May 26: Last Week's Thematic Reads
If you missed out on this week's signals, we've got you covered
Aging Population
By 2040, 22 percent of Californians will be 65 or older, up from 14 percent in 2020. The older population (aged 65+) will increase by 59 percent, while the working-age population (aged 20–64) will remain largely unchanged and the child population (aged 0–17) will decrease by 24 percent. This shift will result in an old-age dependency ratio of 38 older adults per 100 working-age adults, up from 24 in 2020, and the highest ever recorded. Read more here
Maine — the oldest state in the nation — has lost 29 nursing homes in the past decade. “It’s not because there isn’t need,” said Tyler, of the nursing home closures. “There’s plenty of need. There just aren’t plenty of employees.” Read more here
Artificial Intelligence
Adyen, the global financial technology platform of choice for leading businesses, today published its 2025 Annual Retail Report that finds there’s been a 47% surge in people using AI to shop. In a poll of 41,000 consumers across 28 countries, more than one in ten (12%) said they had used AI for the first time over the past 12 months to help them with their shopping experience. And an impressive 55% of people said they would be open to making purchases using AI technology in the future. Read more here
Kayak Chief Product Officer Matthias Keller told PYMNTS that’s why the Bookings Holdings-owned travel search engine launched Kayak.ai, a conversational travel booking assistant powered by generative AI… Kayak.ai is designed to emulate natural human conversation and the kind of planning you might do with a knowledgeable agent or friend. By moving from static search interfaces to dynamic, agent-driven experiences, the travel experience now allows users to inquire about everything from hotels to car rentals, destination dining options, and activity suggestions — all within a single conversational thread. Read more here
Workers who frequently used generative AI were more likely to see its productivity benefits. For instance, 82% of those using generative AI at least weekly reported that it could increase their productivity, compared to lower percentages for less frequent users. However, this familiarity also correlated with increased concern about job security. Read more here
Anthropic is set to roll out two new versions of its Claude artificial intelligence software, including a long-delayed update to its high-end Opus model, as the startup vies to stay ahead of a crowded market... Both models are designed to better follow directions and operate more autonomously when fielding tasks such as writing code and answering complicated questions. Read more here
Cash-Strapped Consumer
Most companies, especially in the U.S. and China, say they will have to increase prices because of the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs on dozens of imports, according to a poll released Wednesday. The latest Allianz Trade Global Survey compares responses from before and after Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs were imposed April 2 and found that price hikes will likely be the go-to strategy in response to the trade war. Read more here
RobbinsAthletics.com, a leading supplier of athletic apparel and equipment, today announced the impact of recent tariffs implemented by the Trump administration on pricing for wholesalers and retailers in the sporting goods industry… RobbinsAthletics.com has observed a 3-5% price increase on athletic apparel and up to a 10% price increase on equipment. Read more here
Cybersecurity
Cetus Protocol, a decentralized crypto exchange and key liquidity provider on the Sui blockchain, said it lost approximately $223 million in a security breach. Read more here
Kettering Health, a healthcare network that operates 14 medical centers in Ohio, was forced to cancel inpatient and outpatient procedures following a cyberattack that caused a system-wide technology outage. Read more here
Digital Infrastructure
OpenAI is eyeing the Asia-Pacific for future data center sites, joining an already heated race to build out AI infrastructure in the region. The move comes just after OpenAI secured a deal to partner with the United Arab Emirates to help develop a massive data center project in Abu Dhabi. The Asia-Pacific is home to more data centers than any other region worldwide, with capacity expansion plans by Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc. Read more here
Formula One team Aston Martin Aramco has signed a multi-year agreement with AI cloud provider CoreWeave. The contract sees CoreWeave becoming the team's "Official AI Cloud Computing Partner," enabling Aston Martin to use AI in its engineering process. As part of the partnership, CoreWeave will help Aston Martin Aramco to move its on-premises computing infrastructure to a cloud computing environment, which Aston Martin hopes will "eliminate hardware constraints." Read more here
Investment firm Bain Capital has launched Hscale, a new EMEA hyperscale data center operator… Bain owns various data center companies that operate in different locales. ChinData, which it is looking to sell, operates in China; Bridge DC, a ChinData subsidiary that operates in the APAC region; and DC Blox, which focuses on the US. This rounds off Bain’s recent foray into the European market after it bought 80 percent of Aquila Group’s data center business AQ Compute, last year. Aquila Group will have a 20 percent stake in Hscale. Read more here
Digital Lifestyle
Apple Inc. is aiming to release smart glasses at the end of next year as part of a push into AI-enhanced gadgets, but it has shelved plans for a smartwatch that can analyze its surroundings with a built-in camera. Company engineers are ramping up work on the glasses — a rival to Meta Platforms Inc.’s popular Ray-Bans — in a bid to meet the year-end 2026 target… Read more here
Google is taking on Meta’s Ray-Ban Meta glasses by announcing new partnerships at Google I/O 2025 with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker to create smart glasses based on Android XR. Google launched the Android XR platform with Qualcomm and Samsung last year. Read more here
In April, streaming reached a new peak, accounting for 44.3% of total TV viewing, just one percentage point below the combined share of broadcast (20.8%) and cable (24.5%), according to Nielsen’s The Gauge. This marks the third straight month of record streaming share, continuing a growth trend that reflects both evolving viewer habits and the impact of strategic content distribution across platforms and channels. Read more here
Energy Pain Point
Deloitte’s recent analyses support that the coming years could expect investments on a scale that dwarf previous expenditures. According to the report, “Funding the Growth in the U.S. Power Sector,” U.S. power sector investments may reach $1.4 trillion between 2025 and 2030. This six-year outlay is equivalent to the total capital expenditure of the U.S. power sector over the preceding 12 years, underscoring the challenge and the opportunity that lies ahead. Read more here
The AI craze helped power utilities' market-beating returns last year. Although our base case assumes data center electricity demand will represent 3% of US electricity demand, the outlook is trending toward our bull-case scenario—which has it more than doubling by 2032 and representing 4.5% of total US electricity demand instead. Read more here
Retail electricity prices have increased faster than the rate of inflation since 2022, and we expect them to continue increasing through 2026, based on forecasts in our Short-Term Energy Outlook. Parts of the country with relatively high electricity prices may experience greater price increases than those with relatively low electricity prices. Read more here
Homebuilding & Materials
Redfin economists expect the median U.S. home-sale price to fall flat in the third quarter, and fall 1% year over year by the fourth quarter. When it comes to mortgage rates, we expect them to remain elevated near 7% for the remainder of the year. Read more here
The U.S. housing market is facing renewed pressure as lumber prices surge dramatically. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, softwood lumber prices rose 23% year over year in April, while CME Group data shows lumber futures climbed sharply in early 2025. Read more here
Safety & Security
The Birmingham City Council approved a $1.5 million investment in advanced Drone Technology for the Birmingham Police Department. This initiative aims to enhance public safety and reduce crime by positioning Birmingham among the leading cities adopting unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for law enforcement… Read more here
Greece is intensifying its Wildfire response by nearly doubling its drone fleet and deploying a record 18,000 Firefighters this summer, as reported by The Independent. With climate change driving more frequent and severe wildfires, the country is leveraging advanced Drone Technology to enhance surveillance and coordination, a move that could set a precedent for other nations facing similar challenges. Read more here
Ukraine‘s rapid advancements in Drone Technology have transformed the battlefield, positioning the country as a global leader in unmanned systems. Since Russia‘s invasion escalated in February 2022, Ukraine’s military has leveraged its tech sector to deploy drones that dominate land, sea, and air operations, offering lessons for NATO and reshaping military strategies worldwide, according to a detailed Atlantic Council analysis. 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.