Pressure is building for a huge rally in these stocks

Today’s issue in preview:

• Pressure is building for a huge rally in these stocks

• If you’re bearish on America after seeing this list, get your head checked

• This overlooked industry is minting winners left and right. Do you own it?

• Learn our Top Themes now

Pressure is building for a huge rally in these stocks

Credit: SweetBunFactory

For over two years, we’ve made the robotics megatrend one of our highest-conviction bets… and we’ve urged friends and colleagues to gain exposure to this transformational technology.

The Robotics Revolution is a giant, multifaceted megatrend poised to change our world in thousands of ways. Decades of progress in this field are now yielding autonomous cars, automated factories, surgical robots, military drones, delivery drones, and humanoid robots. Last year, Amazon announced it uses more than one million robots across its business. This figure will soon exceed the company’s number of human employees.

Investing in this trend has allowed us to score wins in Vishay Precision Group (VPG), Allient (ALNT), Ouster (OUST), and Cognex (CGNX).

These firms produce various precision-engineered “body parts” for the robotics industry… and their market values have climbed thanks to growing awareness of the emerging robotics megatrend.

However, no long-term trend – no matter how strong the fundamental drivers behind it – runs higher in a straight line. Even the strongest trends experience large corrections and periods of moving sideways. It’s just how the market works.

In the case of robotics, the trend over the past six months can be classified as “sideways,” with little headway. Much of this sideways move is the result of many robotics winners that ran higher from mid-2025 to mid-2026 needing to digest large gains. Thus, the ROBO Global Robotics and Automation ETF (ROBO) is trading at the same level as in April.

So, the stock price trends may be making little headway… but investment in the technology and the technology’s progress are continuing full speed ahead.

Some facts and figures to consider include:

• Warehouse operators are spending heavily on automation. North American companies ordered nearly 18,000 robots worth approximately $1.2 billion during the first half of 2026, according to a recent report from the Association for Advancing Automation. Spending increased 7% from the previous year. Rising wages, labor shortages, and demand for faster deliveries are encouraging companies like Amazon, Walmart, and GXO Logistics to automate more operations.

• According to PitchBook’s latest report, published Sept. 1, robotics and physical AI startups raised a record $18.6 billion across 450 deals in the second quarter of 2026 alone, up 25% from the previous quarter. Even more telling for us, PitchBook says the strongest momentum is shifting toward the components underneath the robots, with funding for actuators and motion systems posting the sharpest growth.

• The most notable funding round of the past few weeks: FieldAI, which is building a general-purpose “brain” for robots, reportedly raised $700 million at a $10 billion valuation, five times its 2025 value.

• Humanoid robots are becoming a serious commercial business. In 2026, Agility Robotics announced plans to go public in a transaction valuing the company at $2.5 billion. Its humanoid robot, Digit, is already working in industrial facilities, and the company counts Toyota, Schaeffler, and Mercado Libre among its early customers. This represents a significant shift from laboratory demonstrations toward commercial deployment

• Cognex (CGNX), which makes machine-vision systems used in factory automation, reported 17% revenue growth to a record $291 million in Q2. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), the surgical robotics leader, reported 19% growth to $2.89 billion and placed 468 da Vinci systems, up from 395 a year earlier

• Tesla’s (TSLA) robotaxi business is moving from experimentation toward commercial deployment. As of October 2026, Tesla offers driverless rides in six U.S. cities, with Austin leading the expansion. Nearly 350 purpose-built Cybercabs are registered in Texas.

• Walmart (WMT) is rapidly expanding its autonomous drone delivery network. In May 2026, Walmart surpassed 1 million drone deliveries, with 40% occurring in a single quarter. Deliveries average just 23 minutes. Working with Alphabet-owned Wing and Zipline, Walmart plans to expand drone delivery to more than 270 stores.

• AMETEK (AME) manufactures precision motion-control equipment, specialty motors, and electronic components used in robotics and automation. Its Electromechanical Group reported 17% revenue growth to $723 million in Q2 2026.

As you can see, robotics adoption and investment are very strong even if the stock prices are not. We believe this will prove to be a temporary situation.

This is why we remain bullish on key robotics firms we’ve covered recently, including the Tokyo-listed stocks Nabtesco (6268), Harmonic Drive Systems (6324), as well as Cognex (CGNX), Ouster (OUST), and RBC Bearings (RBC).

If you’re bearish on America after seeing this list, get your head checked

Credit: alvarez

Oh boy. The pessimists are going to have a hard time explaining away this one…

This week, a large portion of America’s hotel and resort operators reached new one-year highs.

This sizable and diverse group of market leaders includes:

• Chatham Lodging Trust (CLDT), which owns upscale, select-service and extended-stay hotels across the U.S., primarily under Marriott and Hilton brands.

• Apple Hospitality (APLE) owns a large portfolio of upscale hotels across the U.S., primarily operating under the Marriott and Hilton brands.

• Sunstone Hotel Investors (SHO), which owns luxury and upper-upscale hotels in major U.S. cities and resort destinations, catering to affluent business and leisure travelers.

• DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), which owns upscale hotels and resorts in major U.S. cities and vacation destinations, serving business travelers and vacationers.

• Park Hotels & Resorts (PK), which owns upscale and luxury hotels and resorts, primarily under Hilton brands, in major U.S. cities and vacation destinations.

• Ryman Hospitality Properties (RHP), which owns large convention-oriented resorts, including Gaylord Hotels, and Nashville entertainment properties associated with the Grand Ole Opry.

These hotel and resort operators – all structured as Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) – are not household names. But they occupy a unique place in America that allows their business results and stock price trends to send us important signals about the state of the U.S. economy.

These are the companies you spend money with when you go on vacation, when you take a trip to the city to visit family, and when you attend a conference for work. And those kinds of trips often coincide with money spent on restaurants, on shows, and on shopping.

All this means that hotel and resort operators, like the companies above, are highly economically sensitive.

They thrive when consumers have enough money to travel and when businesses are spending freely on conferences, deal-making, and events. They struggle when the opposite is the case.

Right now, these firms are not struggling. They are booming. And they don’t boom when the economy is weak.

Over the past week, we have highlighted the strong business performance and rising stock prices of credit card giant Visa (V), fellow giant Mastercard (MA), premium home furnishing retailer Williams-Sonoma (WSM), and mega hotel firms Marriott (MAR) and Hilton (HLT).

We believe the strong business performance and rising stock prices of these firms, plus the hotel/resort REITs above, tell a powerful and important story…

Sure, the U.S. economy has risks, imbalances, and problems. It always does. But it also has some enormous positives working in favor of economic growth, business growth, and rising asset prices.

Right now, those enormous positives are overwhelming the negatives.

The trends of consumer spending and overall American economic health are unmistakably UP.

This overlooked industry is minting winners left and right. Do you own it?

Credit: Maca and Naca

In Monday’s issue, we detailed how the investment community has been so preoccupied with rising interest rates and the health of the AI trade that it’s been easy to forget that our “Boomer healthcare” megatrend has become a modern-day gold rush… one that is generating all kinds of stock market winners.

This morning, we saw this trend continue with enthusiasm.

A diversified group of healthcare stocks surged to new one-year highs.

This group of market leaders includes:

• Waters Corporation (WAT) is a $44.4 billion manufacturer of advanced laboratory instruments used in pharmaceutical research, chemical analysis, and quality testing.

• Moderna (MRNA) is a $98.5 billion biotechnology company developing messenger RNA-based vaccines and treatments for infectious diseases, cancer, and rare genetic disorders.

• Exelixis (EXEL) is a $16.0 billion biotechnology company developing targeted cancer therapies, including treatments for kidney, liver, and thyroid cancers.

• Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO) is a $14.0 billion developer of drug-delivery technologies that enable pharmaceutical companies to administer medications via injections rather than lengthy intravenous infusions.

• Avantor (AVTR) is an $11.5 billion supplier of laboratory chemicals, equipment, and manufacturing materials to pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology firms, and research laboratories.

• HeartFlow (HTFL) is a $4.9 billion medical technology company using artificial intelligence to analyze cardiac CT scans and help doctors diagnose coronary artery disease.

• AMN Healthcare Services (AMN) is a $1.6 billion provider of healthcare staffing, recruiting, and workforce management services to hospitals and medical facilities.

• Agilent Technologies (A) is a $49.8 billion manufacturer of sophisticated laboratory instruments, diagnostic equipment, and analytical software used in pharmaceutical research, biotechnology, and chemical testing.

• West Pharmaceutical Services (WST) is a $27.6 billion manufacturer of specialized pharmaceutical packaging components and drug delivery systems, including vial stoppers, syringes, and injectable drug devices.

Money & Megatrends readers in good standing are not surprised to see this awesome market leadership from healthcare firms.

For more than three years, I’ve made “Boomer healthcare” one of my highest conviction long-term investment themes. We don’t know of another investment research publication that has written more bullishly, more often about this booming industry than we have.

Over the past year, we have published more than two dozen pieces on opportunities in drug development, biotechnology, senior living facilities, genomics, cardiology, diagnostics, and more.

Our bullish stance has produced a parade of home runs, with the healthcare industry dominating the stock market’s list of new highs over the past year.

Healthcare stocks are generating extraordinary returns because they are benefiting from several megatrends simultaneously…

One is a demographic tsunami. More than 10,000 Americans reach retirement age every day. The U.S. population aged 80 and older is projected to roughly double, from 14.7 million in 2025 to 29.4 million by 2045.

This is the enormous Baby Boom generation entering the phase of life where health care and longevity spending skyrocket. For many boomers, a typical month involves going to see at least one doctor to have something looked at, removed, or treated.

This means many health care businesses are experiencing huge demand now – and will for at least the next decade.

Two is exponential technological progress. Thanks to incredible advances in genomic sequencing, AI-powered analytics, imaging technology, and preventive treatments, healthcare is becoming much better and more personalized. This is driving strong demand for all kinds of new tests, tools, and treatments.

After all, when a useful and important service you buy gets much better, you typically buy more of it.

Given the enormous forces working in its favor, we believe investing in many healthcare businesses over the next decade will be investing with a gale-force tailwind at your back. If you’re a parent and worried about your child getting a job, just point them to the booming healthcare industry. And of course, if you like money, keep it invested in health care. We believe this story has many chapters left.

Market Notes

• Our Sept. 30 recommendation to own the cybersecurity plays for the agent supernova is proving to be a good call. Riskified (RSKD) just hit new one-year highs.

• Our Oct. 30, 2025 recommendation to own biotech is paying off nicely. Moderna (MRNA), BeOne Medicines (ONC), Exelixis (EXEL), and Iovance Biotherapeutics (IOVA) all hit new highs today.

• Software leaders Atlassian (TEAM), DocuSign (DOCU), Box (BOX), and Freshworks (FRSH) hit new one-year highs today.

• Conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) hit a one-year high. It’s now +10% over the last year.

• Streaming giant Netflix (NFLX) just hit a new one-year low post-quarterly earnings report and growing competition from peers.

Regards,

Brian Hunt
Editor, Money & Megatrends

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