2 Stocks to Buy for a $3 Trillion Investment Boom
Tom Yeung here with your Sunday Digest.
The 2007-’11 Discovery Channel show Storm Chasers is exactly what you might expect: a bickering team of filmmakers and meteorologists chasing down tornadoes to air on TV.
Some of the areas they visited were beautiful. The Flint Hills region of Kansas offered stunning vistas of rolling green prairie hills. If not for the destruction, the group’s visit to Central Minnesota would have taken them through some of America’s most picturesque lakes.
Other areas were less so. The southern end of America’s Tornado Alley starts in the Permian Basin, a region known for dry brush and oil derricks. (It’s likely why so much footage from Storm Chasers involves the inside of the team’s cars.) Most of East-Central Kansas’s landscape is as dull as it gets.
But no matter how attractive a region was, the team traveled to it if they thought there was opportunity.
The same is true for investing in President Donald Trump’s second term.
Regardless of whether or not you’re a fan of his policies, it’s hard to argue that every new week of President Trump’s tenure brings a new set of opportunities. In July, the Department of War announced a $400 million investment in rare earths miner MP Materials Corp. (MP), sending shares up 90%. Uranium miner Cameco Corp. (CCJ) rose by a quarter in October after the administration said it would line up $80 billion in orders for its nuclear power subsidiary, Westinghouse.
And much like the stars of Storm Chasers, investors are often forced to go with industries they might not like. “Drill, baby, drill” fans must contend with President Trump’s favoritism of nuclear power producers (especially one based in Canada). Detractors must still live in a country where new mines and wells are getting approved at record speed.
Yet, investors must take the “ugly” along with the “beautiful.” The White House’s policies touch virtually every industry in some way, and even owners of broad-based ETFs are putting their eggs in a Trump-approved basket. (Consider how many tech CEOs flanked the president at his second inauguration.) After all, today’s government spends one dollar out of every four dollars that the U.S. now generates in GDP.
That means it is more profitable to invest with this administration, rather than ignore it.
In a new presentation, InvestorPlace Senior Analyst Luke Lango outlines how this government money is turning into a modern “Manhattan Project for AI,” a multitrillion-dollar effort to secure America’s dominance in artificial intelligence. This effort was kick-started under the Biden administration with the $555 billion Build Back Better Act and has grown under President Trump.
Luke believes Washington has now amassed a $3 trillion AI war chest to spend on new winners.
Now, I obviously can’t reveal which stocks Luke has his eye on. You’ll have to see it for yourself in the presentation.
But what I can do is introduce some other companies on the receiving end of this new cash boom – and how, by investing in them, you’ll be swimming with the tide, rather than against it.
Let’s dive in…
The American Lithium Miner
In 2020, Wall Street legend Louis Navellier introduced five lithium miners that would benefit from the adoption of electric vehicles. Several of these names rose 200% or more on a lithium boom, and they remain above their starting prices even after a brutal 2023 selloff in the battery metal.
Now, investors are getting a second chance to buy into one of these companies:
Lithium Americas Corp. (LAC).
In 2023, the Canadian firm split into two entities: one to manage its low-cost Argentine assets and another to oversee its new American project.
It was a timely move. Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) was able to focus on maximizing the value of its low-cost assets. And so, it should remain profitable for the next decade, regardless of lithium prices.
Meanwhile, Lithium Americas used its U.S. credentials to secure a $100 million investment from the U.S. government this past September. Under the agreement, the U.S. federal government will acquire a 5% equity stake in LAC through warrants, as well as an additional 5% ownership interest in a joint venture between LAC and General Motors Co. (GM). They will also amend loan agreements to accommodate more than $100 million in new equity.
“Despite having some of the largest deposits, the United States produces less than 1% percent of the global supply of lithium,” U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright noted in the related press release. “Thanks to President Trump’s bold leadership, American lithium production is going to skyrocket.”
This essentially clears the way for Lithium Americas’ Thacker Pass project in Nevada, which has faced numerous regulatory delays and environmental lawsuits since its discovery in 2018. Its most recent court case was settled in August 2025, and the company is now on track to complete mine construction by 2027. Its current $1.3 billion market capitalization represents a tiny fraction of the lithium reserves it owns.
Now, it’s important to note that LAC’s share price will be volatile. Lithium prices in China have recently spiked on speculative hoarding, so we may see a near-term selloff.
However, those with a longer investment time horizon will see that lithium-ion batteries are an essential component of AI data centers. And the U.S. government is lining up a lot of cash to secure this domestic supply.
… And the U.S. Aluminum Company
In late 2024, global macro investor Eric Fry called aluminum producer Alcoa Corp. (AA) a stock to stuff your stocking with for that holiday season. A cyclical drawdown in aluminum prices since 2022 had pushed shares of America’s largest aluminum maker to irresistibly low levels.
Alcoa’s current valuation is cheap enough that the stock could deliver outsized gains, especially if aluminum demand ramps up more quickly and powerfully than investors currently expect. While the price of aluminum fell sharply after the 2022 spike – during the early days of the Ukrainian invasion – the long-term outlook remains strong.
Aluminum demand was also set to rise, thanks to the insatiable needs of AI data centers. The lightweight metal is widely used in power distribution and thermal management, in addition to the physical racks on which servers sit.
It was admittedly a rocky path forward. On February 1, the Trump administration announced it would impose a 10% tariff on Canadian aluminum. They raised that figure to 35% the following month, and then to 50% in June. Alcoa’s shares fell, since it supplements U.S. production with imports from its Canadian factories.
However, shares of Alcoa have since recovered. In September, the administration announced it would lower tariffs to 25%. Soon after, they revealed a $2 billion deal with the Australian government to fund an Alcoa gallium project in Western Australia.
In addition, the Trump administration is beginning to worry about inflation. Earlier this month, the White House announced tariff cuts on beef, coffee, and 200 other food products to help combat prices at the grocery store. They also quietly opened the door to lowering tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum.
“We’re willing to tailor these 232 Tariffs,” said Kush Desai, White House deputy press secretary, in reference to the law used to implement industry-specific tariffs. “The goal obviously is to reshore production back to the United States… and we’re willing to give folks breathing room as long as the end goal here is realized.”
Individual steel and aluminum companies will be able to apply for waivers if they demonstrate that they are expanding production in America, something that Alcoa is ostensibly doing.
The pressure to support Alcoa will only grow from here. On November 17, Rio Tinto Ltd. (RTNTF), a British-Australian mining company, announced it would impose a surcharge on aluminum shipments to the U.S. This will translate into an additional $2,006 per ton on top of the raw metal prices, almost doubling the cost of the metal for U.S. manufacturers.
American aluminum stockpiles are also running dry. The London Metal Exchange sold its last 125 tons of American warehouse-housed aluminum in October.
Alcoa now trades at 11 times forward earnings, higher than the 9X multiple it had last December. But given the current administration’s U-turn on aluminum, don’t be surprised if Alcoa’s shares jump higher from here.
The $3 Trillion Investment Revolution
The cast of Storm Chasers constantly argued. They fought about where to go… which opportunities to chase… and who was right and wrong. Many teams ended up on wild-goose chases just to prove the others wrong.
The past several administrations have also taken a relatively scattershot approach to AI investments. The Biden administration’s CHIPS Act directed billions of dollars toward Intel Corp. (INTC), but not to GlobalFoundries Inc. (GFS). The Trump administration has taken chaos to a new level with its on-again, off-again approach to tariffs.
To make sense of the federal government’s latest moves requires a constant eye on the news… including the 2 a.m. posts on social media. It also needs a keen eye for money flows, given how much informed trading now goes on.
That’s why I urge you to watch Luke’s special presentation to get ahead of the game.
During the presentation, Luke will go into further detail on the current early stages of the “Manhattan Project for AI” we’re in – and reveal the first company on his shortlist that he believes will benefit greatly as the AI federal buildout accelerates.
Click here for all the details.
Until next week,
Thomas Yeung, CFA
Market Analyst, InvestorPlace
Thomas Yeung is a market analyst and portfolio manager of the Omnia Portfolio, the highest-tier subscription at InvestorPlace. He is the former editor of Tom Yeung’s Profit & Protection, a free e-letter about investing to profit in good times and protecting gains during the bad.
The post 2 Stocks to Buy for a $3 Trillion Investment Boom appeared first on InvestorPlace.
