đAI Bubbles, SpaceXâs $1.5T Play & Retail In Control đ
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Edition #137
Investing Unlocks: How to Capitalize on the Hot Topics From The Last 7 Days
We analyze recent trends and opportunities, offering strategic insights that help you manage risks and identify growth opportunities for your portfolio.
đ Early Gains Fade Into Friday Selloff
U.S. stocks finished the week mixed after early gains faded into a sharp Friday pullback. Markets initially rallied on a widely expected 0.25 pt Federal Reserve rate cut and hopes that easier policy could support a cooling economy. That optimism gave way late in the week as investors locked in profits, pushing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq lower on Friday while volatility ticked up.
This week the focus shifts to key U.S. data, with delayed October and November jobs reports due Tuesday and November CPI inflation on Thursday. Retail sales and housing data will help shape expectations for how quickly the Fed can cut again. Thin year-end liquidity could amplify market moves around each release.
Hot Topics
Roomba maker iRobot bought by Chinese supplier after filing for bankruptcy
Hollywood panics as Paramount-Netflix battle for Warner Bros
Netflix House Dallas and Philadelphia Are Now Open â Welcome to Our Home!
Disneyâs OpenAI stake is âa way inâ to AI, Iger tells CNBC
Rivian shares surge as analysts cheer shift to custom self-driving chip, AI strategy
Investing Data Story
Major copper and gold M&A deals from 2016 to 2025 highlight rising demand, strategic consolidation, and key opportunities for retail investors.
M&A Heats Up in Copper and Gold: The Race for Junior Assets
Howard Marks: Is AI a âGoodâ Bubble?
If youâve been worrying that the AI boom is just 1999 all over again, legendary investor Howard Marks offers a refreshing perspective. While acknowledging the risks, Marks explains why this moment may be fundamentally different, and why staying on the sidelines could be the bigger mistake.
Marks highlights the concept that not all bubbles are created equal. Drawing on work by Byrne Hobart and Tobias Huber, he distinguishes between âMean-reversion Bubblesâ (like the 2008 subprime crisis), which leave nothing behind but losses, and âInflection Bubblesâ which are fueled by genuine technological revolutions. Even if stock prices get ahead of themselves, the capital raised builds essential infrastructure that permanently advances society.
The housing bubble never transformed how we live or work. AI, by contrast, is laying the foundation for a âmore prosperous futureâ.
Marks specifically addresses the fear that AI stocks are overvalued by comparing them to the Dot-com bubble leaders. The data suggests the market is arguably more rational today.
Unlike the internet bubble era, todayâs AI companies already have products at scale, exploding demand, and rapidly increasing revenues. Plus, P/E ratios for todayâs tech giants are significantly lower than the leaders of the late 90s.
Marks concedes a correction is possible, and any bubble will destroy wealth for some of those involved. But AI has the potential to be one of the âgreatest transformational technologies of all timeâ. For the astute retail investor, the goal isnât to flee the market, but to participate with âsober, insightful judgmentâ.
SpaceX Targets 2026 IPO at $1.5T Plus Valuation
Reports suggest SpaceX is laying the groundwork for a 2026 IPO, with recent insider share sales and secondary market pricing pointing to a private valuation near ~$800B, while public market expectations are already clustering around $1.5T or more. That gap highlights how aggressively investors are extrapolating SpaceXâs long-term growth as it prepares for life as a public company.
The capital raise is tied to an ambitious expansion plan, ramping Starshipâs flight cadence, funding lunar and Mars infrastructure, and building space-based AI data centers. Together, these initiatives dramatically increase execution risk, capital intensity, and scrutiny as SpaceX moves closer to public markets. The eventual listing will be a high-stakes test of whether SpaceXâs operational momentum and cost reductions can justify trillion-dollar-plus valuations under sustained public-market pressure.
Earnings Performance
AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV)
In May 2025, AeroVironment acquired the defense tech company BlueHalo, and this slide shows investors that the merger is working. The company is no longer just selling small drones; it is now winning major contracts in Space, Cyber, and Directed Energy.
In Q2, the company reported record revenue of nearly $473 million, driven by strong sales in the AxS (Autonomous Systems) segment. The forward-looking numbers were equally robust, including:
Contract Awards Ceiling: $3.5 billion (Record)
Bookings: ~$1.4 billion
Funded Backlog: $1.1 billion
Unfunded Backlog: $3.0 billion
Why the sell-off? Despite record revenue, margins slipped to 27% due to lower-margin BlueHalo services, leading to a massive profit miss ($0.44 actual vs. $0.80 expected). Worse, a quiet âdefinition changeâ wiped nearly $1 billion from the backlog, shaking investor confidence in future growth.
Other Earnings Updates
Victoriaâs Secret: Stock Surges on Strong Q3 Performance and Guidance
Investing Data Story
Discover six Dividend King stocks with nearly 70 years of rising payouts. Compare yields, payout ratios, and dividend growth for steady income potential.
6 Dividend Kings With 69+ Years of Increases
Analyst Strong Buy Ratings This Week! đ
Looking for stocks with strong analyst backing? These companies have earned top-tier "Strong Buy" ratings from analysts, signaling potential upside for investors.
Whether youâre eyeing small-to-mid cap opportunities in the U.S. and Canada or want to stick with trusted S&P 500 blue-chip picks, this list highlights stocks that experts believe could outperform.
đ Do your research and see if any of these fit your portfolio!
Retail Volume Smashes Records
For years, the adage was âfollow the institutions.â But 2025 has rewritten the playbook. New data confirms that retail investorsânot hedge fundsâare currently the dominant force driving market liquidity and direction.
Unprecedented Volume: According to Fortune, retail trading flows are hitting historic highs, tracking 53% above last year and surpassing the 2021 âmaniaâ peak by 14%.
The Shift to ETFs: The sophisticated retail pro is moving away from single-stock lottery tickets. Data seen by Fortune shows that in the week ending Dec. 10, $6.3 billion flowed into ETFs, compared to just $1.5 billion into single stocks.
Tactical Precision: The âbuy the dipâ thesis was arguably the trade of the year. Investors who bought the April lows saw a 38% gain by December, outperforming those who sat on the sidelines.
Great synthesisof the retail trading surge! The shift from single stocks to ETFs is probaby the most overlooked aspect of this story. I've watched retail flow data for awhile now and what's wild is the tactical discipline we're seeing compared to 2021. Buy-the-dip strategies actually require reading market structure instead of just buying whatever's trending on social media, which suggests retail is maturing faster than most institutional analysts expected.