$META (+0.19%)

Hello folks,

AI is not just a pipe dream, AI is a reality.

And the DeepSeek narrative from a year ago has also disappeared.

I hope you are well invested in the shovel manufacturers who are building the infrastructure for the big 7. And supply them with electricity.

Meta secures nuclear power for data centers

$CEG (+0.1%)
$VST (-0.31%)

https://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/energie/meta-atomstrom-100.html

$TLNE

Talen Energy - Power producer signs long-term contract with Amazon Web Services.

https://aktienmagazin.de/blog/analystenempfehlungen/talen-energy-stromproduzent-schliest-langfristigen-vertrag-mit-amazon--152080.html

$EQT (+0.01%)

EQT becomes energy supplier of the next AI era - Pennsylvania relies on gas instead of wind or solar.

$GEV (-0.37%)

GE Vernova is supplying seven @Simpson Homer City with seven high-performance turbines, while Kiewit Power is responsible for construction. This infrastructure lays the foundation for Pennsylvania to serve as a reliable supply location for hyperscalers and AI providers.

https://aktienmagazin.de/nachrichten/hot-news/eqt-wird-energielieferant-der-nachsten-ki-ara-pennsylvania-setzt-auf-g-149150.html

HOCHTIEF subsidiary builds mega data center for Meta in the USA

$HOT (+0.79%)

https://www.hochtief.de/aktuelles-medien/pressemitteilungen/pressemitteilung/hochtief-tochter-baut-in-den-usa-mega-rechenzentrum-fuer-meta

data centers

$NVDA (+0.31%)

NVIDIA Corp ('US67066G1040')

A dominant player: Hardly any AI data center runs without Nvidia

$TLNE

Talen Energy Corp ('US87422Q1094')

Talen Energy - Power producer signs long-term contract with Amazon Web Services.

$APLD (-1.23%)

Applied Digital Corp ('US0381692070')

Applied Digital: AI data centers as growth driver

$LITE (-0.02%)

Lumentum Holdings Inc ('US55024U1097')

Lumentum Holdings is a beneficiary of demand for data center infrastructure

$BTDR (-0.21%)

Bitdeer Technologies Group ('KYG114481008')

Bitdeer grows rapidly: hashrate doubled, but losses still rise significantly

$ALAB

Astera Labs Inc ('US04626A1034')

Astera Labs goes from insider tip to profit rocket! The AI connectivity star conquers billion-dollar markets!

$IFX (-0.96%)

Infineon Technologies AG ('DE0006231004')

Infineon convinces with green technology in a difficult environment

$TTR1 (-0.98%)

technotrans SE ('DE000A0XYGA7')

Technotrans: Ice cold back on the road to success

$HOT (+0.79%)

Hochtief AG ('DE0006070006')

Hochtief - Infrastructure investments worth billions are growth drivers.

$FLEX (-0.04%)

Flex Ltd ('SG9999000020')

Flex: Contract manufacturer with power - Data center boom drives share to new heights.

$ORCL (-0.11%)

Oracle Corp ('US68389X1054')

DEPOT BRIEFING: Meta Platforms (META;i) to build giga data center. Investments in AI infrastructure remain high.

$PRIM (-0.49%)

Primoris Services Corp ('US74164F1030')

DEPOT BRIEFING: Meta Platforms (META;i) to build giga data center. Investments in AI infrastructure remain high.

$VST (-0.31%)

Vistra Energy Corp ('US92840M1027')

DEPOT BRIEFING: Meta Platforms (META;i) to build giga data center. Investments in AI infrastructure remain high.

$EQT (+0.01%)

EQT Corp ('US26884L1098')

EQT becomes energy provider of the next AI era - Pennsylvania turns to gas instead of wind or solar

$AMZN (+0.09%)

Amazon.com Inc ('US0231351067')

Strategy on multiple fronts! Amazon cools GPUs, invests in Anthropic and fills shopping carts during Prime Days!

$STX (-0.05%)

Seagate Technology Holdings PLC ('IE00BKVD2N49')

Seagate - Irish to significantly improve margins and sales again in H2 with new technology.

$ECL (-0.1%)

Ecolab Inc ('US2788651006')

With 3D TRASAR Technology against water waste: How Ecolab is making data centers smarter.

$AAOI (-0.46%)

Applied Optoelectronics Inc ('US03823U1025')

Applied Optoelectronics reports production milestone and growth in the data center sector

$IESC (+0.16%)

Data centers as growth engine: IES Holdings continues to grow strongly and shines with increasing margins!

$VRT (+0.57%)

WHERE KI CALCULATES, VERTIV COOLS: LIQUID COOLING SYSTEMS FUEL RECORD RESULTS AND A FORECAST INCREASE FOR 2025!

$EME (+0%)

ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE PROVIDER EMCOR BENEFITS FROM US INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM AND DATA CENTER MAINTENANCE

$FIX (-0.16%)

COMFORT SYSTEMS BENEFITS FROM THE CONSTRUCTION OF NEW DATA CENTERS AND CHIP FACTORIES - EARNINGS RECORD IN THE SEASONALLY WEAKEST PERIOD!

In a small town in Louisiana, Mark Zuckerberg is having the largest artificial intelligence data center ever built for Meta on agricultural land. It is the size of 70 soccer pitches and cost 10 billion dollars.

Rayville is a town in north-eastern Louisiana in the USA that is experiencing a declining population. In the 2020 census, the population was 3347, down almost 21 percent from 4234 in 2000.

However, this is now likely to change. The state regulatory authorities approved a controversial plan to supply power to the largest artificial intelligence data center to date, which is being built by technology company Meta. This clears the way for the construction of three gas-fired power plants. This was reported by the portal "Nola".

The project is being built on a former agricultural area of around 70 soccer pitches. It is expected to cost around 10 billion dollars (approx. 8.6 billion euros). Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced plans to further expand the area so that it would be comparable to the size of Manhattan. The company is plunging headlong into the high-risk race for supremacy in the emerging AI sector.

"We chose Louisiana as the location for our largest data center to date for a variety of reasons, including excellent infrastructure connectivity, a strong labor base and a reliable power grid," said a Meta spokeswoman.

Criticism of Meta plans

However, the project in Richland Parish has met with criticism due to its enormous energy requirements, among other things. Davante Lewis was the only person to vote against the plan. He said the agreement leaves fundamental questions unanswered that are "too bitter to swallow", "Nola" quotes him as saying.

https://www.focus.de/finanzen/in-ort-mit-3347-einwohnern-entsteht-fuer-10-milliarden-dollar-groesstes-ki-rechenzentrum_e9ff4911-4348-48b8-9903-9038e11fcefa.html

$ECL (-0.1%)

Analyst firm Jefferies has raised its price target on Ecolab Inc . (NYSE:ECL) from $310.00 to $315.00 on Tuesday and left the rating at "Buy". The increase follows the announcement of an acquisition. The stock, which is currently trading at $275.23, close to its 52-week high, is showing strong momentum with a year-to-date performance of 17.3%. According to an analysis by InvestingPro the company is in "GOOD" overall financial health.

Jefferies reports that Ecolab will acquire the water business for the electronics industry from unlisted Ovivo for $1.8 billion.

The acquisition will increase Ecolab's sales by approximately $500 million, although the contributions to EBITDA and EBIT were not disclosed in the announcement.

Jefferies noted that this acquisition will expand Ecolab's presence in the electronics business.

The analyst firm expects annual volume growth of 10% in the data center segment, a forecast that is supported by this acquisition.

In other recent news, Ecolab Inc. announced a definitive agreement to acquire the electronics business of Ovivo Inc. for approximately $1.8 billion in cash. This acquisition is expected to strengthen Ecolab's position in water solutions for semiconductor manufacturing. Ovivo Electronics is forecast to generate sales of USD 500 million in 2025. In addition, Ecolab's Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.65 per common share, continuing its 88-year uninterrupted streak of dividend payments.

Ecolab has also appointed Julie P. Whalen, former chief financial officer of Expedia Group, to its board of directors. Whalen will serve on the Audit and Finance Committee. Meanwhile, Mizuho has also raised its price target for Ecolab to $314, citing stable growth prospects. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.89 for the second quarter of 2025, in line with the Bloomberg consensus estimate.

https://de.investing.com/news/analyst-ratings/jefferies-hebt-kursziel-fur-ecolab-nach-ovivoubernahme-an-93CH-3111362

$ECL (-0.1%)

https://de.investing.com/news/analyst-ratings/baird-stuft-ecolabaktie-auf-outperform-hoch-und-erhoht-kursziel-93CH-3087200

The analyst firm Baird has upgraded the shares of Ecolab Inc . (NYSE:ECL) from "Neutral" to "Outperform" and raised the price target from 273.00 US dollars to 300.00 US dollars. The stock is currently trading at USD 259.39 and is thus approaching its 52-week high of USD 274.17. The company's market capitalization amounts to USD 73.6 billion.

The analyst firm cited the expectation of accelerated, price-driven sales growth and a strong improvement in margins as the main reasons for the upgrade.

Baird highlighted that Ecolab is generating its best return on invested capital (ROIC) in nearly a decade, while the stock is trading at its lowest relative valuation since 2018.

The analyst firm acknowledged that while Ecolab's stock "is not 'cheap' per se" and faces subdued volumes, its recurring revenue model and strong competitive position are attractive characteristics for investors in large-cap stocks.

In addition, Baird emphasized Ecolab's very low tariff risk as a multinational industrial company, which it sees as remarkably positive in the current market environment.

In other recent news, Ecolab Inc. announced its Q2 2025 results, which showed a robust sales performance but a slight miss on earnings per share (EPS). The company reported earnings per share of USD 1.89, narrowly missing the forecast of USD 1.90. Turnover, on the other hand, was in line with expectations at USD 4.02 billion. These developments underline a phase of strong sales growth for Ecolab. Despite the positive sales figures, the slight shortfall in earnings per share was noted by the market. No major mergers or acquisitions were mentioned in the quarterly report. Analyst reactions to the earnings report were not detailed in recent announcements. Investors are likely to monitor these recent developments closely when evaluating Ecolab's financial performance.

Here in the link my previous portfolio (unfortunately can no longer be updated here at the moment) and the train of thought of the last months briefly summarized:

https://getqu.in/4Kl605/

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This is my portfolio as of today.

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I probably won't manage to get rid of individual stocks completely.

But at least I could eliminate supposedly unnecessary overweightings and overlaps and focus more on second-tier stocks, such as $CALM (-0.3%)
$TXRH (+0.2%)
$SOFI (+0.9%)

In any case, I haven't reallocated much since the article linked above.

I'm taking it rather slowly, as it still feels wrong to me, although the opposite would be more accurate.

So far I have sold the following stocks:

Lotus $LOTB (+0.6%) -7,3 %

Hims $HIMS (+0.4%) +202 %

DE Telekom $DTE (+0.16%) +-0

Church&Dwight $CHD (-0.09%) -6 %

Ecolab $ECL (-0.1%) +1 %

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Below is the X-Ray, which illustrates overweightings and allocations. Nvidia and Apple are not in my portfolio as individual stocks, but are strongly represented due to the ETFs. However, I have $MSFT (-0.05%) and $GOOGL (+0.01%) shares in the portfolio, which leads to an overweighting. Alphabet convinces me in many ways, so the overweight could make sense here. But with Microsoft, the ETF share could actually be enough for me. I am therefore considering adding an SL to Microsoft, for example 7% below the current price level.

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$MDT (+0%)

After 4 long years of stagnation and share price decline, I have decided to sell Medtronic and further expand my portfolio in line with my preferences.

To this end, I have reduced my positions

In Shell $SHEL (+0.45%) , Carrier Global $CARR (+0.01%) , Total Energies $TTE (+0.11%) and Nike $NKE (-0.04%) expanded.

With Nike I have now also reached my desired size 😁

There is currently only one single share in the standing order and that is Carrier Global.the standing order on the Vanguard FTSE all-world remains unchanged.

I still intend to $SHEL (+0.45%) , $TTE (+0.11%) , $XYL (+0.47%) , $ECL (-0.1%) and $LIN (+0.59%) to expand.

I am always open to comments and suggestions for improvement 😁

Air Products & Chemicals $APD (+0%)

Ecolab $ECL (-0.1%)

CRH $CRH (-0.09%)

Linde $LIN (+0.59%)

Sherwin-Williams $SHW (-0.1%)

Rio Tinto (With $RIO (+0.65%) I am more interested in the attractive valuation, dividend and investments in future areas such as copper/lithium)

In the basic materials sector, stock selection was not easy for me. I had to adjust my usual quality standards somewhat and in some cases also make compromises (see above 🤓). The sector is very cyclical, which makes it more difficult to find companies with consistently stable performance. Many key figures are heavily distorted by fluctuations in commodity prices, economic influences or geopolitical factors. At the same time, however, it also offers interesting opportunities for long-term investors, especially if an anti-cyclical entry is successful 🫣.

Which companies do you see as particularly promising for a long-term investment?

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I am also fascinated by the idea of profiting from gold actively and with dividends. That's why I've been looking at gold stocks and have my eye on Franco-Nevada and Agnico Eagle in particular. Neither of them made it into the selection above, but I wanted to mention them anyway. Even though I am not yet invested, I will definitely continue to monitor both stocks.

$FNV (-0.35%) Franco Nevada is a royalty company with low operating risk but high gold price leverage.

$AEM (-0.44%) Agnico Eagle is a classic mining company with a good balance sheet and a decent dividend history.

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$ECL (-0.1%)

Ecolab published its accounts for the fourth quarter of 2024 today.

Sales: USD 4.01 billion, which corresponds to growth of 2% compared to the previous year.

Earnings per share (EPS): USD 1.81 (adjusted), an increase of 17% compared to the previous year.

Operating profit: USD 698.6 million, an increase of 14%

Total cash flow from operating activities: USD 2.8 billion for 2024.

Free cash flow: USD 1.8 billion for 2024, a record figure.

Ecolab has also projected positive growth for 2025, with EPS expected to be between $7.42 and $7.62, an increase of 12% to 15% year-over-year.

$ECL (-0.1%)

Very nice.

My next desired analysis of one of my top ten positions is online.

Very nice.

Also one of the largest positions of

Bill Gates Cascade Investment LLC

Many thanks at this point 😁

https://youtu.be/nU8w8ws_RBw?si=TfTORneXDBMk7mrT

Last major acquisition this year

$LIN (+0.59%)
$ECL (-0.1%)
$ABBV (+0.06%)

From now on only 2 standing orders

On the one hand $VWCE (-0.15%) and $ETN (-0.25%)

$ECL (-0.1%) Ecolab dividend increase

Ecolab has increased its dividend for the 33rd time. This time by a good 14%

https://de.investing.com/news/company-news/ecolab-erhoht-dividende-um-14-und-markiert-33-jahr-in-folge-mit-steigerungen-93CH-2802807