These Power Stocks (Not Semis) Are The Real AI Beneficiaries, Say Investing Brother Duo Up 1,300%
Speakers
Deiya Pernas
— Co-founder, Pernas Research
Dean Pernas
— Co-founder, Pernas Research
Summary
Jack Farley interviews Deiya and Dean Pernas about their high-conviction investment ideas. They highlight data center energy and bandwidth plays, cybersecurity shifts, cross-border payments disruptors, and undervalued small-caps while expressing bearishness on Meta and avoiding hyped semiconductor stocks. The brothers emphasize independent buy-side research and a portfolio structured by conviction levels.
- AI data center power needs benefit behind-the-meter solutions like Capstone Energy microturbines and Stabilist Solutions portable natural gas.
- Bandwidth between distributed data centers will surge, favoring optical connectivity company Smart Optics.
- Humanoid robotics sensors supplier VPG is positioned for explosive growth if AI enables robot dexterity.
- Cybersecurity is shifting to exposure management, and Tenable is the leader with a discounted valuation versus peers.
- Upwork's marketplace for high-value freelancers is resilient to AI disruption and trades at deep value.
- Cross-border payments disruptors Wise and Remitly are taking share from expensive correspondent banking.
- PaySafe holds a hidden digital wallet asset and niche gaming/prediction market processing that could unlock significant value.
- Meta faces an unclear AI strategy and heavy spending with little payoff, warranting a negative outlook.
Ideas
Cheap small turbines for data center power.
Capstone Energy produces small microturbines (50kW-3MW) that provide fast-to-market behind-the-meter power for data centers, edge data centers, and manufacturing. The company operates at only 10% capacity with strong tailwinds, and trades at 3x revenue versus Bloom Energy at 15-20x, offering significant asymmetric upside.
Portable gas for data centers and SpaceX.
Stabilist Solutions provides portable natural gas (virtual pipeline) for data centers that lack pipeline access, and also serves SpaceX for rocket launches. The company recently signed a large data center contract and is set to benefit from massive SpaceX launch growth. It is a small-cap speculative position with strong unit economics.
Bandwidth solution for distributed data centers.
As data centers scale out across geographic locations and face bandwidth bottlenecks, Smart Optics provides best-in-class hardware and software to convert data to light and modulate optical signals between data centers. Its solutions are tailor-made for the rise of distributed, scaled-out data centers.
Sensors for humanoid robotics boom.
VPG (Vishay Precision Group) makes strain gauges and sensors that go into the hands of humanoid robots. With AI enabling the brain for robotics, humanoid robotics could become the largest industry in 10 years. VPG already has key prototype customers like Tesla and Figure, positioning it for explosive hockey-stick growth.
AI-driven cyber shift benefits Tenable.
A structural shift in cybersecurity is underway from identity-based attacks to vulnerability exploitation, as AI massively lowers the cost of finding code vulnerabilities. Tenable is the leader in exposure management, with a platform that scans assets, identifies critical vulnerabilities, and helps fix them. Trading at 4x EV/sales vs CrowdStrike and Palo Alto at 20x, Tenable's growth is poised to accelerate.
AI fears overdone; SBC normalization ahead.
Sprout was priced for complete disruption from AI, but the market overreacted. High stock-based compensation (SBC) masks true earning power; SBC will normalize as a percentage of revenue, leading to much higher GAAP earnings. The sell-off created an attractive entry point.
Undervalued marketplace resilient to AI.
Upwork is a hard-to-replicate marketplace connecting businesses to high-value freelancers. While low-value jobs under $500 face AI competition, the core high-value business remains resilient and AI will empower freelancers. The stock trades at just over 1x EV/sales and 6x EV/free cash flow, an incredibly cheap valuation for a growing network-effects business.
Meta's AI floundering, outlook negative.
Meta's AI strategy lacks clarity and the company appears to be floundering after heavy spending with little to show. Cultural mishaps in AI research and poaching of talent have not yielded results. The outlook is negative, and they no longer have a position after selling last year.
Remitly dominates migrant cross-border payments.
Remitly is the digital native Western Union killer for migrant remittances. It has built strong brand trust and mind share in migrant communities, with send volumes growing 30-40% annually and revenue growing 25%. Take rates are slowly declining but volume and electronification of cash provide long-duration growth.
Wise disrupts expensive correspondent banking.
Wise has built its own infrastructure to circumvent expensive correspondent banking, reducing cross-border payment costs and improving speed. It is aggressively lowering take rates to gain share, targeting businesses and partner banks. Durable secular growth as it displaces legacy international transfers.
Hidden asset and niche gaming growth.
PaySafe is an overleveraged but deeply undervalued payment processor. A hidden digital wallet subsidiary makes up 60-70% of enterprise value; a sale or rerating would be a major catalyst. It also has niche exposure to gaming and prediction markets where specialized processing is needed and large competitors shy away.
Up Next
This Monetary Matters video, published August 07, 2026, features Dean Pernas, Deiya Pernas discussing CGRN, Stabilist Solutions, Smart Optics, VPG, TENB, SPT, Upwork, META, RELY, WISE, PaySafe. 11 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.
Speakers: Dean Pernas, Deiya Pernas · Tickers: CGRN, Stabilist Solutions, Smart Optics, VPG, TENB, SPT, Upwork, META, RELY, WISE, PaySafe