It has been exactly one year since the Inflation Reduction Act ("IRA") was signed into law.
It's a massive $370 billion government spending bill to boost investment in renewable-energy projects. It has already acted as a huge catalyst for the renewable-energy trend – specifically solar power and energy storge.
These industries have seen massive growth this year. But that didn't surprise me. I've been optimistic about the future of this space for a while now. And I'm even more bullish on what we can expect from the future...
Headline No. 1:
Solar and storage companies added more than $100 billion to the U.S. economy.
McCall's Call: In just the past year, solar and energy-storage companies have announced more than $100 billion in investments that will go, in part, to building out or expanding 51 solar-manufacturing facilities.
That's a huge amount of money pouring into the sector in a very short period of time.
These investments will add about 155 gigawatts ("GW") of new solar-production capacity. Here's how it breaks down...
- 85 GW of solar-module capacity
- 43 GW of solar cells
- 20 GW of silicon ingots and wafers (raw materials used to produce solar cells)
- 7 GW of inverter capacity (inverters convert direct-current power generated by solar panels to alternating-current electricity used on the electrical grid)
You can see this simplified even further in the chart below...
This investment is important because it will dramatically boost the manufacturing capacity of our solar supply chain. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association ("SEIA"), it will increase our current manufacturing capacity by 17X.
It's also good news because these new facilities are going to create a lot of jobs...
Based on estimates from SEIA, the entire solar-manufacturing workforce could triple in size to 100,000 jobs over the next 10 years. By 2033, the solar-industry workforce could top 500,000 jobs.
In that same year, U.S. solar capacity should be just shy of 670 GW – which is enough energy to power every home east of the Mississippi River. The total investment in the sector is expected to top $560 billion.
This is a huge deal for the solar industry.
And it should show you just how much runway is left in this trend. We're only in the early stages, which means there's still plenty of time to gain exposure here.
The energy sector is undergoing a massive shift that will change the way we live our lives. That creates great opportunity for consumers... and long-term investors.
Headline No. 2:
"Parlays" are the new moneymaker for betting companies.
McCall's Call: Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that states could legalize sports betting if they chose, more than 30 have launched operations within their borders. That includes some of the most populated states in the country – like New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Since June 2018, more than $240 billion worth of bets have been placed throughout the country. Nearly half that came in just the past 12 months. And I believe there's even more growth on the way.
As it turns out, I'm not the only person who thinks that...
Over the weekend, sports betting made the cover of Barron's. And the article inside highlighted the rising popularity of "parlay" bets.
Put simply, parlays are bets that are placed on several different outcomes at the same time. For example, you might bet on the winners of multiple games instead of just one. The reward for parlays is often higher than for a single game bet... but so is the risk.
If just one of the bets in your parlay loses, you lose the entire thing.
According to Barron's, parlays now make up 27% of all bets in Illinois. That's up from just 20% of bets in 2021. And it's great news for betting companies...
Betting companies in Illinois have a "win rate" of about 9% so far this year. On parlay bets, that winning percentage more than doubles to 19.7%. So these firms love when folks place a lot of parlay bets. They can double their winning rate without having to shift the odds in their favor.
And their stocks are reaping the rewards...
Sportsbooks like DraftKings (DKNG) and Flutter Entertainment (PDYPY) – which owns FanDuel – have seen their stocks soar recently. DraftKings' share price has nearly tripled this year, while Flutter is up about 29%.
These companies are great ways to play the sports-betting megatrend. They're the leaders in online betting in just about every state they operate in.
But I just spotted a new and even more exciting way to take advantage of the trend...
Barron's may have beaten me to the punch, but I've been working on the latest issue of MegaTrend Investor for weeks. And it just so happens to be focused on the same exact topic – sports betting.
The issue was just released this afternoon. And in it, I introduced my subscribers to two companies leading the way in a niche part of the industry that's even more vital to its future than sportsbooks.
Without the services they provide, sports betting simply wouldn't be possible.
I can't give you any more details here. But if you'd like to find out how to gain instant access to these recommendations – plus two others that help round out our sports-focused basket of stocks – I urge you to click here now.
Here's to the future,
Matt McCall
Editor, Daily Insight
August 16, 2023
Did You Miss My Latest Podcast?
The "Magnificent Seven" have been on an absolute tear this year. The Big Tech stocks that make up this powerhouse group – Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Nvidia, and Tesla – accounted for 73% of all S&P 500 gains through the first six months of the year. But what exactly does this mean for stocks? Is it a good sign of things to come? Or should we be concerned that tougher times are ahead for smaller stocks? I break it all down for you on this episode of Making Money With Matt McCall.
Artificial intelligence ("AI") is one big theme that connects each of the Magnificent Seven companies. AI has been growing in popularity for years. But its long-term tailwinds are just starting to gain momentum as more Big Tech companies implement the technology in their businesses. The real question today is... are the Magnificent Seven stocks a buy? There are a lot of questions to answer on this episode. So tune in to find out the best moves for your money.
Join for free. See how over a million people are taking control of their wealth…
