| WEEKLY ROUNDUP As This Metal’s Prices Rise, This Company Stands to Profit VIEW IN BROWSER Hello, Reader. Hearing that there’s “no end in sight” to the current U.S.-Iran war might not comfort investors – but that’s exactly how one Iranian official recently described it to CNN. Markets have already felt the turbulence, and aluminum is no exception. The metal surged almost 10% last week, hitting a three-year high as the conflict disrupted aluminum shipments from the Persian Gulf. The region supplies roughly 9% of global aluminum, so prices spiked quickly on supply fears – before an even more recent selloff brought them back down. If the war continues to create a global aluminum shortage, mining companies could stand to benefit. Now, I am certainly not celebrating conflict in the Middle East; but we can only invest in the world as it is, not in the rose-tinted world we might prefer. In the real world, tighter supply usually means higher prices. And beyond the escalating conflict, aluminum demand has increased thanks to AI’s need for infrastructure and hardware. Think of AI infrastructure like a living body: If power is the blood circulating through data center infrastructure, metals are the bones. In effect, every ton of metal pulled from the ground is a claim on the AI buildout. Unlike software vendors or chip designers, metals companies don’t need to guess which AI model wins or which agent framework dominates. They just need to deliver the raw materials that make the entire ecosystem possible. Aluminum demand is accelerating. Every high-voltage line that feeds an AI data hub consumes one to two tons of aluminum per megawatt delivered. Each new stretch of long-distance transmission deepens the world’s appetite for this versatile metal. From 104 million tons of demand in 2024 to an estimated 120 million by 2030, global aluminum consumption is set to grow relentlessly. That spells good news for one of my Fry’s Investment Report holdings: Alcoa Corp. ( AA), the largest U.S.-based aluminum producer. Toward the end of 2025, Alcoa’s prices reached a new three-year high. After suffering a tariff-induced selloff earlier in the year, Alcoa’s shares have been trending higher. I expect that uptrend to gain momentum – driven not only by firmer aluminum prices, but also by the company’s exceptional fundamentals. Alcoa is not just the largest American aluminum producer, but it is also among the world’s most environmentally progressive. Producing aluminum requires immense amounts of electricity, and that energy intensity is reshaping the industry. Today, renewable energy powers roughly 87% of Alcoa’s smelting operations and about 70% of Norwegian aluminum company Norsk Hydro’s (NHYDY). This alignment with the global push toward decarbonization gives both companies a durable strategic advantage, and positions them not merely as metal producers, but as critical enablers of the cleaner, more electrified world AI will depend on. In the end, the market may reward not those who build the virtual world, but those who power it. The AI Revolution will always need its dreamers, but it will depend on the miners that turn metal into its bones. In the race for AI supremacy, the hyperscalers may scorch their balance sheets, but the miners will still be cashing the checks. While hyperscaler shareholders wrestle with wafer-thin cash cushions and swelling debt, metals firms operate with clearer economics. Their business models are not theoretical. They are measurable and proven. Therefore, for investors seeking exposure to the AI Revolution without betting on which form of intelligence will win, a mining company like Alcoa offers a compelling opportunity. For more information on what makes this stock a “Buy,” click here to learn how to join me at Fry’s Investment Report. Now, let’s take a look back at what we covered here at Smart Money. Then, I’ll let you in on another way to profit in today’s unpredictable, high-pressure market. | 
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