2026 Stock Picks: Why AI Might Still Be “The Beginning of the Beginning”

In our recent webinar, CIO Shaun Krom from EasyAssetManagement described AI as “the beginning of the beginning.” Here’s what that means for investors looking at 2026 and beyond.

Data centres are expanding. Copper demand is rising as new facilities are wired and connected. Chipmakers are committing $20 billion at a time to build advanced memory plants. Governments are adjusting defence budgets around drones, submarines and strategic capability.

Taken together, it tells a clear story.

Capital is being committed to infrastructure that will shape the next decade. Power grids, semiconductor plants, logistics systems, mineral supply chains. These are long-cycle investments. They don’t move on sentiment alone.

And if you’re investing in 2026, this shift matters. Watch the full webinar here:

The Beginning of the Beginning

In our latest webinar, Easy Asset Management CIO Shaun Krom described AI as “the beginning of the beginning.”

That’s a strong statement in a market where many investors are asking whether AI has already run too far.

The companies investing most heavily in AI infrastructure are some of the most profitable in the world. Many are funding expansion from cash flow rather than excessive borrowing. At the same time, there are real constraints in power generation, semiconductor fabrication and advanced memory production

In other words, expansion is happening, but within limits.

That’s very different from previous speculative cycles.

Themes and What Investors Are Watching

Rather than focusing on sectors alone, the team approaches markets through themes. Below is a practical breakdown of those themes and the types of companies or ETFs that provide exposure.

First: The Builders

Before AI improves your banking app or optimises delivery routes, it has to exist physically.

That means chips. Memory. Equipment. Data centres.

If you’re looking at the companies laying that foundation, familiar names start appearing.

NVIDIA sits at the centre of AI-focused GPUs. SK Hynix and Micron are key players in high-bandwidth memory. Applied Materials and ASML provide the semiconductor manufacturing equipment that makes advanced chips possible.

For investors who prefer broader exposure rather than single-company risk, vehicles like the EasyETFs AI AMETF offer diversified access across this ecosystem.

Second: The Users

The bigger opportunity may not be the companies building AI.

It may be the companies using it well.

A logistics company recently increased profits after integrating AI into pricing and operations. Not because it became a tech business — but because it became more efficient.

That’s where margins expand quietly.

And most industries are still early in that process.

Third: The World Is Getting More Strategic

AI isn’t happening in isolation.

Governments are spending more on defence and strategic industries.
Companies like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and RTX sit inside that shift. Their revenues are often tied to long-term defence contracts and national priorities.

At the same time, supply chains are moving closer to home. Industrial players such as Caterpillar, Siemens and Honeywell benefit as countries invest in domestic production capacity. Semiconductor equipment leaders like ASML sit at the intersection of both technology and reshoring.

Security and production are back in focus.

For broader exposure across global markets that capture several of these themes, diversified options like the EasyETFs Global Equity AMETF also come into the conversation.

Then There’s the Physical Layer

AI needs electricity.
Electricity needs infrastructure.
Infrastructure needs copper.

1. AI infrastructure increases copper demand.
2. Geopolitical shifts support defence budgets.
3. Reshoring boosts industrial production.
4. Reserve diversification supports gold.

So What Does This Mean for You?

It doesn’t mean rush out and buy everything on this list. And it doesn’t mean buying every stock connected to AI, defence or copper.

You do need to decide what you want exposure to.

• Do I want exposure to the builders? The companies laying the infrastructure?

• Do I want exposure to the users?
  Businesses quietly improving margins through AI?

• Do I want exposure to defence and reshoring?

• Do I see value in copper, gold and resource-heavy counters

• Or would I rather gain diversified exposure across several of these shifts through ETFs?

There isn’t one correct approach.

Some investors are comfortable taking focused positions around a theme like AI infrastructure. Others prefer diversified ETFs that spread risk across sectors and geographies. Many combine both.

What matters is alignment:

• With your time horizon
• With your tolerance for volatility
• With the rest of your portfolio

Structural shifts tend to play out over years. That requires patience, not urgency.

The companies and ETFs mentioned above aren’t promises of performance. They’re illustrations of how big themes show up in real markets.

If this truly is the beginning of a longer cycle, then the real advantage won’t come from reacting fastest.

It will come from understanding what’s changing — and positioning thoughtfully before it becomes obvious to everyone else.

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