Broadcom, NetraMark, Adobe – The AI wave continues to roll inexorably forward

Broadcom – Steep rise following AI forecast

The figures and forecasts of peer group company Oracle regarding the future of AI helped the US tech giant gain over 17% to a new all-time high of USD 359.87. This represents a whopping increase of around 150% over a 12-month period.

After the hype surrounding AI training, the focus is now shifting to the next phase, known as "inferencing," which involves the use of trained models in real time. And this is precisely where the market sees the next billion-dollar opportunity. While NVIDIA and AMD remain the dominant names in AI, Broadcom is emerging as a quiet winner. The Company supplies specialized chips, known as ASICs, which are optimized for inferencing: they are cheaper, more efficient, and ideally suited for the requirements of large cloud providers.

Stephanie Link, Chief Investment Strategist at Hightower Advisors, summed it up: "Inference is the new growth engine, and Broadcom is leading the field." There was a strong tailwind last week from Oracle, which is seeing exploding demand for inference performance. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison speaks of a "much bigger market than training" and forecasts USD 144 billion in cloud revenue by 2030.

Broadcom scores not only with hardware, but also with a rapidly growing software business, which now contributes 41% of its revenue.

NetraMark: AI as a game changer in clinical research

Developing new drugs is expensive and risky, especially when active ingredients fail in late-stage trials. This is precisely where NetraMark Holdings comes in. With its NetraAI platform, the Canadian company uses generative AI and machine learning to identify patterns in patient data that typically remain hidden with traditional methods. Instead of relying solely on historical data, the technology analyzes individual data sets from ongoing and completed studies. Thousands of data points are generated per patient, which NetraAI transforms into actionable insights. The goal: better study designs, lower dropout rates, and development times shortened by up to 30%.

An important step toward validation is regulatory recognition by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). NetraMark has been granted a Critical Path Innovation Meeting (CPIM) to clarify the regulatory classification of its technology. A positive response would send a strong signal to the market.

The Company is also gaining momentum commercially. Through a strategic alliance with Worldwide Clinical Trials (WCT), NetraAI will be used in Phase 2 studies for neurological and oncological drugs in the future. Additionally, NetraMark has established partnerships with the National Institute of Mental Health and a leading pharmaceutical company. A recent milestone is a contract with Asklepion Pharmaceuticals, under which NetraAI will be used in a Phase III trial investigating the efficacy of L-citrulline in children with congenital heart defects.

In addition to its core analytics capabilities, NetraMark is developing additional tools, such as for real-time review of patient profiles or monitoring the performance of individual study centers. The addressable market volume for clinical trial support is estimated at USD 47 billion. By comparison, NetraMark remains modestly valued at just CAD 127.61 million, highlighting its significant upside potential.

Adobe – Better than expected

US software giant Adobe also benefited from the booming AI business and surprised with better-than-expected third-quarter figures. Although Adobe shares rose by around 2.5% in after-hours trading, they are still down more than 20% since the beginning of the year.

The outlook is particularly optimistic. For the current quarter, Adobe expects earnings per share of between USD 5.35 and USD 5.40, exceeding market expectations of USD 5.34. Revenue is expected to reach USD 6.08 to USD 6.13 billion, also slightly above analysts' estimates.

The focus is on the Digital Media segment, which includes Photoshop, Illustrator, and others. The Company now expects full-year revenue growth of 11.3%, slightly above the previous forecast. Revenue for the entire third quarter was USD 5.99 billion, up 11% from the same period last year, while adjusted earnings were USD 5.31 per share, beating the forecast of USD 5.18 per share.

The number one growth driver is the integration of artificial intelligence into Adobe's product range. CEO Shantanu Narayen emphasized that annualized revenue from AI-based features already exceeds USD 5 billion, a jump from USD 3.5 billion last year.

Broadcom benefited from Oracle's forecast for the AI business. Adobe exceeded both its revenue and earnings forecasts. NetraMark could emerge as a game changer in clinical research with its AI-powered platform.