Key Points Fears over the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on Microsoft's software business look overblown. Amazon has two leading business that are seeing strong growth trends. 10 stocks we like better than Microsoft › Bill Ackman is one of the world's preeminent investors. He runs a very concentrated portfolio of just a handful of stocks, so when he makes moves, investors tend to pay atten...
Key Points Fears over the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on Microsoft's software business look overblown. Amazon has two leading business that are seeing strong growth trends. 10 stocks we like better than Microsoft › Bill Ackman is one of the world's preeminent investors. He runs a very concentrated portfolio of just a handful of stocks, so when he makes moves, investors tend to pay attention. In Q1, Ackman's Pershing Square Management (NYSE: PS) fund took a huge new stake in Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) while increasing its position in Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) by 19%. To help fund these new purchases, Ackman sold 95% of his stake in fellow cloud computing giant Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG). Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » Ackman had been trimming the fund's stake in Alphabet over the past few quarters. He initially started building this position in Q1 2023. Despite dumping most of the fund's shares, Ackman praised Alphabet, saying he is very bullish on the stock long term. However, he found Microsoft more attractive at current valuations. I am a huge fan of Alphabet and would not be dumping the stock, as it looks poised to be one of the biggest long-term AI winners. With the most complete artificial intelligence (AI) stack of any company, owning its own world-class AI model and chips, this is a stock to hang on to, in my opinion. That said, let's take a look at why Ackman bought Microsoft and increased his stake in Amazon, and if investors should follow suit. Microsoft: A cloud computing and software giant In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Ackman laid out the reasons why Pershing Square took a large position in Microsoft. He noted that the company operates two highly valuable businesses in Microsoft 365 and its cloud computing unit, Azure. It also owns a 27% stake in...
From the No 1 goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to the shock call-up Ivan Toney, a player-by-player guide to the 26 bound for the US Spence and Toney in, Alexander-Arnold out Continue reading...
From the No 1 goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to the shock call-up Ivan Toney, a player-by-player guide to the 26 bound for the US Spence and Toney in, Alexander-Arnold out Continue reading...
primeimages/E+ via Getty Images Market review Economic indicators in the first quarter of 2026 were mixed. The 4Q25 growth rate was revised downward to 0.7% from its initial estimate of 1.4%. In addition, the unemployment rate edged up marginally to 4.4% in February. However, other growth indicators including personal spending and data released by the Institute of Supply Management show a resilien...
primeimages/E+ via Getty Images Market review Economic indicators in the first quarter of 2026 were mixed. The 4Q25 growth rate was revised downward to 0.7% from its initial estimate of 1.4%. In addition, the unemployment rate edged up marginally to 4.4% in February. However, other growth indicators including personal spending and data released by the Institute of Supply Management show a resilient economy. In addition, while the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) slowed, the US Federal Reserve's (Fed's) preferred measure of inflation – the Core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (Core PCE) – showed inflation stubbornly at or above 3%, well above the Fed's target of 2%. War in the Middle East erupted at the end of February as the US and Israel attacked Iran. The asymmetric nature of the warfare is fully reflected in energy prices, as Iran retaliated by closing the Strait of Hormuz through which more than 20% of the world's oil and gas passes. Other commodities, notably fertilizer, were also affected. The price of energy rose globally with the benchmark Brent Crude Oil contract trading above $110 a barrel. However, the economic impact will likely be greater in Europe and Asia while the US benefits from its energy surplus situation as a result of the fracking revolution over the past few decades. The length of the war, and the oil blockage, will determine the extent of the economic damage. However, the US entered the war with some positive momentum and the fiscal tailwind of soon-to-arrive larger tax refunds resulting from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Artificial intelligence (AI) capital expenditure was also a positive factor for the economy over the quarter. Markets, which were already jittery towards the end of last year, moved lower on the outbreak of the Iran war, although in an orderly manner with no discernible panic. Private-credit fears were also evident as investors stressed the liquidity in that space and some market pundits sounded the alarm. Howev...
Chinese EV Makers Turn Abandoned Western Factories Into Global Launchpads Chinese EV companies are rapidly expanding overseas by snapping up unused factory space from struggling Western automakers, many of whom are downsizing traditional gasoline-car production, according to Nikkei . Stellantis recently opened plants in France and Spain to partnerships with Dongfeng and Leapmotor. At the same time...
Chinese EV Makers Turn Abandoned Western Factories Into Global Launchpads Chinese EV companies are rapidly expanding overseas by snapping up unused factory space from struggling Western automakers, many of whom are downsizing traditional gasoline-car production, according to Nikkei . Stellantis recently opened plants in France and Spain to partnerships with Dongfeng and Leapmotor. At the same time, Geely is expected to restart an idle production line at a Spanish factory owned by Ford Motor Company. The trend reflects a broader shift in the auto industry: Chinese EV makers are expanding aggressively while many legacy manufacturers are cutting capacity. UBS analysts predict Chinese brands could control 35% of the global auto market by 2030, up from 25% this year, helped by China’s low-cost battery supply chain. Their report warned that foreign automakers face “structural market share loss” as competition intensifies. Nikkei writes that building cars locally has become a practical way for Chinese companies to avoid tariffs and satisfy governments pushing for domestic manufacturing. BNP Paribas analyst James Kan said the strategy helps local economies “feel that they’re getting a cut,” making expansion politically easier. Europe has become a key battleground. After facing steep EU tariffs, Leapmotor said it would source many components within Europe for production at Stellantis facilities. The company also plans to begin manufacturing in Brazil, where tariffs on imported EVs are set to increase again this summer. But owning overseas factories brings new complications. Citigroup analyst Harald Hendrikse joked he was “a little amused” watching Chinese firms buy European plants because they are about to learn “how difficult it is to do business” there. Labor costs, regulations, and local sourcing rules could significantly raise expenses. BYD has already faced setbacks abroad. After renovating a former Ford plant in Brazil, the company became embroiled in controversy over ...
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images I put a Strong Buy label on ServiceNow ( NOW ) stock as the 1Y price drop of ~50%+ that marks a big mispricing led (in my opinion) by misunderstood M&A margin dilution and deferred Middle East on-premise revenue. However, I am not missing ServiceNow’s upscaling from a seat-based SaaS vendor to a hybrid-consumption AI OS. More so, as autonomous agents rep...
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images I put a Strong Buy label on ServiceNow ( NOW ) stock as the 1Y price drop of ~50%+ that marks a big mispricing led (in my opinion) by misunderstood M&A margin dilution and deferred Middle East on-premise revenue. However, I am not missing ServiceNow’s upscaling from a seat-based SaaS vendor to a hybrid-consumption AI OS. More so, as autonomous agents replace human workers, they derive 6.5x more revenue through volumetric token consumption. Further, the newly launched Action Fabric backs ServiceNow as the tollbooth for all 3rd-party AI execution and the AI Control Tower targets large upside in non-human identity governance. However, as always, this thesis holds risks, and the main among them is the architectural problem of integrating ~$12 billion in acquired tech stacks without fracturing ServiceNow’s single-data-model. Along with that, hyperscalers like Microsoft ( MSFT ) may try to bypass the Action Fabric and compete on the enterprise orchestration layer. What Can Take ServiceNow Stock Price Higher? On value dislocation on NOW stock by Wall Street, after the Q1-FY2026 earnings report, ServiceNow stock has faced a hard ~14% sentiment-led price contraction to a 52-week swing-low of $81.24. As of now, NOW stock has recovered to $99.69 (at the time of writing). However, the 1Y price drop is compressing its 1Y forward non-GAAP P/E to a low of ~19.84x and P/FCF to 22.53x. These valuation levels point to 110%+ price upside in the mid-term (based on mean-reversion) against the state of NOW's forward growth in EPS and FCF per share base. Ycharts In my opinion, considering the continued stock price drop, Wall Street's sentiment is now fixated on headwinds like a 50-75 bps operating margin dilution coming from the $7.8 billion Armis acquisition and a 75 bps headwind to Q1 subscription growth led by delayed deal closings in the Middle East. In my observations, ServiceNow is going through a business base shift to leading the enterpr...