Enjoying this content?
Get three under-the-radar investment themes delivered to your inbox every Monday.
AI needs boring data companies more than it needs fancy chips
Theme 1: Copper Mining Rally Accelerates on Fed Rate Cuts and Infrastructure Demand
On the supply side, mining companies benefit from operational leverage that amplifies copper price movements, with major operators like Freeport-McMoRan and Southern Copper able to quickly adjust operations and margins in response to favorable pricing. The sector's largest players operate at significant scale, providing operational flexibility that makes their stocks particularly sensitive to positive copper price movements.
On the demand side, the convergence of infrastructure modernization and strategic resource positioning is creating unprecedented copper consumption. Major policy initiatives including infrastructure spending programs are generating sustained demand for copper in construction, electrical systems, and transportation projects.
Simultaneously, the shift toward renewable energy systems, electric vehicles, and battery storage requires substantial copper content, creating multi-year demand tailwinds that extend well beyond current economic cycles.
Stocks that would benefit:
FCX: Freeport-McMoRan Inc - The world's largest publicly traded copper producer with a portfolio of large, long-lived assets in Arizona, Peru, and Indonesia. FCX is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the copper bull market through its operational leverage and scale, with production expected to increase significantly as innovative leaching technologies come online. The company's strategic focus on meeting growing electrification demand aligns perfectly with the structural demand thesis, while its disciplined financial policy allows it to allocate cash flow between shareholder returns and brownfield expansion projects that will benefit from rising copper prices. Read More →
SCCO: Southern Copper Corporation - Latin America's largest integrated copper producer with vast, low-cost reserves primarily in Peru and Mexico. SCCO's operational strength is underpinned by cost leadership through high-grade mines and efficient processing technologies, contributing to industry-leading profit margins that expand dramatically during copper price increases. The company's aggressive $15+ billion organic growth pipeline positions it to substantially increase production as copper demand accelerates from infrastructure modernization and green energy transition, making it a pure-play on the copper bull thesis with significant operational leverage to rising prices. Read More →
Theme 2: Construction Technology Adoption Accelerates on Lower Rates and Digital Transformation
The construction technology sector is experiencing a convergence of favorable macroeconomic conditions and fundamental industry transformation. Lower interest rates reduce borrowing costs for construction projects and make real estate development more attractive, directly increasing demand for construction technology solutions as project volumes expand.
The underlying technology adoption story is exceptionally compelling, with the global construction management software industry valued at $10.64 billion and projected to reach $16.62 billion by 2030, representing a 9.33% compound annual growth rate. This growth is being driven by dramatic improvements in BIM technology adoption, which has reached 60-70% penetration across the industry compared to nearly half of respondents never having heard of BIM in 2011.
The ROI case for construction technology has become undeniable, with recent studies demonstrating that BIM adoption reduces project timelines by an average of 20% and cuts costs by 15%. These compelling metrics are driving continued software adoption across the construction industry, while search volume for "construction management software" has increased 111% over five years, reflecting growing market awareness and adoption intent.
Market leadership is being established by companies like Autodesk, which dominates the architecture and construction software market with over $6.35 billion in 2024 revenue and holds a 37% share of the Computer Aided Design market. This market leadership and stability provides validation for institutional investors while the broader sector benefits from the proven scalability and recurring revenue characteristics of construction software businesses.
Stocks that would benefit:
ADSK: Autodesk Inc - The dominant platform for the converging Design and Make industries with market-leading solutions across architecture, engineering, and construction workflows. Autodesk's strategic transformation positions it at the center of the construction technology adoption wave, with its BIM solutions becoming industry standard as penetration reaches 60-70%. The company's cloud-based platforms and AI integration, such as Fusion's AutoConstrain feature with a ~50% acceptance rate, are driving productivity gains that directly support the ROI thesis central to construction technology adoption. Autodesk's strong free cash flow generation ($556 million in Q1 FY26) provides financial flexibility to continue investing in core technology while returning capital to shareholders. Read More →
ANSS: Ansys Inc - A market leader in engineering simulation software providing essential tools across the construction and infrastructure sectors. Ansys's multiphysics portfolio enables the complex, multi-domain analysis critical for next-generation construction projects, with quantifiable benefits like 1000x speedup in optimization and 96% runtime reduction in computational fluid dynamics. The company's technology directly supports the ROI case for construction technology adoption by allowing engineers to validate designs virtually before physical construction, reducing costly errors and rework. Ansys's expanding user base through improved accessibility aligns perfectly with the broader construction industry's digital transformation journey. Read More →
CRM: Salesforce Inc - Beyond its core CRM capabilities, Salesforce's construction cloud solutions provide comprehensive project management platforms that address the industry's growing need for integrated workflow management. The company's unified platform approach aligns with the construction sector's demand for connected systems that eliminate data silos and improve collaboration across stakeholders. Salesforce's AI-powered Agentforce platform is demonstrating significant productivity gains for construction customers by automating routine tasks and providing predictive insights that improve project outcomes. The company's strategic focus on integrating its core applications with industry-specific solutions positions it to capture significant market share as construction firms accelerate their digital transformation initiatives. Read More →
Theme 3: AI Infrastructure Boom Drives Data Analytics and Storage Hardware Surge
The AI revolution is creating massive infrastructure requirements that extend far beyond chip manufacturing. Companies are dealing with exponentially increasing data complexity across multiple sources, applications, and infrastructure layers, creating urgent demand for solutions that can monitor, track, and improve data health in real-time.
The growing adoption of AI and machine learning models demands high-quality datasets for accuracy and reliability, creating a virtuous cycle where AI adoption drives demand for data observability solutions while these solutions themselves are being enhanced with AI capabilities. This represents a fundamental shift from siloed monitoring tools to comprehensive platforms that embed observability within broader business contexts.
Regulatory compliance requirements are adding another layer of sustained demand, as companies invest in observability platforms to maintain compliance with stringent data governance regulations, creating recurring revenue opportunities with high switching costs.
Stocks that would benefit:
DDOG: Datadog - Leading observability platform that has strategically positioned itself at the center of the AI infrastructure boom by developing autonomous AI agents that investigate and remediate alerts without human intervention. Datadog's Q1 2025 performance demonstrated this AI-driven momentum with 25% year-over-year revenue growth to $761.6 million, as enterprises increasingly rely on its unified platform to monitor the complex data infrastructure required for AI workloads. The company's ability to integrate observability across cloud environments, applications, and AI systems creates a comprehensive solution that directly addresses the exponential increase in data complexity that the investment thesis identifies. Read More →
PLTR: Palantir Technologies - Experiencing exceptional growth with 39% year-over-year revenue increase to $883.9 million in Q1 2025, directly capitalizing on the AI data infrastructure boom through its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) and foundational Ontology software. Palantir's U.S. commercial business has become a standout performer, growing 71% year-over-year to $255.5 million and surpassing a $1 billion annual run rate, as organizations increasingly rely on its differentiated technology to operationalize AI within complex enterprises. The company's ability to enable "enterprise autonomy" through its data infrastructure solutions perfectly aligns with the investment thesis of AI driving unprecedented demand for sophisticated data analytics capabilities. Read More →
SNOW: Snowflake - Positioning itself as the essential AI Data Cloud company by leveraging its cloud-native data warehousing platform to become the foundation for AI applications that require massive, well-organized datasets. Snowflake's strategic investments in new product areas like Cortex AI, Iceberg support, and data engineering features are gaining traction, with Q1 FY26 product revenue growing 26% to $996.8 million. The company directly addresses the investment thesis by providing the scalable data storage and analytics infrastructure that enables organizations to mobilize their data for AI applications, capitalizing on the exponential increase in data volume and complexity that drives demand for comprehensive data management solutions. Read More →
Join our Discord community to give feedback, request features, or ask questions about the newsletter or website.
https://discord.gg/yePwyWrwJBThe content is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial or investment advice. We are not financial advisors. Consult with a qualified professional before making any investment decisions. Any actions you take based on information from this site are solely at your own risk. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investments may lose value and are not guaranteed.
Loading more newsletters...
