1. Robotics: The Race to Catch China
China has already built "dark factories"—manufacturing facilities operated entirely by robots, no lights needed. The US is playing catch-up, pouring billions into automation, and that money will continue flowing throughout 2026.
Morgan Stanley recently noted that robotics profitability is closer than most investors realize. The applications span warehouses, factories, healthcare through surgical robots, and even food service.
Key plays in the space:
- Tesla (TSLA) – Elon Musk has said the Optimus humanoid robot could eventually be worth more than the entire EV business. Tesla's advantages are straightforward: endless capital, top talent, and the infrastructure to scale.
- Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) – The leader in robotic surgery systems.
- Symbotic (SYM) – A pure play on automated warehouses and dark factory infrastructure.
- Teradyne (TER) – A leader in collaborative robots (cobots) for industrial automation.
- Cognex (CGNX) – The "eyes" of robotics, specializing in machine vision systems.
ETFs like BOTZ (51 holdings including industrial robots and autonomous vehicles) and ROBO (77 global robotics and automation companies) offer broader exposure.
2. AI Infrastructure: The Builders Keep Winning
The companies that invested heavily in 2024 and 2025 to dominate AI are about to see those bets pay off. Data centers, semiconductors, servers, cooling systems, energy providers—the entire supply chain is experiencing unprecedented demand.
The numbers are staggering...
Hyperscaler capital expenditure is approaching $600 billion in 2026. Goldman Sachs projects $1.15 trillion in spending from 2025 to 2027. AI infrastructure spending is now contributing more to GDP growth than all consumer spending combined.
And Trump's executive order making it easier to build data centers adds regulatory tailwind to an already surging sector.
Infrastructure names worth watching:
- NVIDIA (NVDA) – Still the undisputed GPU king. Blackwell is ramping and every hyperscaler is buying.
- AMD (AMD) – The runner-up capturing overflow demand at more economical price points. The valuation remains surprisingly cheap given how central AMD is to the AI boom.
- Broadcom (AVGO) – Custom AI chips for Google, Meta, and others, plus networking infrastructure.
- Marvell Technology (MRVL) – Custom silicon and data center connectivity, designing chips specifically for hyperscalers.
- Arista Networks (ANET) – The networking backbone of AI data centers. Moving massive amounts of data between GPUs requires Arista switches.
- Vertiv (VRT) – Data center cooling and power management. AI chips run hot; someone has to cool them down.
- Equinix (EQIX) – The largest data center REIT with a global footprint. Essentially the landlord of the AI revolution.
3. Biotech: The Destocking Hangover Is Over
During COVID, biotech companies over-ordered supplies. They've spent years working through that inventory. That cycle is finally ending—West Pharmaceutical confirmed in late 2025 that destocking is largely behind the industry.
That means biotech companies are ready to start ordering again, and the sector could see a significant rebound after underperforming for multiple years.
ETFs like XBI (133 holdings in the S&P Biotech Index) and IBB (250 large biotech companies) provide diversified exposure to the recovery.
4. Energy: Nuclear Powers the AI Future
Every ChatGPT query fires off thousands of endpoints in a data center. Multiply that by every person, business, and government institution using AI daily, and energy demand becomes enormous.
The Trump administration is pursuing energy independence through fossil fuels, but the long-term play is nuclear. It's one of the cleanest power sources available, and it's increasingly seen as the primary solution for powering AI's insatiable energy needs.
NLR offers exposure to uranium miners, nuclear utilities, and other parts of the nuclear apparatus across roughly 28 holdings.
5. Cybersecurity: AI Creates New Attack Surfaces
AI usage is exploding, and people and businesses are pouring sensitive information into ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. That makes cybersecurity more critical than ever—and that's before considering the intense security requirements of platforms where institutions upload entire systems.
Trump's executive order to strengthen US cybersecurity means government dollars are flowing toward cyber defense against foreign threats.
Two dominant players in the space:
- CrowdStrike (CRWD) – A cloud-native cybersecurity leader. The Falcon platform uses AI to detect threats in real time across endpoints, cloud, and identity. The subscription model boasts 98% gross retention.
- Palo Alto Networks (PANW) – The cybersecurity Swiss Army knife. Firewalls, cloud security, AI-powered threat detection, security operations—full coverage across the stack.
CIBR, the First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF, holds about 33 heavy hitters in the space for broader exposure.
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