AI Hype Beasts Are Looking a Bit Hungover

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The AI trade finally blinked. Palantir dropped 17% from its recent high, Meta froze hiring in its AI division, and investors are starting to ask: where’s the revenue? After months of vertical charts and breathless headlines, the market seems to be recalibrating its expectations.

Meta’s hiring pause follows a $100 million recruiting spree and a full-blown AI team reshuffle. We see this freeze more as “we have everything we need and are ready to go” than “we’re abandoning AI”—the market seems to be overreacting. Meanwhile, Palantir’s six-day slide wiped out $73 billion in value, thanks to a short-seller report and general AI fatigue. Even with the dip, PLTR is still up over 100% this year, so ETF investors might see this as a re-entry point.

And Google is betting big on AI’s energy problem. It’s building a next-gen nuclear reactor in Tennessee to power its data centers. The sober view is this: AI is just as much about electricity, infrastructure, and execution as it is about software. The next leg of the AI boom may run through utilities, energy tech, and ETFs, not just the usual chip and cloud suspects.

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While AI cooled off, the consumer tech economy quietly dropped a few investable gems. Hertz is teaming up with Amazon to sell used cars online. Samsung is eating into Apple’s US market share with foldables. And niche ETFs are booming as investors look for more targeted exposure.

Hertz’s Amazon partnership gives it a new retail channel and a shot at margin expansion. After a failed EV pivot and a bankruptcy hangover, this is the most promising move they’ve made in years. Samsung, meanwhile, is riding a 35% stock surge as its foldables go viral and its US market share jumps from 23% to 31%. Apple’s iPhone 18 might fold too, but not until 2026.

Bespoke ETFs are also having a moment. Flexible Exchange Options are letting fund managers build hyper-specific products, and investors are responding. If you’re still holding just SPY and calling it diversified, you might be missing the real action.

This episode of The Best One Yet serves up fast-food innovation, car sales in your shopping cart, and a stealthy marketing strategy disguised as entertainment.

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That’s all for today. Write us and let us know your thoughts on the market, the newsletter, or the weather—we’d just love to hear from you.

Till next time,
— Brandon and Blake