Oct 2, 2026 · 36 min
Managers look beyond crowded AI trades for global winners
Five years from now, these are the companies everyone will wish they owned
The discussion tests whether durable earnings growth and competitive advantages can outperform the market’s most popular narratives.
- 1Global investors can find opportunity in overlooked semiconductor, mining-services, travel, industrial and software businesses.
- 2The managers favor companies with expanding market share, pricing power and durable advantages over short-term thematic momentum.
- 3TSMC and Broadleaf emerge as long-term ideas investors may regret overlooking, despite their very different businesses.
Don't miss
Vihari Ross nominates TSMC and Andrew Mitchell nominates Broadleaf as companies investors may wish they had owned five years from now.
The brief
Vihari Ross and Andrew Mitchell examine where global investors can look beyond crowded technology and AI trades, drawing on different experiences in global and smaller-company investing.
The managers argue that market narratives matter less than earnings growth, market share and durable competitive advantages, especially as changing regimes amplify short-term price movements.
Their overlooked opportunities span semiconductor suppliers, mining services, travel, industrials and software, including Weir, Booking, Silicon Motion, Kokusai Electric and APi Group.
The standout debate arrives when each names a company investors may wish they had owned five years from now: Vihari chooses TSMC, while Andrew backs software company Broadleaf.
The closing discussion links elevated equity valuations to robust economic conditions, earnings growth and relatively low real rates rather than dismissing the risks of higher yields.
What was said on this episode
10 statements · 8 positive · 2 negative
TSMC has strong earnings, margins, pricing power, and rapidly growing AI revenue.
“TSMC is a great business. It is growing its earnings at 40% per annum, just had another upgrade. It's exerting pricing power. It has 70% gross margins. It has AI revenues growing at 60%.”
Listen at 29:25
TSMC would trade at 40 times earnings if it were not listed in Taiwan.
“If that was a business that wasn't listed in Taiwan, it would trade at 40 times.”
Listen at 29:45
Brookdale Senior Living is suitable for long-term ownership.
“And the other one I'll plug is, which I have before, but I'll plug it again, which is Brookdale Senior Living.”
Listen at 30:08
Florida’s over-80 population is growing 30% annually.
“People are aging. The number of over 80-year-olds in Florida is growing at 30% per annum.”
Listen at 30:23
The US has a substantial shortage of senior housing.
“there is a huge undersupply of senior housing in the US.”
Listen at 30:35
Brookdale’s earnings could quadruple as occupancy exceeds key thresholds.
“as occupancy goes up and moves through that 85% threshold, that 90% threshold, the earnings could quadruple of that stock.”
Listen at 31:02
Bread Violet will continue gaining market share in debt-collection software.
“It works in software for debt collection and it's going to continue to take share because the biggest players in this market are businesses that they've sold effectively and they're having their last go at making huge amounts of money.”
Listen at 31:42
Bread Violet is expected to perform well over the long term.
“And we think they're going to do very well.”
Listen at 31:59
Bread Violet will keep taking market share from larger competitors.
“And we think it's going to continue to take share from its bigger peers for many years to come.”
Listen at 32:10
Higher real rates and lower earnings growth would cause major valuation contraction.
“If real rates go higher, earnings growth comes down, get ready because you're going to get a big multiple derate in the economy.”
Listen at 35:31
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.
Featuring
Weir
Jen-Hsun HuangListen to the full episode and explore every guest, topic, and moment on PodLume.