Inside the AI Megatrends Driving Today’s Stock Market Gains

The robots aren’t arriving… 

Because they’re already here. 

Most demonstrations we’ve seen of humanoid bots so far have been from a controlled setting, like Optimus taking a few steps, doing a little dance, or folding clothes – but all on the floor of a Tesla factory. 

That’s no longer the case.

With the launch of Tesla’s (TSLA) Diner in Los Angeles, Optimus is now employed in the ‘wild,’ serving popcorn to visitors and seeing them off with a wave or a peace sign. This is the first ever real-world public demonstration of a humanoid robot in the United States.

Over in China, other humanoids are working in retail, carrying shopping bags for customers as they peruse. Soccer-playing bots are scoring goals. Unitree is already selling humanoids to households for $20,000; and it’s preparing to IPO in the U.S. market as well.

When we take all of this into perspective, Elon Musk’s once-pie-in-the-sky projections for how fast Optimus could grow is looking less and less outlandish. 

This is the next big wave of AI – and you’ve got to be invested before it really goes mainstream.

Click the image above to hear me break it all down in our Being Exponential podcast, and continue below for more.

AI Everywhere: From Tesla Robots to the Fall of Hollywood’s Moat

Of course, robotics is just one niche of the AI boom that continues to disrupt industries across the global economy.

The tech has made its way into media and film. And in our opinion, the majority of content creation will soon be done by AI, potentially within the next five to 10 years. Leading the way is YouTube: it has the distribution (2 billion monthly users), the data (including that of its parent company, Alphabet (GOOGL)), and the video generation tools (Veo3). 

Hollywood is shifting to Silicon Valley as the moat keeping legacy players alive is rapidly shrinking. Just another way that AI is transforming the world as we know it – or knew it.

Why the Macro Noise Doesn’t Matter

Yet, as we’ve mentioned before, a tumultuous macro backdrop is keeping many would-be AI investors on the sidelines despite the absurd profit potential. The latest on that front is President Trump’s threat of 15- to 20% baseline tariffs. 

But are we worried? Not at all.

It’s just more of the same: chest-puffing, brinkmanship, political theater – all bark, no bite. At the end of the day, deals will most likely get done. EACO: Everyone Always Chickens Out.

So, where does that leave markets? We do think stocks will continue powering higher over the next six to 12 months, driven by positive AI developments, a restrengthening economy, rate cuts, and fading trade war noise. 

That being said, some of the technicals are suggesting that we’re approaching a short-term top in the markets. The S&P 500 is closing in on the top side of its long-term trading channel, with the relative strength index (RSI) recently pushing above 70 (overbought). Things look similar for the Nasdaq, too. 

If we do see a pullback over the next few weeks, it’ll likely offer a great buying opportunity; get ready to buy the dip.