earned discipline. Bottom line, if someone's selling you an illusion of certainty, they're not a guru, they're a sales person. You don't need louder voices. You need clearer thinking. Trust the process, not the joining us today is my friend Chris Versace, chief investment officer at Tomatica Research, where he leads the development of thematic investing that aligned portfolios with powerful long-term trends like digital transformation, aging demographics, and the rise of the connected consumer. Chris is also the co-author of Cocktail a veteran equity analyst with a deep background in technology, consumer, and industrial sectors. He spent years helping investors understand how big picture shifts translate into actionable stock ideas. Please join me in welcoming Chris Versace. Chris, it is a pleasure to have you here at the New York Stock Exchange, a place for me that feels like home. I'mI'm so happy to be here, Kenny. You are right. We have known each other for some time. I just hope that I live up to that very niceintroduction. Absolutely live up. But let's start by talking about thematic investing and what thematic research is. So, so educate the crowd just a little bit about, about what itis. So I got started a long time ago. I mean, I, I almost hate to say how long ago at this just as a regular sell side equity analyst, and you know, I wound up covering a certain sector, right, where you're responsible for understanding the puts the takes, the industry does everything about that sector that sector, only that sector, and at times you're in favor, you're out of favor, but as I was doing this, I kind of sat back and said, you know, there are things happening if I don't have a vertical approach, if I took a horizontal approach, boy, can I connect the dots and get something pretty interesting so this started to give rise to this thematic framework where we look for the shifting landscapes of economics, demographics, psychographics, technology, regulatory mandates when they happen, and what we're trying to identify structural change and that are poised to benefit from them. Not all companies are. Some companies will they get left behind? You bet they will, but that's really to us what thematic investing is about. It's about identifying structural change. OK, but so does it really work in today's environment, today's technology environment? Like give me an example. Talk to me about how you would maybe create a thematic portfolio. Uh, well, let's see. We haven't created one in a little bit of time, but we actually have about 2 dozen thematic models that we have. Everything from aging of population, AI, digital infrastructure. Are they ETFs or are they just? These are just models. We do individualnames with a basket of 8 names, but we also have taken some of these strategies into Europe where we've got some ETFs as well. One is cybersecurity, the other is sustainable future of food. We had a few others, you know, at one point in time, but those are the two that we have now with our partners overthere, right? So, are you, is, is, is a consumer, like, like, is the retail investor gonna go to you or is it an institutional? So I would say that today it's primarily, um, institutional clients and RIAs, butAnd I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. But if we talk, Kenny, let's say, 2nd half of the year, 4th quarter, we might have something to share. That's interesting. I look forward to that. I'd look because now, you know, I've, I've, I left my years here at the New York Stock Exchange, of which I will say it was 4 decades. Uh, that sounds better than 40 decades sounds better. But I left after being an institutional broker servicing the institutional community, and now I sit on the other side, right? So I'm the chief market strategist at Slate's Ow Wealth, which is an independent RAA, uh, so I'd be very interested to hear what you have to say come towards the end of the year. So let's just make sure we mark our calendars already right, so let's talk about, let's talk about the markets. So let's talk about this recent recovery. We had to sell off in April after liberation Day, and many of us got liberated from our money. I like to say, right? But, but some of it's come back. In fact, you see some of the, some of those names that got absolutely crushed are actually higher today than they were on April 2nd. And so the market has rebounded a little bit. Tell me, first of all, before we get into the Moody's downgrade and, and China's now kind of maybe pull back on this whole 90 day that they announced this morning, but talking about where you think the market istoday just as we're sitting here. So, you know, coming out of last week, you know, if we look at the relative strength index levels, S&P 500 flirting with overbought NASDAQ back in overboard territory, not surprising, right? Not at all. We've had huge runs in both of those market indices, but we don't buy the market, right? We pay attention. We're mindful of the market and where it is, but you know, we're continuing to look for names that are based on some of our themes and others that we can be opportunisticin, right? So what I always love is when someone asks me, is it too late? Is it too late for me to get in the market? Is it too late? I go, it's never too late to get into the market. A, because there's always opportunity, but B, tell me where you are in your life cycle. Are you talking about getting in the market for a month or 5 years? Because then there's always opportunity in the market. Yeah, I think that's right. I think you got to be mindful though of not there's as much opportunity at any particular time and I think after the rise that we've seen, right, if you were able to put, you know, money to work like I co-manage or manage, I should say, the street's pro portfolio, uh, pro portfolio, correct, right. Thank you. And it's a it's a real portfolio, 25 stocks, sometimes more, sometimes less is it a range of sectors? Uh, it leverages some of the thematics that we have thematico and some other areas that we want, um, That's what I will say. We're not as broad-based as the S&P 500. We don't have to have exposure in every sector, right? We want companies that are poised to outperform the market in, in whatever sectors you're at. So on that portfolio of the 11 major S&P sectors, what are you representing? Oh,good God, you know, I don't think of it that way. I, I, I, I hate to shatter that thought. And, and, and the reason I say that is if you get back to thematics, right? You know, think of a company like the, what's the sector? What's the rightsector? Yeah, right. You're right, could fall in a bunch of different sectors, right, right, or, or Apple these days, or even Disney, you could argue, right? So I, I try not to get caught up in that. So what's the biggest in your mind currently? What's kind of the biggest theme out there that, that investors and, and, and, and traders should know about? We're not gonna break any new ground with this, with this revelation, but I would say that today we'reWe stand, especially coming out of where we were, you know, 68 weeks ago and the potential going forward, it's going to be AI and I say that largely because, yes, we know about Nvidia and Marvel and all these other companies, but I also think about connecting the dots and the ripple effects, right? So if we think about the demand for data center, the construction of data center, we think about people, you know, sometimes people aren't thinking like that. No, no, I know, I know. And it's, I like one of my favorite things to do, not, not, not to get sidetracked is when you go through earnings season and you read all the transcripts and you pick up all these data points and you literally connect the dots, right? So it's, you know, there's the stock that you want, there's the, you know, math major, 1st, 1st, 1st derivative, second derivative, and sometimes you can use those data and down, right? So it's, I just love doing that. I find it very helpful. So I try to do that when we invest in the portfolio, but also tie it back to our themes as well. So for example, if we're going to build all these data centers, right, you need equipment to build them. You need electricity to power them. So, you know, if you were to say, well, Chris, it sounds like you might be long, you know, I rentals or Vulcan materials or waste management has to haul all this crap away. Uh, yes, yes, yes, yes. Well, what about names like Dominion and CEG that are getting into the nuclear space, right? Because the utilities. Now nuclear is interesting, right? So we own the, the Van Ek, um, I'll botch this name, but it's the Vanek uranium and nuclear ETF, and we have a nuclear model over at Tomatica. Now you need to be careful with this, right, because I want to benefit from the spending they have. So when I think about Dominion Power, Duke Energy, the utilities, uh, at least as it relates to building out the electrical grid, they're spenders. So I'm not gonna buy them, right? It's almost like if you want to, um, buy the 5G build out, you're not gonna buy AT&T because they need to spend to build the network. I the companies that are benefiting from that spending, that kind of brings us back to Eaton and there are some other names out there, that's interesting. I hadn't thought about it that way, right? That's why we're talking. That's why we're talking. I appreciate that. Wait, so talk to me also about quantum computing. Is that a theme at all that that makes sense or does it not yet? You know, it's a lot of potential themes out there, right? And you kind of need to hit a tipping point, right? And there's sometimes there are individual stocks that are going to be disruptive, but there's not, there's not a fully baked comprehensive theme out there. So like I'll give you an example. 11 of the companies that we own in the portfolio is Universal Display. They help manufacture the key chemicals that go into organic light emitting diode we're seeing widespread adoption. Wait, what kind of displays organic light emitting diodes, excuse me, or OLED displays. Your iPhone has it. You're gonna start seeing them in a lot more places. OLED display called OLED OLEDs, yeah, so smartphones, tablets, um, and a growing, uh, array of automotive interior lighting displays there, and I think even United in their new Polaris cabin is having some nice OLED displaysas well. So hold that thought one minute because we, we'll be right back after this short right, so let's go back to talking about the old because that's fascinating to me. So talk to me about what's different, what, what makes that different than the displays maybe 5 yearsago. Oh, so you're talking against LCDs or liquid crystal displays. Couple of different things. One, organic light emitting diodes, they are individual pixels, right? So you deeper blacks, which is great for TVs and, and all of that. Uh, you definitely do, do you, you would pop on the display, right? So there's that, right? But then at the same time, because it's or light emitting diode, there it's actually less uh power it allows for thinner displays and as we're we'll probably see more of foldable displays. So you've looked, you think of Samsung's Galaxy folding their phones, right, that's that. Apple is rumored to have one of those in the next few years, foldable tablets, you know, this is kind of where it's going, and Universal is a key that it supplies chemicals to all the major display manufacturing companies. That's what's it, Universal Universal display ticker symbol, OLED OLED. Yeah, that's interesting. I had not, I hadn't even heard about these displays. I think that's great. I'll have to take a look. Yeah. Wait, let me ask you another question. You made another point is that these displays use less energy, less power, and, and they're thinner, right? That's why you like if you notice howThin smartphones have become, you may not notice it's got a case on them, but you pull off the case, you see how thin they are. You see how thin, uh, Apple's new iPad Pros are compared to other iPads, the display. My iPads, I guess 3 years old or so time to upgrade, Danny, but it's pretty thin, but it is in a, it's in a case itself. No, no Apple Intelligence in that device. I know that, but there's Apple Intelligence in my iPhone, you know what I mean. Speaking about the intelligence, I have to tell you, have you used Grok? You know, I have used a lot of them, but not Gronk. I, I, I, I think Gronk, listen, I, I think they're all good, but Gronk for some better to me. Like when I, when I use it, it just feels better like it, the data it it produces and the, I don't know where its sources are, um, but it just feels well, that's the key though, right? I mean, 100% it's all about the array of data that it can tap. And if you think of all that, you know, X or Twitter, whatever you want to call it has, that's a tremendous amount of mine for 100%, but I, I will say this though, that's also why I don't think you can rule Google out when you think of what they have in search and YouTube. Yeah, no, I don't know. I agree with you. I think the whole thing is fascinating and I think Chat GBD does a great job. Uh, and, you know, when it first started, I was using Chat GBT. For for recipes? No, no, no, when I would ask it a question if I need to clarify something, uh, but you can use it to clarify a recipe. Do you know what else you can do withthat? You can make a recipe, get your ingredients, and then you can export it to Instacart. OK, you can. Yes, you can. There's a tool you have to get, but you can do it. Oh, no way. Yeah, yeah. Oh, that's interesting. I never thought about that. Anyway, what I'll tell you is that, so then when I, when they put crack on the Twitter grok on the Twitter and you're a premium user, then it, you know, the little buttons right there at the bottom and you, you pop it open. Here's the only thing I'll say is if I ask it one question and I'm still in that same thread and then I ask it a different question, it'll tie it, it'll try to tie the second question to the first question and keep the theme going when it's two separate thoughts. And so I always have know, check out and then check back in and start a new thread so that it doesn't, it doesn't continue to try to create that same. I think you should tell Elon this. Yeah, well, OK, Elon, listen. All right, so let's talk about is there hype or what's real and this whole AI thing that he's now done in that Trump did, he just came back from the Mideast, had some massive conversations with some of the some of theYeah, the country, United Arab Emirates, uh, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, uh, that they are, they are all plunging deep into AI, building massive data centers over there in the middle of the desert. Uh, does that concernyou? Concern? I don't think that's the right word. I think that, you know, why would we think that AI and the data center build out is only to be that that's the way I think about it, you know, technology is global, right? We're we're not the only country with smartphones, right? So I, I'm not surprised that this is going to happen. I think it's got some great implications. Um, you know, again, a lot of the names that we just talked about, some, some of them on the construction side are more US based, but if we think about Nvidia, Marvel, and the like, this is great. Yeah, no, I, I think there'll be huge beneficiaries of what's going on.I mean, especially if you hear the, you know, the conversation, the commitments kind of what they're looking to do, and they want to be a player in the space and they should be, right? But back it up too though. So, you know, a couple of months ago, I think, um, Nvidia CEO Jensen Wong said, oh, I see a $1 trillion build out in data center. This is all part of that. 100%. And, and I think we'll hear more from other countries, you know, over time. And I, and I suspect that asWe use AI more as it gets um in the enterprise more more devices, right? What's gonna happen? You're gonna need more data centers. You're gonna need to upgrade the digital infrastructure, but it's more energy demand, they talk about wane, energy demand is not waning. I think there's a massive oversupply of, of energy, which is fine, but I don't think demand is waning at all. I don't.I mean if we're talking electrical energy, 100% right just not happening. Right, let's talk real quick about kind of we came through the first quarter or growing, I think they're growing what about 15% year over year. Is that what the number was, uh, it's so full year 2025, right? That's what you're talking about. Well, what the first quarter? Oh, the first quarter, yeah, I think, I think that's somewhere up in the double digits. Yes, yeah, I think that's right. What do you think about the second quarter now? Uh,well, I'm a little more concerned about the 2nd quarter. Yeah, well, we'll see the full impact of tariffs, right? We'll see potential price retailers are gonna come out, you know, any day now soon. They're gonna start to report. So it's gonna be interesting, you know, uh, uh, the Walmart CEO made that comment about passing on these price hikes, these tariffs on the consumers, and Trump right away, you know, I saw that. Well, it wasn't even that though. You remember a couple of weeks ago where Amazon was going to list the impact of tariffs and the administration got on, got on them and they backpedaled pretty, you know, the argument was, why didn't you do that during the Biden years when inflation was running at 9 9.4%. Why didn't you break it out and show what that impact was? I think that'sa little harder to quantify than thantariffs. OK, it might be, except prices were going up every month. Prices are going up. I mean Paris, they're gonna go up once and then adjust. No one's arguing about what happened during the Biden years. We all know we all lived through my wallet was a little lighter. So, but, but again, I think companies are responding to this because they, you know, people are concerned. And I, and I, and I understand that. But I also think though that if we, the concern I have is this, was the last time you went to the grocery store, Kenny, and you got a box of cereal or you got a box or bag of coffee and prices were going up and then those prices you were paying came down as other prices and pressures came down. I haven't seenit yet. It doesn't happen. I haven't seen it yet. Yeah, I go to the, I go to the, I go shopping. I listen, I know little secret. I love to go groceries. So do I. I don't know what it is. It's like a treasure. I love to go grocery. It's a treasure hunt. Yeah, yeah. So I haven't seen that yet. Yeah, you're never gonna see it. Just like a pound of coffee, just like a pound of coffee comes in a 10 to 12 ounce bag and a pound of coffee last time I thought was supposed to 16 ounces. Yeah, right. They do the same thing with peanut butter, that you know they put that hole in the bottom of the of the of the jar a little bit bigger. It's less peanut butter, so it's the same price. I get it, you know, but I just, I, I, I think it's, I think unless there's a full blown I don't think you're gonna see prices come down. They'll stop going up and then once again, people just kind of get used to it, right? So just hoping that wages start to increase. Right. So what I'm wondering just about retailers, so near term, I, I think there's gonna be a little bit of pain for them, right? I think we're gonna have to watch their margins. We're gonna have to see, are they gonna announce further price increases? I think they will. What's the impact of what we've seen, uh, at the ports and, you know, supply shortages in the short term, butIf we do get these trade deals and tariffs are ultimately brought lower, then the question becomes, does the price go? They don't. And if they don't, what does that mean for their margins? Margins go back up, right. Butif they don't, if the, if the tariff deals are not necessarily as onerous as they were made out to be, and it doesn't look like, by the way, that it's, that's gonna happen.I think they're not gonna be as onerous as that's thegoal. The goal is to reset global trade. That's right, which I think is OK. I think it's OK to have these conversations and renegotiate trade agreements that are decades old. The world changes. So I, so I have no problem with that. But if they're not as onerous, if some of these companies started raising prices and then the, the tariffs aren't nearly as bad, to your point, are they gonna come down? Is Trump gonna call people out and say, Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, that's a greatquestion. Great question. I don't know. I mean, this is, this is not a popular thought, but ultimately, companies are responsible to their shareholders 100%, right? So if they've, if they can improve their profits and drive their EPS, which I think is exactly Walmart's not responding. Walmart's responding to their shareholders. They're not responding, you know, they're not saying they're going to raise prices because they're trying to stick it. They want to maintain their margins for their shareholders. I mean, let's, let's, let's call for whatever it is, no, no, 100%, right?Anyway, listen, it, it has been a pleasure. I, I hope we get to do this again. I want you to come back in 3 or 4 months and revisit this whole conversation. I look forward to it. We're going to see what they're doing over in the Mideast, what's happened here in the United States, what tariffs have and have not done, and kind of where we stand. And maybe we'll have some thematic stuff to talk about. I hope so. In the meantime, you know, I, I end every, uh, podcast with a recipe. And so today it's spring now in New York City. It's spring across America. So I want to introduce the spring pasta. Now this is a vibrant celebration of the season, right? It's featuring an al dente Ditalini pasta tossed with tender asparagus, sweet peas, and sauteed leeks and shallots, a creamy sauce born from mascarpone cheese, a basil pesto, and fresh parmigiana. It coats every single bite. You add a splash of lemon juice to just awaken all the flavors. Pair that with a chilled glass of Pino Grigio. My favorite is Santa Margarita, and it's a fresh, elegant dish that captures the essence of in every mouthful. You can scan the QR code on the screen for the full recipe and you'll thank me later. Now look, that's a wrap for today's trader talk, but the conversation keeps going. You can subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. You got questions or topics you want covered, email us at tradedertalk@yahoo because I'm always listening. Until next time, stay sharp, stay disciplined, and stay in touch. Take good care. This content was not intended to be financial advice and should not be used as a substitute for professional financial services. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trust the process, not the pitch
You can catch Trader Talk on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. In the latest episode of Trader Talk, Kenny Polcari sits down with Chris Versace, chief investment officer at Tematica Research, to discuss how thematic investing can help navigate today's volatile markets. Versace shares insights into identifying structural changes like AI, digital infrastructure, and sustainability, as well as building portfolios aligned with these long-term trends. They also touch on the recent rebound in tech, rising trade tensions, and shifting earnings expectations, concluding that clear strategies and adaptability are key to success in uncertain times. Watch more episodes of Trader Talk here. Trader Talk with Kenny Polcari on Yahoo Finance delivers expert analysis and actionable insights, empowering you to navigate market volatility and secure your financial future. This post was written by Langston Sessoms. Sign in to access your portfolio
