Cathie Wood's Bold 2026 Call: 3 Under-the-Radar AI Stocks

Cathie Wood's Macro Outlook

• 💡 Cathie Wood believes the US economy has experienced a rolling recession across various sectors, but is now poised for a constructive rebound.
• 📈 She anticipates a Goldilocks environment with falling inflation, stabilizing interest rates, and improving productivity, fueled by tax cuts and deregulation.

AI Investment Strategy

• 🎯 Wood is avoiding hyperscalers like Nvidia, Meta, and Amazon, which she sees entering a capex-heavy phase with potentially compressed returns on invested capital.
• 🔑 Her focus is on less obvious companies earlier in the disruption curve, characterized by explosive operating leverage and lower capital intensity.

UiPath (PATH): Enterprise Automation

• 🤖 UiPath is a leader in robotic process automation (RPA), combining it with agentic AI to orchestrate complex business processes for over 10,800 enterprise customers.
• ✅ Its Maestro platform uses a hybrid approach, blending probabilistic AI with deterministic automation guardrails to automate 70-90% of workflows while ensuring governance.
• 📊 The company is projected to achieve full-year GAAP profitability by fiscal 2026, supported by over 80% gross margins and a capital-light business model.

The Trade Desk (TTD): Ad Tech Innovation

• 📺 The Trade Desk operates the largest independent demand-side advertising platform, offering transparency and neutrality across connected TV, digital audio, and the open internet.
• 📈 Despite a macro-driven slowdown in 2025, its long-term growth is fueled by the migration of ad spend from linear TV to Connected TV (CTV) and programmatic digital audio.
• 💰 The stock currently trades near its lowest forward earnings multiple since IPO, presenting a compelling valuation if growth merely normalizes.

Kratos Defense (KTOS): Physical Autonomy

• 🚀 Kratos specializes in unmanned aerial systems, notably the Valkyrie drone, and is at the intersection of AI, autonomy, and modern warfare, with programs like the US Marine Corps' MX TAC Air.
• 🛰️ Beyond drones, Kratos is developing a hypersonics franchise and other defense technologies, projecting significant revenue growth into 2027.
• ⚠️ While currently unprofitable with negative free cash flow due to heavy investment, the market prices Kratos as a volatile growth option in an era of rising defense budgets.

The Next AI Winners

• ✨ These three companies represent capital-light AI platforms that benefit from AI-driven productivity and decision-making without the heavy capital expenditure of hyperscalers.
• 💡 Wood's thesis emphasizes positioning for the next market rotation, where operating leverage and innovation are prioritized over scale and incumbency.