Shopify is evolving beyond a simple e-commerce platform to become the operating system for modern commerce, a distinction that matters for its future growth.
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Dan Ives: "The AI Ghost Trade Is Dead" (3 Smartest Growth Stocks To Buy Now)
Dan Ives discusses the shift in the AI market, moving away from the "AI ghost trade" to focus on companies monetizing AI. He highlights Snowflake and Palantir as key players in the data layer, contrasting them with companies like Salesforce, Oracle, and Adobe that face pressure to demonstrate AI monetization. Cybersecurity stocks like CrowdStrike and Palo Alto are seen as winners, while Zscaler is placed in the losers bracket.
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Tickers discussed in this post
Viking Therapeutics is presented as a compelling growth stock with substantial upside potential due to existing demand for obesity treatments and strong analyst backing, despite inherent biotech risks.
NICE Ltd. (NICE) is a primary buy recommendation due to its critical role in customer service infrastructure, strong competitive moat, and strategic integration of AI, positioning it to benefit from growing demand for AI-powered engagement solutions.
Datadog is mentioned as a company that is starting to monetize AI effectively.
MongoDB is mentioned as a company in the middle layer of AI deployment, benefiting from data trends.
Tesla is mentioned in the context of a potential future merger with SpaceX.
UiPath is mentioned as an example of a company where software functionality might be commoditized by AI.
Chip players, implicitly including Nvidia, are mentioned as being on one side of the AI trade.
Alphabet is implicitly mentioned as a hyperscaler that benefits from the data layer and AI deployment.
Amazon Web Services is mentioned as a partner with Snowflake in managing cloud data.
Microsoft is implicitly mentioned as a hyperscaler that benefits from the data layer and AI deployment, alongside Snowflake.
Zscaler is placed in the losers bracket, suggesting it is not performing as well as other cybersecurity companies in the current market.
Palo Alto Networks is identified as a winner in the cybersecurity space, benefiting from the AI trend.
CrowdStrike is identified as a winner in the cybersecurity space, benefiting from the AI trend.
Intuit is struggling because AI can potentially handle tasks like tax preparation, which is a core function for the company.
Adobe is mentioned as a company facing pressure to demonstrate AI monetization, similar to Salesforce.
Oracle is mentioned as a company facing pressure to demonstrate AI monetization, similar to Salesforce.
Salesforce is under pressure to prove its AI monetization strategy, with current AI revenue contribution being small, requiring significant improvement over the next quarters.
Palantir is identified as a key player in the AI space, benefiting from its focus on data and its position in the middle layer of AI deployment.
Snowflake is highlighted as a primary beneficiary of AI monetization due to its central role in data warehousing and its ability to serve as a middle layer for LLM deployment.