After the strong rally, it appears the market is taking profits on commentary around the outlook for margins. It’s not only that they were lower quarter-over-quarter (QoQ), but also Tesla provided zero insight as to how much lower margins can go. The market does not like uncertainty. It’s somewhat ironic that during the call Musk can wax poetic about the complexities of AI, neural net training, the 6-million dollar man, and robotic taxis yet when it comes to basic profitability drivers, he can’t say anything. The former drove the price post Q123 and the latter is driving the price today.

Semiconductors are the common denominator across the burgeoning technology trends of the next decade. Artificial Intelligence, 5G, high-performance computing, Internet-of-Things, gaming, electric vehicles, and robotics, among others, all require semiconductors to power them. These trends make semiconductor stocks an ideal investment and perhaps the most important space for tech investors to monitor.

In May and June, I stated that our firm was not buying Nvidia right now. Well, similar to the weather, this has changed.

Tier 1 Media outlets such as Fox Business News, Bloomberg and Real Vision interviewed Beth four times over the past month about her call on Nvidia and also picked her brain on other AI-related topics.

This analysis looks at First Solar, Enphase and Tesla as beneficiaries of the Inflation Reduction Act. IRA’s primary objective is to spur investments in clean energy, transport and manufacturing.

Although many AI stocks will not report enough AI revenue to survive the fierce, competitive battle the tech industry faces due to AI/ML, Wall Street investors can reasonably assume that Microsoft will be a leader in this space.

When the market was selling tech last year, the I/O Fund was buying AI leaders. For example, from September 2021 through January of 2023, we initiated 9 buy alerts for NVDA below $210. The last two alerts were at $108 and $149 in late 2022. We initiated buy alerts for additional AI stocks, as well, resulting in a 45% allocation to AI going into May. Compare this to Stanley Druckenmiller, who had 29.5% allocation in AI, and has been covered by the press as the leading AI investor.

The smartphone market continues to be hit hard in q1, with prices down 20% and shipments down 13%, according to Canalys. Despite double digit decline across the industry, Apple delivered marginal growth on its iPhone sales at +1.5%.