MarianVejcik/iStock via Getty Images Market Environment U.S. equities finished higher during the quarter with 9 of 11 GICS sectors posting positive returns. Health care and communication services contributed the most to market returns while real estate and utilities were the sole detractors. Portfolio Performance The portfolio's return was 8.36% (net) for the reporting period. This compares to the...
MarianVejcik/iStock via Getty Images Market Environment U.S. equities finished higher during the quarter with 9 of 11 GICS sectors posting positive returns. Health care and communication services contributed the most to market returns while real estate and utilities were the sole detractors. Portfolio Performance The portfolio's return was 8.36% (net) for the reporting period. This compares to the Russell 1000 Value Index that returned 3.81% for the same period. Performance highlights Contributors Warner Bros Discovery ( WBD ) Alphabet ( GOOG ) First Citizens Bancshares ( FCNCA ) Detractors Equifax ( EFX ) Paycom Software ( PAYC ) Liberty Broadband CI C ( LBRDK ) Top contributors: Warner Bros Discovery ( WBD ) was a contributor during the quarter. The U.S.-headquartered media company's stock price surged as multiple parties submitted offers to acquire all or part of the business. Following several rounds of bidding, WBD announced an agreement to sell its Streaming and Studios business to Netflix, while spinning the Global Networks business to shareholders. Paramount Skydance subsequently made a direct $30 per share offer to shareholders for the entire company. We are pleased with the steps the WBD board has taken thus far to unlock shareholder value. We will continue to closely monitor developments as this bidding war unfolds. Alphabet was a contributor during the quarter. The U.S.-headquartered technology conglomerate's stock price jumped after it delivered impressive third-quarter earnings. Search revenue growth beat consensus expectations as Google continues to see strong user engagement trends. Results were also ahead of expectations in the Cloud segment, and the outlook for this business remains robust given accelerating demand for AI compute. We continue to believe Alphabet is undervalued on a sum-of-the-parts basis and see potential for the company's AI leadership to drive further upside across the portfolio. First Citizens Bancshares was a contributor during...
And he's putting his money and shareholders' money where his mouth is. Despite soaring stock market valuations over the last few years, trillion-dollar companies are still a rare breed. Just 11 stocks traded on U.S. stock exchanges are currently worth 13 figures. The majority of them are closely tied to advances in artificial intelligence (AI). Investors looking for the next trillion-dollar compan...
And he's putting his money and shareholders' money where his mouth is. Despite soaring stock market valuations over the last few years, trillion-dollar companies are still a rare breed. Just 11 stocks traded on U.S. stock exchanges are currently worth 13 figures. The majority of them are closely tied to advances in artificial intelligence (AI). Investors looking for the next trillion-dollar company would be right to consider some of the smaller AI stocks in the market. The technology holds a lot of promise to transform businesses across every industry, and a company facilitating that transformation could be worth a lot of money. One CEO believes his company is on a path to get there, but it's worth just over $100 billion right now. Here's why ServiceNow (NOW +2.54%) CEO Bill McDermott believes his company is a $1 trillion company in the making. Building the AI control tower ServiceNow got its start as simple IT service management software, but it's massively expanded its portfolio since. It now sports solutions for customer service, security, HR, finance, sales, legal, and just about any department you can think of at a large-scale enterprise. It counts 85% of the Fortune 500 as customers. It continues to add new services to its platform with tuck-in acquisitions. It recently acquired cybersecurity provider Moveworks for $2.85 billion and agreed to buy another cybersecurity company, Armis, for $7.75 billion. Many investors are worried about the price tags on those acquisitions, but they put ServiceNow in a great position to provide cybersecurity solutions for agentic AI. ServiceNow moved quickly to integrate generative AI solutions across its services a few years ago. Its Now Assist AI solution suite reached $600 million annual contract value as of the end of 2025. Management expects it to hit $1 billion this year. Expand NYSE : NOW ServiceNow Today's Change ( 2.54 %) $ 2.64 Current Price $ 106.51 Key Data Points Market Cap $111B Day's Range $ 105.00 - $ 108.98 52wk...
Key Points Finding the needle in the haystack is tough. This "buy the haystack" strategy exposes investors to the tech sector's biggest winners. Losers will be present too, but history shows that extreme winners overwhelm them over time. 10 stocks we like better than Vanguard Information Technology ETF › I wouldn't blame anyone for being confused by the tech sector's recent whipsaw movements. From...
Key Points Finding the needle in the haystack is tough. This "buy the haystack" strategy exposes investors to the tech sector's biggest winners. Losers will be present too, but history shows that extreme winners overwhelm them over time. 10 stocks we like better than Vanguard Information Technology ETF › I wouldn't blame anyone for being confused by the tech sector's recent whipsaw movements. From shares of Microsoft cratering 10% on the same day that it reports a 60% jump in year-over-year profits, to shares of Apple falling despite the company beating analysts' expectations, the outlook for tech stocks feels especially murky today. One solution, in the words of legendary investor John Bogle, would be to "buy the haystack" rather than trying to just find the needle. The Vanguard Group founder, whose teachings on the advantages of low-cost index funds created legions of fans, preached simplicity and diversification in capturing the market's long-term upside. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks » It may seem counterintuitive, but casting a wide net and having exposure to hundreds of companies can position you for tremendous returns. After all, the S&P 500 index -- which tracks the performance of America's 500 largest public companies -- has returned 667% so far this century. This approach will expose investors to plenty of losers, of course. But while the farthest that a stock can fall is 100%, others go on to return hundreds of thousands of percent or more. It's very rare, but that's where buying the haystack comes in. Anyone buying the S&P 500 in November 2001 would have gained exposure to Nvidia's 40,630% rise (ironically, it joined the index back then by replacing Enron). Of course, the S&P 500 contains companies across every sector. For investors seeking exposure to technology, a fund to consider is the Vanguard Information Technolo...
US 'Not Trying To Dismantle NATO' But Europe Must Grow Up: US Envoy The Pentagon's chief strategist is heading to NATO this week to spell out what many European capitals have been quietly dreading: the future U.S. military posture in Europe is under review - likely up for downsizing, and even Europe's US-supplied nuclear umbrella could be up for review and negotiations . Defense Department policy ...
US 'Not Trying To Dismantle NATO' But Europe Must Grow Up: US Envoy The Pentagon's chief strategist is heading to NATO this week to spell out what many European capitals have been quietly dreading: the future U.S. military posture in Europe is under review - likely up for downsizing, and even Europe's US-supplied nuclear umbrella could be up for review and negotiations . Defense Department policy chief Elbridge Colby will represent Washington at Thursday's NATO ministerial, filling in for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is sitting out this round. However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to lead the US side. US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said Colby will address among other things "capabilities that may need to be ultimately transitioned out of Europe." Getty Images Colby has long argued that NATO allies must assume the primary responsibility for their own defense, which aligns with President Trump's priorities - namely that Europe can no longer rely on open-ended American security guarantees, also as Washington aligns toward dominance in the Western hemisphere (Donroe Doctrine). Much of America's military presence may soon be on the move. Speaking before a pre-conference audience, US envoy Whitaker already signaled contention. "I completely reject everything I just heard" he said, as Washington is "not trying to dismantle NATO," but that European allies must take more responsibility. Europe must grow up, he explained. "When your kids are young, they’re dependent on you. But eventually you expect them to get a job. And so to me, that’s where we are. We still love them. You’re still allies," Amb. Whitaker said . While praising allies' willingness boost military spending to 5%, he assessed that they are being too sluggish in turning this extra defense investment and expenditure into actual military capabilities. "One of the things that I’ve noticed in my time here in Europe is there is a lot of discussion and not a lot of action," he emphasized. He wa...
Bloom Energy is transforming into a critical AI infrastructure provider, delivering rapid power solutions that bypass grid congestion to drive record growth.
Bloom Energy is transforming into a critical AI infrastructure provider, delivering rapid power solutions that bypass grid congestion to drive record growth.
2025年,具身智能领域最火的词就是VLA(视觉-语言-动作模型)。 它成了一种席卷全行业的共识,一个关于具身基础模型的标准答案。在过去的一年里,资本和算力疯狂涌入这条赛道,基本上所有的模型大厂,都在用这套范式。 但很快,现实的物理世界给所有从业者泼了一盆冷水。因为VLA在物理动作执行上很弱。 它能懂极其复杂的文字指令。但当机械臂真正去抓取时,它可能连如何调整手腕姿态以避开杯柄的阻挡都做不好,更别提让它去执行解开鞋带这种涉及复杂物理形变的动作了。 VLA的另一个致命痛点是泛化。本来之所以大家要做模型更新,为的就是不用为每个特殊环境编程,看重的正是大模型的泛化能力。结果现在,任何超越训练规定环境的动作,VLA基本都无法泛化,甚至出了训练环境类似的环境都做不了。 整个行业把泛化的无力,归结于数据的不足。大厂们开始投入亿万资金,用各种方式去采集数据,试图用海量的模拟演示来填补VLA的常识空缺。 但2026年初,英伟达(NVIDIA)发布了两篇论文《DreamZero: World Action Models are Zero-shot Policies》和《DreamDojo: A Generalist Robot World Model from Large-Scale Human Videos》两篇论文,构建了一套全新的具身智能基础模型范式,打破了数据内卷的僵局。 它们一起,给出了一个完全从视频里学习,Zero-shot(零样本)就能泛化执行不同工作的具身模型的可能。 01 VLA缺的不是数据,而是世界模型 要理解DreamZero和Dream Dojo的颠覆性,必须先从底层剖析VLA的系统性缺陷。 VLA的最大问题,就是缺乏世界模型。VLA的底层架构限制了它的认知方式。从谱系上看,VLA和LLM的亲缘更强,反而和纯视觉、纯物理的亲缘较弱。它通过交叉注意力机制(Cross-Attention)将图像的像素块映射到文本的语义空间中,在这个空间里,它理解了杯子和桌子的概念,理解了它们在二维画面中的相对位置。 但物理世界不是二维的语义切片。物理世界是连续的,充满了质量、摩擦力、重力和几何碰撞。 VLA对物理动作和世界的理解相对较弱,因为它本质上是一个「翻译器」。 我们可以用物理学中的状态转移方程来解释。一个完整的世界模型,本质上是在学习一个条件概率分布。它能在给定当前世界的...
In early February 2026, Astera Labs reported past fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results showing higher sales and a move to profitability, issued first-quarter 2026 guidance, expanded its AI-focused R&D footprint with a new design center in Israel, and announced a CFO transition from Michael Tate to former Rambus finance chief Desmond Lynch effective March 2, 2026. Together, these updates highl...
In early February 2026, Astera Labs reported past fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results showing higher sales and a move to profitability, issued first-quarter 2026 guidance, expanded its AI-focused R&D footprint with a new design center in Israel, and announced a CFO transition from Michael Tate to former Rambus finance chief Desmond Lynch effective March 2, 2026. Together, these updates highlight Astera Labs’ efforts to deepen its role in AI and cloud infrastructure through expanded engineering capacity, executive bench strength, and new collaborations with major technology and cloud providers. Next, we’ll examine how the Israel R&D expansion and related AI connectivity ambitions may influence Astera Labs’ existing investment narrative. We've uncovered the 14 dividend fortresses yielding 5%+ that don't just survive market storms, but thrive in them. Astera Labs Investment Narrative Recap To own Astera Labs, you have to believe AI and cloud infrastructure will keep demanding high performance connectivity and that Astera can stay at the center of that buildout. Right now, the key near term catalyst is continued product pull through from hyperscalers, while the biggest risk is how dependent that growth is on a concentrated, highly competitive AI capex cycle. The latest earnings beat, Israel R&D expansion, and CFO handoff look supportive rather than thesis changing in the short term. Among the recent updates, the new Israel design center feels most relevant, because it directly ties into Astera Labs’ AI connectivity roadmap and efforts to broaden its technology and customer reach. If the expanded engineering footprint accelerates adoption of Scorpio switches and related fabrics, it could reinforce the current catalyst of rising content per AI accelerator, while also indirectly addressing customer concentration risk by enabling more use cases and deployment types across data centers. Yet, against all the AI enthusiasm, investors should also be aware of how exposed A...
In early February 2026, Astera Labs reported past fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results showing higher sales and a move to profitability, issued first-quarter 2026 guidance, expanded its AI-focused R&D footprint with a new design center in Israel, and announced a CFO transition from Michael Tate to former Rambus finance chief Desmond Lynch effective March 2, 2026. Together, these updates highl...
In early February 2026, Astera Labs reported past fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results showing higher sales and a move to profitability, issued first-quarter 2026 guidance, expanded its AI-focused R&D footprint with a new design center in Israel, and announced a CFO transition from Michael Tate to former Rambus finance chief Desmond Lynch effective March 2, 2026. Together, these updates highlight Astera Labs’ efforts to deepen its role in AI and cloud infrastructure through expanded engineering capacity, executive bench strength, and new collaborations with major technology and cloud providers. Next, we’ll examine how the Israel R&D expansion and related AI connectivity ambitions may influence Astera Labs’ existing investment narrative. We've uncovered the 14 dividend fortresses yielding 5%+ that don't just survive market storms, but thrive in them. Astera Labs Investment Narrative Recap To own Astera Labs, you have to believe AI and cloud infrastructure will keep demanding high performance connectivity and that Astera can stay at the center of that buildout. Right now, the key near term catalyst is continued product pull through from hyperscalers, while the biggest risk is how dependent that growth is on a concentrated, highly competitive AI capex cycle. The latest earnings beat, Israel R&D expansion, and CFO handoff look supportive rather than thesis changing in the short term. Among the recent updates, the new Israel design center feels most relevant, because it directly ties into Astera Labs’ AI connectivity roadmap and efforts to broaden its technology and customer reach. If the expanded engineering footprint accelerates adoption of Scorpio switches and related fabrics, it could reinforce the current catalyst of rising content per AI accelerator, while also indirectly addressing customer concentration risk by enabling more use cases and deployment types across data centers. Yet, against all the AI enthusiasm, investors should also be aware of how exposed A...