Why the Market is WRONG About AI Disruption

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  April 19, 2026 at 13:00  |  1:01:58  |  Monetary Matters
Speakers
Jack Farley — Host, Monetary Matters

Summary

Deiya Pernas of Pernas Research argues the market is wrong to broadly sell off small-cap SaaS stocks on AI disruption fears, citing their adaptability and moats like API access and real-world integration. He presents a high-conviction long case for Sprout Social, seeing 100% upside, and discusses other portfolio holdings like Remitly, Wise, and Xometry as undervalued plays on structural trends. The conversation covers how to identify resilient software companies and the research process behind Pernas's concentrated, long-only portfolio.

  • The market has overreacted to AI disruption fears, particularly in small-cap SaaS.
  • Key moats for SaaS companies include privileged API access, enterprise security, and real-world integrations.
  • Sprout Social is highlighted as a deep value opportunity with a critical API moat in social media management.
  • Remitly and Wise are discussed as plays on remittance and financial services, with different customer segments.
  • Xometry is presented as a high-growth marketplace digitizing custom manufacturing.
  • The thesis relies on company adaptability, credible AI adjustments, and sustained revenue growth to drive repricing.
  • Pernas Research employs a concentrated portfolio with core, starter, and speculative sleeves.
  • The discussion includes insights on risk management, adding to positions on volatility, and thematic investing.
Trade Ideas
Deiya Pernas 2:29
Bullish on mispriced small-cap SaaS with adaptation moats.
The market has disproportionately sold off smaller-cap SaaS companies on fears of AI disruption, but many have the DNA to adapt, have real-world integrations, enterprise-grade security, and privileged API access that create moats. The broad sell-off based solely on size misses nuance, and as companies make credible adjustments in the agentic layer and show sustained revenue growth, a repricing will occur.
IWM HIGH
Deiya Pernas 22:57
Sprout Social has 100% upside from API moat and mispricing.
Sprout Social is an enterprise social media management platform with privileged API access to major social networks, a difficult-to-replicate moat due to legal and security complexities post-Cambridge Analytica. The market prices it for bankruptcy at 0.5x EV/sales (down from a $6-7B enterprise value), but the underlying business is stable with guided 8-10% revenue growth and a critical utility role for enterprises in social media management. Not much has to go right for a double.
SPT HIGH
Deiya Pernas 38:40
Xometry is high-growth digital manufacturing marketplace play.
Xometry is a digital manufacturing marketplace that connects fragmented buyers and suppliers for custom, non-contract manufacturing parts. It is in early innings with 20-30% growth, a huge TAM, and is successfully breaking into enterprise by integrating with procurement systems. It has scaled to customers spending over $10M annually, disproving short thesis concerns, and has strong incremental margins.
XMTR HIGH
Deiya Pernas 46:07
Remitly undervalued due to migrant segment misunderstanding.
Remitly is laser-focused on remittances and financial services for migrant populations, a distinct segment from Wise. It is undervalued at ~2.5x sales despite strong growth and profitability scaling. Fears around migrant policy and stablecoins are overblown as its business is based on legal migrants and fiat currency needs, and demographic trends (low fertility in developed nations) support long-term migrant flows.
RELY HIGH
Deiya Pernas 46:07
Wise is a generational company with large TAM.
Wise is a generational company with a large market opportunity beyond remittances into broader financial services for developed markets and businesses. It has a different customer segmentation and infrastructure than Remitly, and its growth profile remains strong.
WISE MED
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This Monetary Matters video, published April 19, 2026, features Deiya Pernas discussing IWM, SPT, XMTR, RELY, WISE. 5 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Deiya Pernas  · Tickers: IWM, SPT, XMTR, RELY, WISE