The names I'm actually watching.
The full list, sorted by category and theme. None of this is a recommendation to buy, it's the universe I track and research. How I size and time positions lives in the guide.
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All 36 names I track, sorted by category and theme with my notes on each. Drop your email to read it here and download the PDF, plus my investing guide PDF.
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ETFs
6 fundsThe index plus targeted AI, quantum, memory, space, and Korea-chip exposure.
Top 100 non-financial Nasdaq names. The core US tech-growth ETF.
Diversified basket of AI beneficiaries across hardware and software.
Quantum computing and machine-learning theme.
The chips that hold the data AI runs on. Memory has been one of the cleanest AI tailwinds.
Satellites, launch, defense space, the commercial space buildout.
Samsung, SK Hynix. Memory and AI-chip exposure outside the US.
Core compounders
8 namesThe businesses with the deepest moats and most reliable compounding, profitable, dominant companies in growing industries. Hold them like real estate, not like trades.
Sectors & themes
7 themesHigh-quality leaders grouped by theme, the picks-and-shovels behind AI, energy, and the buildout. Roughly three leaders per theme.
Energy & power
3 picksAI data centers and electrification need enormous power. These names sell that power or the equipment that generates and delivers it.
Largest US nuclear operator. Signing direct AI deals, including the Three Mile Island restart with Microsoft.
Utility with major nuclear + gas exposure. The biggest single beneficiary of AI-power demand.
Gas turbines, grid equipment, wind. Builds the actual generation capacity.
Photonics & optical
4 picksAI moves staggering amounts of data inside and between data centers. Light through fiber, not copper, is how that happens at scale.
Optical transceivers and lasers. Key supplier for AI interconnect.
800G and 1.6T transceiver leader for data-center connectivity.
Optical fiber and specialty glass. Also tied to the data-center cabling buildout.
Laser and transceiver maker ramping data-center optics. Smaller and more volatile than the leaders above, the higher-beta way to play the same interconnect trend.
Semiconductors
3 picksThe chips themselves and the companies that make them physically possible.
The foundry that manufactures chips for NVDA, AAPL, AMD. Picks-and-shovels for the entire industry.
Only company on Earth that makes EUV lithography machines. Every leading-edge fab needs them.
Custom AI silicon for hyperscalers plus networking chips. The "AI ASIC" winner.
Memory
2 picksAI is insatiable for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and storage. Every GPU server needs more of it, one of the cleanest AI tailwinds in the chip stack.
US memory leader. The HBM build-out for Nvidia GPUs is rewriting the cycle, Micron is one of only three HBM suppliers globally.
Pure-play NAND flash storage, recently spun off from Western Digital. Direct beneficiary of AI storage demand and a tightening NAND supply cycle.
AI infrastructure
4 picksEverything around the chip, racks, cooling, AI servers, and the cloud providers renting GPU compute to AI companies.
AI cloud / GPU compute, vertically integrated. Sells the actual compute that AI companies run on.
Liquid cooling and power infrastructure for AI racks. Cooling is the new bottleneck.
The highest-purity AI server vendor in public markets, custom-builds liquid-cooled GPU racks for hyperscalers. Volatile (had an accounting reset in 2024) but the underlying demand is real.
The bigger, more diversified AI server play. Steadier counterpart to SMCI with enterprise + PC exposure on top.
Software
4 picksHigh-margin recurring revenue businesses that benefit from AI without having to fund the buildout themselves.
Enterprise workflow automation + AI agents.
Cybersecurity SaaS leader. AI-native detection.
Cybersecurity platform consolidating the whole stack.
AI-driven marketing and data cloud. Growing fast and recently profitable, a higher-risk, higher-growth name vs. the steadier three above. Size it smaller.
Defense
3 picksRecord defense budgets + the shift to drone & AI warfare are reshaping who wins. The legacy primes are fine but slow, the modern drone & software names below are the better bets.
Drones and unmanned systems. How modern wars are actually being fought. Real revenue, real contracts.
Drone systems + private wireless networks for defense and industrial use. Smaller and more speculative, size it accordingly.
The defense AI software layer (Foundry, Gotham). The brain of modern military operations. Already in core compounders, counts as your defense exposure too.
Space
3 picksCommercial space is finally turning into a real industry, direct-to-cell satellites, cheap launch, lunar landers. More speculative than the other sectors, so size them smaller (0.5–1.5% each).
Direct-to-cellphone satellite network, your existing phone connects to space, no special hardware needed. Partnered with AT&T and Verizon. Pre-revenue but the constellation is being deployed.
Electron rocket (second-most-launched US vehicle behind SpaceX) plus the Photon spacecraft platform. Building Neutron, a larger reusable rocket. Real revenue, real customers.
Operates the largest fleet of Earth-imaging satellites, selling daily geospatial data to governments, defense, and AI/analytics customers. Recurring-revenue model, a steadier way to own space than a pure launch play.
Speculative
16 namesLottery tickets, micro-caps, pre-revenue companies, frontier tech. Each could 5–10x or go to zero. Spread across many, accept most will die, and let the survivors carry the basket.
These bets are fun, which is dangerous. Don't let them creep above ~15–20% of the portfolio. The headline ones (quantum, space, fusion) have the most narrative, which means they're often the most overhyped. Read the actual financials. The rule: "if it goes to zero tomorrow, do I shrug or panic?" If you'd panic, it's too big.
This is the list, what I watch and research. How I size positions, when I buy, and when I sell lives in the investing guide →