This Is the Turnaround—Is Software the New Gold? SAP, ServiceNow, Lahontan Gold and Oracle in the Spotlight

SAP, ServiceNow and Oracle: Like a Phoenix Rising from the Ashes

In this newly reignited super-cycle, the Walldorf-based cloud giant SAP is stepping into the spotlight as its AI-powered ERP systems emerge as the indispensable control center of the global economy. The company has impressively freed itself from the stranglehold of sector headwinds by proving that deeply embedded enterprise software is the true beneficiary of the AI wave. In its latest quarterly results, the company shone with a strong adjusted operating margin of 27.8%, underscoring the high profitability of its transformed cloud business. SAP elegantly circumvents the traditional CAPEX problem, where expensive hardware infrastructure eats into liquidity, by relying largely on partnerships with external hyperscalers rather than building its own large-scale data centers. This latest turnaround is a resounding success because investors have shifted their focus away from pure AI speculation toward this measurable, contractually guaranteed revenue quality. Analysts on the LSEG platform see a 12-month price target of nearly EUR 187 — suggesting only limited upside from here.

Similarly, the US workflow specialist ServiceNow is sweeping away any doubts with impressive growth figures and eliminating repetitive office work at record speed. The company is shining with an upwardly revised revenue forecast for the current year and, on top of that, is steadily increasing its profitability. The software company achieved an outstanding operating margin of 29.5% and is even suggesting 31.5% in its outlook. The accelerated adoption of AI, coupled with rising infrastructure costs, recently caused the adjusted gross subscription margin to dip slightly by 250 basis points to 80.5%. Nevertheless, the share staged a flawless turnaround from its lows around USD 85 and is now trading about 50% higher at USD 124. The market is clearly rewarding the fact that customers are already paying real money for the productive execution of AI workflows, rather than just hoarding licenses. Exciting!

Database specialist Oracle is undergoing what is arguably the most radical and painful transformation as it shifts toward becoming a capital-intensive AI infrastructure provider. Although the operating margin climbed to a robust 33% in the past fiscal year thanks to massive operational cost cuts and layoffs, there is tremendous turmoil at the grassroots level. To satisfy the appetite for chips and data centers among major customers like OpenAI, capital expenditures skyrocketed to over USD 55 billion and are on track to reach a staggering USD 95 billion in the new fiscal year. This is pushing free cash flow deep into the red by over USD 23 billion and has forced the rating agency S&P Global to downgrade the credit rating to the lowest investment-grade level, BBB-. The fact that Oracle is nevertheless managing to turn things around and that its services are in demand again after severe setbacks is due to its bulging order book totalling USD 638 billion. Faster, higher, further goes the AI craze! It is best to watch from a distance as CEO Larry Ellison continues to steer his supertanker.

Gold: Out of the US Dollar, Into Precious Metals

Away from the world of AI and software, the global financial order is undergoing significant upheaval. After all the foreign policy upheavals on the part of the US, the international dominance of the US dollar is waning more and more noticeably. Led by the BRICS nations, alternative trade and payment systems are emerging at a rapid pace, designed to operate more independently of the greenback. In response to sanctions risks and the creeping devaluation of fiat currencies, more and more investors are shifting capital into scarce, real assets. Gold is making a powerful comeback—not as a relic, but as a strategic anchor in a newly ordered world. The World Gold Council's 2026 Central Bank Gold Reserves Survey illustrates just how profound this shift is: 89% of the central banks surveyed intend to expand their gold reserves, while 74% expect the US dollar's share of global reserves to decline. Central banks are thus diversifying their foreign exchange holdings for the long term, while large private investors are seeking robust protection against inflation and loss of purchasing power. Gold, which surged as high as USD 5,400 in 2026, reflects this flight away from the fiat, debt-based monetary system and creates opportunities for both physical gold investments and high-quality producers. After all, those who recognize this currency trend early can use gold as a strategic core position and give their portfolio a solid foundation in the coming monetary realignment.

Lahontan Gold: The Nevada Gold Story Is Now Really Gaining Momentum

Lahontan's Nevada story is performing even better than the recovery rally in software stocks. As a result, the Santa Fe project is increasingly evolving from a classic exploration story into a mine development story with multiple catalysts. The latest drilling success at Calvada East impressively demonstrates that even drill holes originally designed for permitting purposes can yield new, economically attractive mineralization. In particular, drill hole CAL26-12R intersected 12.2 m grading 1.26 g/t gold equivalent (AuEq) in the oxide zone—close to the base of the existing open-pit model—with individual samples reaching up to 3.29 g/t gold. Even more exciting is CAL26-11R, as 13.7 m grading 1.10 g/t AuEq in Tertiary volcanic rocks mark the first significant gold hit in this rock type and opens up a completely new exploration target along the Summit Fault.

IIF host Lyndsay Malchuk delves into the facts in Nevada and interviews CEO and founder Kimberly Ann.

https://youtu.be/pRq4WtH82Rc

This means the story is growing not only in terms of quantity but also in geological extent, as the previous resource delineation apparently does not capture the entire mineralization system. At the same time, Slab West is emerging as a serious growth candidate after additional shallow oxide intervals of 35.1 m grading 0.21 g/t and 18.3 m grading 0.22 g/t gold equivalent were identified there, and the zone remains open in multiple directions. This represents an important valuation driver. Any additional resource can potentially be integrated more efficiently into a later mine plan for an already developed brownfield project than for a completely new deposit. This becomes particularly interesting in light of a recent analysis by the World Gold Council, which found that global mine production reacts only slowly to high gold prices, and that there is typically a lag of several years between a rising gold price and an actual increase in production. This structural lag makes existing or revived projects strategically more valuable, because new mines cannot be built from the ground up in the short term.

Santa Fe has a decisive head start in this regard. Between 1988 and 1995, more than 359,000 ounces of gold and 702,000 ounces of silver were already mined via open-pit operations, while the current resource comprises approximately 1.95 million ounces of gold equivalent (AuEq). The historic heap-leach pads and stockpiles fuel even more optimism, as the initial Sonic drill holes there returned significantly higher grades than originally expected—9.9 m grading 2.40 g/t gold and 50.7 g/t silver. The key advantage lies in the potential cost structure, as material that has already been mined and stockpiled could, in the future, be reprocessed without the expense of traditional open-pit mining; furthermore, initial studies suggest that the material is well-suited to conventional heap leaching processes. Lahontan is currently working on the next stage of evaluation, which includes an updated resource estimate, a revised PEA, and further preparation for the permitting process, as the planned start of construction in 2027 draws nearer. With a market capitalization of just under CAD 160 million, the company remains as fine as 999.9 gold itself!

What a tech rally—it is taking every investor's breath away! Despite the bull market, the parallel to the precious metals market in this cycle runs far deeper than a mere metaphor. Savvy investors recognize that digital platforms, with their exclusive customer data and recurring revenue, offer the same indestructible protection against inflation as real tangible assets. Anyone who wants to make their portfolio as crisis-proof as possible during this volatile transition phase should strategically combine the cash flows of the software elite with physical commodity powerhouses. At the end of this epochal turning point, a perfectly balanced portfolio strategy will triumph.