Beat the Market to the Next Investing 'Story'
The Weekend Edition is pulled from the daily Stansberry Digest.
Earnings season is upon us again...
And two of the largest chip businesses in the world are telling a story of sustained demand, thanks to AI growth.
The first, semiconductor-equipment maker ASML (ASML), released its latest earnings on April 15. And the results were impressive...
The company reported quarterly sales growth of 13% and raised its full-year outlook by 16% compared with 2025.
The company remains an industry-leading provider of cutting-edge semiconductor-production equipment. That's a big reason why our Stansberry's Investment Advisory team recommended the stock in November 2022.
The stock's low valuation at the time made it an attractive investment for a "bear market shopping list." ASML is the only company making machines that can produce the world's best semiconductor chips.
In last month's issue of the Investment Advisory, the team updated subscribers on the stock. After a big run-up over the past three and a half years, shares are no longer at a price where the team recommends opening a position with new money.
The initial recommendation is now up more than 220%. As the team shared...
The financial markets are finally aware of what we said back in 2022... ASML is a legal monopoly. As such, the company should raise its prices. To produce advanced chips, semiconductor makers have no choice but to pay whatever ASML charges (within reason).
That's great news for the company. But so far this earnings season, good quarterly performances aren't being rewarded in the market as much as they once were.
ASML, for example, fell almost 5% following its strong earnings report.
Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), the world's largest chip manufacturer, also fell after the company released earnings on April 15...
TSM dropped by 3% after releasing its own impressive quarterly financials. The results included a 58% increase in first-quarter profits and a fourth straight quarter of record profits.
This isn't to say the market's AI boom is finished... or that these aren't quality companies worth holding long term. But with "hyperscalers" Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), and Meta Platforms (META) reporting earnings over the next few weeks, don't be surprised if more stocks drop even on relatively good earnings reports.
In the long run, volatile periods can prove to be great buying opportunities over longer investing horizons, especially if you can beat the market to the next "story."
In a similar vein, the war in Iran continues to develop...
Folks are worried about fluctuating oil prices and limited energy supply. So our Commodity Supercycles team is looking to natural gas... and the opportunity for U.S. production growth.
That's one way for investors to place themselves ahead of the market today. To paraphrase famous hockey player Wayne Gretzky, you want to skate where the puck is going next.
The U.S. is already the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas ("LNG"). And with the war in Iran – which has damaged energy infrastructure in the Middle East – the U.S. can become an even more dominant presence in the industry.
As our Commodity Supercycles team wrote in their April issue...
On March 18, Israeli fighter jets struck Iran's South Pars natural gas field, which supplies most of Iran's energy and industrial needs. That initial strike damaged storage tanks, pipelines, and refining facilities at the field, cutting about 12% of Iran's natural gas production.
In retaliation, [Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ("IRGC")] unleashed a wave of attacks on the energy infrastructure of its neighbors that it viewed as assisting the U.S. and Israel in the war. This included Qatar's Ras Laffan LNG facility.
Within 12 hours, two waves of missiles slammed into the Ras Laffan Industrial City. They blew up storage tanks containing thousands of tons of LNG, resulting in a fireball that could be seen from miles away.
This facility is the biggest of its kind in the world. It's responsible for 20% of global LNG output. And while only about one-sixth of that was initially knocked out of commission, it will take three to five years to repair and bring back on line.
The longer the war drags on, the bigger the likelihood that Iran attacks Ras Laffan again, driving LNG production in the Middle East off a cliff. And already, Qatar has declared force majeure on LNG deliveries to all customers for the next five years – meaning it can't fulfill its obligations.
The right businesses will boom as long as Qatar's LNG is off the market. We should also expect overall U.S. LNG production and transport growth in the years ahead.
Getting In Early on a Big Tech Winner
Lastly, one more example of "getting there before the market"...
On April 14, when Amazon (AMZN) announced it was buying satellite firm Globalstar (GSAT) at a roughly $11 billion valuation, we knew the name sounded familiar...
That's because Stansberry Venture Technology editor Dave Lashmet recommended Globalstar in September 2024.
As Dave explained at the time to his subscribers, Globalstar was a major satellite provider for consumer-electronics giant Apple... and its "walled garden" of products, like phones, watches, computers, and everything that runs on them.
The firm was uniquely positioned. It owned a satellite network that uses "L band" and "S band" antennas to reach and send signals back from space... And Apple had put these antennas in its watches in the previous two years.
Amazon wanted in on that world.
Amazon already had its own satellite company, called Leo. The company's founder and chairman, Jeff Bezos, privately owns the rocket company Blue Origin. But Amazon couldn't connect to smartphones or watches.
After the news of Amazon's acquisition broke on Tuesday, Dave shared with us that Globalstar had been beholden to Apple. While it remained an independent company, Apple literally paid all its bills, providing funding for space operations, satellite design, and launches.
As Dave explained...
This means, really, Amazon's deal is with Apple. And Amazon can scale both its rockets and its satellite building to build a mega-constellation in space.
Why did this alliance happen? Because the competition is Samsung, SpaceX, and Google. See, Google was an early, heavy backer of SpaceX, which just bought more bandwidth from Echostar, for $17 billion – using Google's cash.
Google makes the Android operating system, which runs every Samsung phone. And Apple and Samsung are the two innovators in smartphones and smart watches.
Ultimately, what Amazon is buying with Globalstar is the bandwidth on S band and L band that can speak to hundreds of millions of iPhones and Apple Watches.
Thus, the Amazon-Globalstar deal is really an extension of the smartphone wars into space. It's Apple versus Samsung again – where Google is on Samsung's side.
The battle lines are drawn.
Dave was well ahead of the story, as he often is – and his subscribers are the beneficiaries. Globalstar shares are well above his recommended buy price, and they're up more than 350% since his initial recommendation. Kudos to Dave on another big winner.
All the best,
Corey McLaughlin
Editor's note: After months of seesawing markets, an AI company going public soon promises to solve one of tech's existential problems... And it's all thanks to an innovation that could potentially make you 12 times your money. On Wednesday, April 29, two Wall Street legends will uncover the critical investing story that could soon be bigger than the rise of Nvidia... Plus, they'll reveal what they're calling the greatest wealth-creating opportunity of their combined 90 years of experience.