Don't Miss the Next Generation of Wealth Creation

The next decade of wealth creation has already started regardless of what the markets do in the near term because there will be bumps along the road. If you think about it, 25 years ago, the internet changed the world forever. Some investors saw it coming. Most didn't. A handful of companies went on to create extraordinary wealth. And while there were certainly bubbles and speculation along the way, the investors who recognized the long-term trend were rewarded tremendously. Today, I believe we are witnessing early stages of another transformational shift. Not because history is repeating itself, but because AI has the potential to reshape the global economy in ways most people still don't fully appreciate. And I believe the next decade of wealth creation has in fact already started. And when it comes to AI, there are a number of different approaches you can take to profit from this. And in today's video, I'm going to walk through my seven layers of AI, naming stocks in each of these layers. And then towards the end of the video, I'm going to name my 10 favorite AI stocks for the next decade. Now, whenever I talk about wealth creation and AI, the immediate response for some is, "Isn't this just another dot bubble?" It's a fair question. Stocks tied to AI have in fact surged. Technology spending is exploding, and for all intents of purposes, it's due for a breather. However, companies are investing hundreds of billions of dollars into infrastructure buildout, completely related to AI. At first glance, it does look familiar, but I think investors are missing one critical difference. And that difference could be the key to understanding what's happening right now. Let's go back to the late 1990s. The internet wasn't fake. The internet wasn't hype. The internet was one of the most important technological advances in modern history. The problem wasn't the technology. The problem was the businesses. Investors were pouring money into companies that had no profits, no cash flow, no proven business models. Many companies were valued based on website traffic and dreams or hope. Eventually, reality caught up. The bubble burst and many investors lost significant amounts of money. But here's the important lesson. The internet still won. Companies like Amazon survived. The technology transformed the economy. The trend was right. Many of the investments simply weren't investments at all. They were hope. Now, let's compare that to today's AI leaders. We're not talking about companies with no revenue. We're talking about highquality companies generating massive profits. Think Nvidia, Meta Platforms, Alphabet, Amazon, Broadcom. These businesses produce enormous amounts of free cash flow. They have strong earnings growth and fortress balance sheets on top of it. And perhaps most importantly, they are reinvesting aggressively because demand is real. This isn't speculationdriven spending. It's actual customer demand driving spending. That's a huge distinction. One of the most fascinating developments is the AI arms race. Every major technology company understands what's at stake. The US in general understands what's at stake. Nobody wants to be left behind. Which means they continue spending aggressively on AI infrastructure, data centers, computing power, networking equipment, and that spending creates opportunity far beyond the obvious winners. This is where I think investors need to broaden their thinking because AI isn't just one industry. It's an entire ecosystem. Most investors think AI investing means buying a semiconductor stock. But that's only one piece of the puzzle. When in fact, there are a number of different ways to invest in the growth of AI. And before we look at the seven layers of AI, let me thank today's video sponsor, which is the Mly Fool. The Mly Fool has a ton of great resources and products available for investors of all different levels. And right now, if you go to fool.com/mark, you can check out their 10 best stocks to buy right now, completely free. All right. What we're going to do now is break down for you the seven different layers of AI and give you a few stocks or ETFs associated with them. So let's begin with layer one, the most obvious, which is semiconductors. This is the foundation. This is where most investors are plenty exposed right now in their portfolios. Companies like Nvidia, AMD, Micron, Taiwan Semi, all of them provide important advanced chip technology that's driving AI. The second layer though is infrastructure. In order to produce these powerful chips, manufacturing companies like Taiwan Semi or Intel, they need powerful advanced technology machinery. That machinery usually comes from the likes of a ASML or a Lamb Research. The third layer is going to be software. This is one that initially got pounded pretty hard, but eventually AI has to improve productivity and efficiency. Companies that successfully integrate AI into enterprise workflows may become massive beneficiaries. Think of businesses like Service Now. I talk a lot about Snowflake, AppLoving, and Data Dog. The winners won't just build AI, they'll monetize it. The fourth layer is going to be very key, and that's going to be cyber security. As AI adoption grows, security becomes even more important. There's more data, more automation, more connectivity, which creates greater demand for cyber security solutions. The biggest players here and most important will be companies like Crowdstrike, Zcaler, PaloAlto, Octa or if you just want to buy a basket of them by the bug ETF, BUG. AI is not replacing cyber security. That myth has been debunked. And the stronger AI gets, the more crucial cyber security is. Cyber security is not optional. Layer number five is going to be data centers and computing. AI requires enormous amounts of computing power. That means more data centers, cooling systems, networking equipment. This is where some of the biggest upside could in fact be found in the world of AI. Think of companies like Iron Cororeweave Nebus Verdive Eaton. The physical infrastructure behind AI may become one of the biggest investment opportunities of all. And that's going to lead us to layer number six, which is power infrastructure. This is where I think many investors are still in fact underestimating the opportunity. AI consumes massive amounts of electricity. Data centers need power and power demand is rising rapidly. Companies involved are electricity generation, grid infrastructure, transmission, nuclear, power management could become major beneficiaries. Think of companies like Bloom Energy, Vistra, Constellation. Or you can just look at an ETF like the XLU, which is a utilitiesbased ETF. And that leads us to layer number seven, which is going to be copper and materials. AI is also a physical infrastructure story. Every new data center requires wiring, transformers, electrical systems. Copper demand may benefit significantly from the AI buildout. This is one of the most overlooked areas of the entire theme. Want easy exposure to multiple copper miners? Check out the Global X Copper Miners ETF, stock ticker COPX, as this is an ETF I've been recommending for some time and it's now up over a 100% in the past 12 months. So hopefully that gives you a look at the various layers within AI and a number of different ways to make money in the growth and the expansion of AI. However, I think many investors are still asking the wrong question. They're asking what is the next Nvidia? And I think a better question is what industries does AI transform? This is where the opportunities because this is some of the biggest winners over the next decade may not be today's headlines. I fully expect Nvidia to continue to grow and likely become the first $10 trillion market cap company, but other areas could even offer bigger returns over the next decade or so. They may be companies enabling entire ecosystems. History tells us that major technological revolutions create winners in unexpected places. I believe AI could be no different. So now let's be realistic. Not every stock wins. Not every AI related stock wins. There will be bubbles in some stocks, speculation, hype, failed business models. Just like every technological revolution, there will be corrections. There will be volatility. And there will be periods where investors get ahead of themselves. But that doesn't invalidate the long-term opportunity. So, in naming all of those layers, what are 10 of my favorite stocks to have on your watch list as it pertains to AI? We're going to go through those right now. But in the meantime, in the comment section below, let me hear from you. What are some of your favorite AI plays for the next 5 years? So, with that being said, I'm going to give you mine and I'm going to expand it to 10 positions in no particular order. But, let's start with the most obvious, which is Nvidia. You have to have Nvidia on your list as they are led by the king of AI in CEO Jensen Wong. And the thing with Nvidia is the fact that they are building an entire ecosystem. They have GPUs, CPUs, they're getting into robotics. They're in EVs. And the list goes on. Next on the list is going to be Broadcom. Why do I like Broadcom? All the major hyperscalers are looking to build their own custom chips. And this is where Broadcom comes in. They are a key into helping them do that. They are already partnering with the likes of Meta, with Alphabet and Amazon to name a few. Third on the list is going to be AMD and this is the biggest challenger to Nvidia. Yet the market cap gap is massive, giving this company plenty of upside even after the big run they have to continue to show their earnings power. Fourth on the list is going to be Service Now. This is one of my favorite software players in the space as they are the AI control tower where AI actually accelerates their future earnings potential and more and more companies are looking to build efficiencies in their systems when it comes to AI. Fifth on the list is going to be CrowdStrike stock ticker CRWD. As I've mentioned many of times, the more AI scales, the more threats come from cyber attacks, which leads to an even more of a demand for cyber security companies. Cyber security again is not optional. Six on the list is going to be Alphabet. This is my largest holding in my portfolio and one that has led the way for me all of 2026. They are diversified with two of the largest search engines in the world with Google search as well as YouTube. And they have built their own AI platform with Gemini. Plus, they are one of the largest cloud platforms. Many reasons to like Alphabet moving forward. Seventh on the list is Amazon, which is another one of my largest holdings and another well- diversified company like Alphabet. They have cloud, e-commerce, and advertising, and so much more. But the thing that a lot of people may be underestimating in the future is robotics, which will be huge for them. And they're building their own custom chips. Eighth on the list is Meta. And this is a company where investors are just simply misunderstanding completely. And that's okay. Most investors problem is being too nearsighted. And with the investments that Meta is putting into today, they are going to pay off immensely down the road. They won't be immediate, but we are already starting to see some of the potential with improved operating metrics, but those are going to go skyhigh in the future. Now, these final two picks, nine and 10, are ones that come with the most risk and a little bit of speculation to them. Upside is massive, but these are names that aren't for the faint of heart, but these two stocks are going to be Iron and Bloom Energy. both names that are centered around the power and compute bottleneck in the world of AI, which is already seeing increased demand. Something that is going to go even higher the more we move forward. Again, many of these names, they're already in my portfolio, but those that aren't, they're high on my watch list. And if you want to get my trade alerts anytime I'm buying or selling a specific stock, get my weekly market reports and stock reports, then join my investing community, the Stock Investors Edge. See the link in the pin comment below. Again, the internet changed the world. Artificial intelligence is going to do the same. The difference today is that companies leading the charge are already producing massive earnings and cash flow while investing hundreds of billions of dollars into the future. That's why I believe we are witnessing something much larger than a short-term market trend. Most investors are focused on the winners of the last couple of years. The bigger opportunity may be identifying the winners of the next 10. Because if AI truly reshapes the economy the way many believe it will, the next decade of wealth creation has already begun. And you have not missed it. Again, we do these videos multiple times a week here on YouTube. And all I ask for in return is a simple smash of that like button down below and a comment. Comment below your favorite AI stocks for the next 5 years. Thanks again for watching and we'll see you in the next one. Take care.