The AI Megatrend Re-Accelerates
Quick question…
Can you read the chart below?
Can you tell me the price, RSI, and volume?
Most investors can.
AI can’t. Or at least, it can’t consistently.
AI can read a 400-page book in seconds.
It can ace standardized tests and the bar exam.
And it can generate investment ideas and analyze financial statements at scale.
But put it in front of a typical investor deck…and suddenly, it’s not as impressive.
Because when it comes to pulling a number from a chart, AI gets it wrong.
That’s the latest from a study by Mercor, an AI-powered hiring platform that automates the recruitment process by using large language models to screen resumes, conduct interviews, and match talent with companies.
Mercor researchers tested some of the most advanced AI models in the world, including Claude Opus 4.6, GPT-5.4, and Gemini 3.1 Pro, on real financial tasks.
The researchers found that when the data was clean and written out in text, the models performed well, getting the right answer roughly 75% of the time.
But when those same numbers were embedded in charts and visuals – the kinds we see in reports every day – accuracy dropped sharply.
The models couldn’t reliably read the inputs.
In many cases, they latched onto the wrong data point… misread a chart axis… or pulled a number that looked plausible but wasn’t correct. And once that initial mistake was made, everything that followed was, of course, incorrect.
In the real world, investing isn’t done with clean spreadsheets and perfectly labeled data.
That’s where human analysts still have the advantage.
Where the Money Will Flow Next
Tech investing expert Luke Lango didn’t hesitate to act once the ceasefire was announced. Luke put it bluntly…
In our view, the war is now effectively over. The AI bull market resumes today. And it is time to deploy the dry powder.
Luke recommended five stocks across two themes: the AI Infrastructure Buildout and the Hard Assets Boom Cycle. These recommendations are not speculative bets on possible geopolitical outcomes. Luke believes these are the stocks we want to own as the fear premium comes out … and the fundamental premium comes back in.
I can’t give these away out of respect for Luke’s Innovation Investor subscribers, but I can tell you about one of Luke’s recent AI Infrastructure Buildout picks, KLA Corp. (KLAC).
KLA doesn’t make semiconductor chips. They make the inspection and metrology tools that ensure those chips actually work. In an era where a single silicon wafer can be worth $200,000, a microscopic speck of dust or a nanometer-scale misalignment isn’t just a nuisance—it’s a financial catastrophe. KLA provides the “immune system” for the semiconductor manufacturing process, detecting defects that are literally smaller than a virus.
As you can see below, the stock traded sideways during Operation Epic Fury but has since resumed its climb. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is still in negative territory, as you can see in the chart below (even if AI can’t).
Stocks in the AI megatrend have rebounded significantly since the Iran ceasefire agreement.
Luke says that AI leader, OpenAI, is gearing up for a historic IPO, and he has found a way for folks to invest BEFORE the announcement is even made.
You don’t need to file any special paperwork… buy shares from a former employee… have a source on the inside – or jump through any other hurdles.
You can find out more by clicking here.
Will Inflation Cripple Earnings Season?
On Thursday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis released the February Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index – the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.
Core PCE, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, came in at 3.0% year-over-year, in line with consensus estimates. Meanwhile, headline PCE came in at 2.8% annually. On a monthly basis, both core and headline rose 0.4%.
Although both these numbers were in line with expectations, they reflect the world before the uncertainty sparked by Operation Epic Fury.
Also, worth noting: Q4 GDP growth was also revised down to just 0.5% annualized, a significant cut from the initial 1.4% estimate.
On Friday, the government released data on the Consumer Price Index.
Consumer prices rose 0.9% in March, as expected, driven by a nearly 11% jump in energy costs. Overall prices were up 3.3% from a year earlier. “Core” prices, excluding the volatile food and energy categories, were up 0.2% from the prior month, and 2.6% from a year earlier.
The annual rate of inflation rose to 3.3%. This puts inflation back at a level not seen in nearly two years.
Investing legend Louis Navellier isn’t happy with those results, but he isn’t letting it sway him from the focus on stock fundamentals – an emphasis that has powered his market-beating gains for more than 40 years.
Here was Louis’ take on the market’s state this week, shared with his Growth Investor subscribers.
Overall, despite the fears of an inflation spike and some uncertainty surrounding the Iranian cease-fire, Wall Street is rallying due to wave after wave of positive analyst earnings revisions.
The relative strength and institutional buying pressure that was obvious during quarter-end window dressing and discussed in Navellier Market Buzz has carried over to this week.
I think it is fair to say that the excitement about the upcoming quarterly announcement season is building, so we have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming weeks!
Louis reiterated this point in the latest issue of Growth Investor last week.
It’s clear that recent distractions have caused many investors to call “time out” and head for the sidelines. So, how should we proceed in the current environment? Should we follow Wall Street to the bench and wait for the dust to settle?
Absolutely not. In my opinion, we should stay in the game.
As always, our best defense during these chaotic times is a strong offense of fundamentally superior stocks. Remember, good stocks always “bounce,” and our Growth Investor stocks are the epitome of “good” stocks, with 37.3% average forecasted annual sales growth and 144% average forecasted annual earnings growth.
Louis is also steering his subscribers into AI infrastructure stocks.
In late February, Louis recommended his subscribers buy Ciena Corporation (CIEN). CIEN is a global leader in connectivity, providing optical networking systems and software to help its customers thrive in the AI economy. Simply put, Ciena builds adaptive networks that support increasing bandwidth demand.
Since his recommendation, CIEN is up almost 40%, while the S&P hasn’t even broken even over the same period.
Ciena’s earnings forecast remains excellent despite war shocks.
Louis reports that Ciena expects total revenue of about $1.5 billion, up from $1.07 billion in the same quarter a year ago. For fiscal year 2026, the company anticipates total revenue between $5.9 billion and $6.3 billion, or 23.7% to 32.1% annual revenue growth.
Louis is also tracking a new development from Elon Musk … a new type of AI-powered computer so massive that one device will cover a footprint larger than the state of Texas (more than 700 miles across).
The “world’s first AI mega computer” will be more than 283 trillion times more powerful than the traditional data centers powering ChatGPT, Gemini and Grok.
You can learn more about this device and its implications for the AI market by clicking here.
The algorithms may get good enough to read charts and graphs as well as people can. But until then, Luke and Louis are here to help guide you to where the money is flowing today!
Enjoy your weekend,
Luis Hernandez
Editor in Chief, InvestorPlace
