June 22: Last Week's Thematic Signals
If you missed out on this week's signals, we've got you covered
Aging Population
Healthcare costs are expected to rise in 2025 and older adults are increasingly looking to age in place — trends Samsung is targeting to get a bigger piece of the digital health market. And the company’s upcoming smartwatch update is another step in that direction, says Hon Pak, vice president and head of the digital health team for Samsung’s mobile business. Read more here
Residents of a nonprofit senior living community in Riverdale, N.Y., took part in a recent pilot study to determine whether calls from a virtual companion named Meela would alleviate depression and loneliness… Research shows that phone calls with an empathetic listener can help reduce loneliness among older adults, leading to improved mental health. In-person interactions are even more effective. But nursing-home residents don’t always get many visits or calls. Read more here
Artificial Intelligence
Adobe Inc. on Tuesday released a standalone Firefly mobile application for Android and iOS in an attempt to put a larger spotlight on its artificial intelligence-powered image generation and editing tools. Read more here
Amazon is warning its employees that artificial intelligence will help the company have a smaller workforce in the future. In a blog post Tuesday that was sent out earlier to employees, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said that efficiency gains from AI would allow the company to eventually have a reduced human workforce. Read more here
Cash-Strapped Consumer
At Home, a popular home goods retailer with 260 stores across 40 US states, has filed for bankruptcy, citing the backdrop of tariff increases and a slowdown in consumer spending. Read more here
Ted Rossman, senior industry analyst at Bankrate, said that’s because prices are up roughly 20% over the past 2.5 years, a reality that leaves most people feeling squeezed. All told, the spending data shows that people are still willing to make discretionary purchases despite consumer sentiment hitting what appears to be an eight-month low, according to the University of Michigan’s index. Read more here
CHIPs Act
US senators have drafted a tax bill that proposes temporarily increasing the investment tax credit for semiconductor manufacturers from 25 to 30 percent. It’s hoped the increased tax credit will encourage chipmakers to break ground on new fabrication plants before the uplift expires at the end of 2026… Read more here
Cybersecurity, Data Privacy & Digital Identity
Episource warns of a data breach after hackers stole health information of over 5 million people in the United States in a January cyberattack. Episource is an American healthcare services company that provides risk adjustment, medical coding, data analytics, and technology solutions to health plans and providers. They help insurers optimize payments and compliance in government programs like Medicare Advantage. Read more here
A cyberattack on the Washington Post compromised email accounts of several journalists and was potentially the work of a foreign government, company officials told some affected staffers in recent days, according to people familiar with the situation. Read more here
Email hosting provider Cock.li has confirmed it suffered a data breach after threat actors exploited flaws in its now-retired Roundcube webmail platform to steal over a million user records. The incident exposed all users who had logged in to the mail service since 2016, estimated at 1,023,800 people, along with contact entries for an additional 93,000 users. Read more here
Digital Infrastructure
An AI data center is being planned in Armenia. Firebird, an AI cloud company, and the Armenian government this week announced plans to launch a 100MW AI data center in 2026 equipped with “thousands” of Nvidia Blackwell GPUs. Firebird, which has emerged from stealth in this announcement, said the project will funded via a $500 million public-private partnership with the Armenian government. Read more here
Plans for a large data center development have been announced in Montana… Atlanta-based TAC Data Centers is proposing a 569-acre development adjacent to the AgriTech Park, north of Malmstrom Air Force Base and near the Great Falls Rainbow Power Substation. The company reportedly aims to invest $1-1.5 billion in the 2 million sq ft (185,805 sqm) development, known as Project Cardinal. Read more here
Digital Lifestyle
America is now officially a nation of cord-cutters, according to new Nielsen data. For the first time ever, the number of viewers who watched TV via streaming services has surpassed the combined total of broadcast and cable viewing, the media research company said in its monthly Gauge report Tuesday (June 17). According to the report, streaming accounted for 44.8% of TV viewership last month, the largest share on record. Broadcast and cable TV made up a respective 20.1% and 24.1%. Read more here
Walmart reportedly aims to enable consumers to make purchases through TV remotes and interfaces while they are watching TV shows. This plan is one of several that the retailer is working on after its $2.3 billion purchase of smart TV maker Vizio last year… As it integrates Vizio, Walmart is also looking to expand its advertising footprint; offer more tailored ads on its TVs; offer the Vizio operating system to other TV manufacturers; and add that operating system to its private label TV brand, onn, according to the report. Read more here
Omnicom this week is in the midst of announcing several of what it says are first-mover partnerships with major platforms, having just unveiled ones with Disney and Walmart yesterday. The mission is to build expertise around and access to live content, shopping and conversation. Today’s partnerships, Digiday has learned, are with Amazon and Meta, according to Omnicom executives. Read more here
Digital Payments
Latin America’s financial landscape continues its digital transformation as digital payments rapidly displace traditional cash transactions, signaling a new era for commerce and financial inclusion… Mobile devices are fast becoming the preferred means for payments, revolutionizing purchasing behaviors and actively promoting financial inclusion. Read more here
Energy Pain Point
America’s power bills are rising even faster than the cost of groceries. Higher natural-gas prices are partly to blame. Utilities investing billions of dollars to stabilize the aging electric grid are passing those costs on to customers, too. And in some states, huge data centers are pushing power prices higher as electricity supplies tighten. Read more here
A new report from ICF projects significant increases in U.S. electricity demand over the next 25 years, alongside potential implications for system reliability, generation planning, and retail pricing. The report forecasts that overall U.S. electricity demand may increase by 25% by 2030 and 78% by 2050… Residential retail electricity rates could increase between 15% and 40% by 2030, depending on market-specific conditions. Read more here
Guilty Pleasure
Coffee prices are plummeting today, with arabica falling to a 5-month low and robusta sinking to a 1-year low due to an improved supply outlook with Brazil's ongoing coffee harvest. Read more here
Italian roaster Illycaffe SpA expects the cost of coffee beans to continue to fall, helping to shield customers from further hikes following a run-up in prices. Read more here
Safety & Security
All 32 NATO member states are on track to meet the alliance's 2% GDP defense spending benchmark in 2025, Secretary General Mark Rutte said on June 17 at the G7 summit in Canada. The announcement marks a major shift for the alliance, which has faced repeated criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump for failing to meet spending commitments. Read more here
U.S. defence giants, backed by a strong Congressional delegation from Washington, used the Paris Airshow to showcase cutting-edge technologies and court European partners as they seek to tap into rising regional military spending. Many European nations have pledged to significantly increase defence budgets in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has threatened to scale back military support for the region. Read more here
The Strategies Behind Our Thematic Models
Aging of the Population - Capturing the demographic wave of the aging population and the changing demands it brings with it.
Artificial Intelligence – Software, chips, and related companies that facilitate the collection and analysis of large data sets and autonomous generation of solutions given non-machine language prompts.
Cash Strapped Consumers - Companies poised to benefit as consumers stretch the disposable spending dollars they do have.
CHIPs Act – Capturing the reshoring of the US semiconductor industry and the $52.7 billion poised to be spent on semiconductor manufacturing.
Cloud Computing – Companies that provide hardware and services that enhance the cloud computing experience for users, such as co-location, security, and edge computing.
Core Holdings – Companies that reflect economic activity and are large enough to not get pushed around by day-to-day market trends. Low-beta, large-cap names able to better withstand economic turmoil.
Cybersecurity - Companies that focus on protecting against the penetration of digital networks and the theft, ransom, corruption, or destruction of data.
Digital Infrastructure & Connectivity - Companies that are integral to the development and the buildout of the infrastructure that supports our increasingly connected world.
Digital Lifestyle - The companies behind our increasingly connected lives.
Data Privacy & Digital Identity - Companies providing the tools and services that verify authorized users and safeguard personal data privacy.
EPS Diplomats - Profitable large capitalization companies proven to produce above-average EPS growth and provide investors with the benefit of multiple expansion.
EV Transition - Capturing the transition to EVs and related infrastructure from combustion engine vehicles.
Guilty Pleasure – Companies that produce/provide food and drink products that consumers tend to enjoy regardless of the economic environment and potential long-term health hazards associated with excessive consumption.
Homebuilding & Materials – Ranging from homebuilders to key building product companies that serve the housing market, this model looks to capture the rising demand for housing, one that should benefit as the Fed returns monetary policy to more normalized levels.
Market Hedge Model – This basket of daily reset swap-based broad market inverse ETFs protects in the face of market pullbacks, overbought market technicals, and other drivers of market volatility.
Nuclear Energy & Uranium – Companies that either build and maintain nuclear power plants or are involved in the production of uranium.
Luxury Buying Boom - Tapping into aspirational buying and affluent buyers amid rising global wealth.
Rebuilding America - Turning the focused spending on rebuilding US infrastructure into revenue and profits.
Safety & Security – Targeted exposure to companies that provide goods and services primarily to the Defense and security sectors of the economy.
Space Economy – Companies that focus on the launch and operation of satellite networks.
The Strategies Behind Our Dividend Income Models
Monthly Dividend Model – Pretty much what the name indicates – this model invests in companies that pay monthly dividends to shareholders.
ETF Dividend Model – High-yielding ETFs that provide a range of exposures from domestic equities, international equities, emerging market equities, MLPS, and REITs.
ETF Enhanced Dividend Model – A group of high-yielding ETFs that utilize options to enhance yield through collecting option income.
Don’t be a stranger
Thanks for reading and if you have a suggestion for an article or book we should read, or a stream we should catch, email us at info@tematicaresearch.com. The same email works if you want to know more about our thematic and targeted exposure models listed above.