⚡️ 4 stocks powering the AI buildout

Modern AI systems are thousands of chips connected together. As companies spend more on AI infrastructure, a large share of that spending goes into the networking layer that moves data between chips, memory, and servers.

🖱 $AVGO — AI connectivity king

Broadcom provides the networking chips that connect massive AI clusters and also designs custom AI accelerators for hyperscalers. AI semiconductor revenue reached $10.8B in Q2 FY26, up 143% YoY, with guidance for $16B in Q3 and an AI backlog above $73B.

🖱 $ALAB — rack-scale connectivity pure play

Astera Labs builds the traffic-control layer inside AI racks, helping data move efficiently between chips, memory, switches, and accelerators. Q1 FY26 revenue reached a record $308M, up 93% YoY, with its new Scorpio switch expected to become the company's largest product line by year-end.

🖱 $CRDO — copper connectivity leader

Credo dominates active copper connections used inside AI systems and holds an estimated 75% market share. FY26 revenue reached $1.34B, up 206% YoY, while the transition to faster 1.6T networking creates a new upgrade cycle for customers.

🖱 $AAOI — vertically integrated optics
When data moves across large AI data centers, fiber optics become essential. Applied Optoelectronics manufactures both optical modules and the lasers inside them. Q1 FY26 data center revenue grew 154% YoY to $81M, with management raising full-year guidance to $1.1B.

The AI buildout is not just about chips. The companies connecting those chips are becoming critical parts of the stack.

✔️ @venture

🍔 Wendy's becomes the latest WallStreetBets favorite

Wendy's ($WEN) surged 42% in a single session, its biggest one-day gain since the rebound from the 2020 market crash.

The rally started after the company appointed Steven Cirulis, a former Potbelly executive, as CFO. But the scale of the move had more to do with market positioning than management changes.
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Just one day earlier, Wendy's had fallen to a 13-year low of $6.07, down nearly 40% over the past year after weak results that included a 5.5% decline in sales and a 42% drop in net income.
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At the same time, short interest reached a record 26%, creating conditions for a potential short squeeze. As the stock rose, short sellers were forced to buy shares back, adding more fuel to the rally.
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The stock also became the second most discussed name on WallStreetBets over the last 24 hours, drawing comparisons to the meme-stock frenzy that lifted GameStop and AMC in 2021.
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The difference this time is that Wendy's entered the rally with one of the highest short interests in its history.

✔️ @venture

❕ Morgan Stanley and Others Limit Withdrawals Amid Rising Redemptions

Morgan Stanley is restricting withdrawals from its $7 billion North Haven Private Income Fund after 11.6% of investors sought redemptions this quarter, up slightly from before.

The bank is fulfilling only about 43% of requests.

Apollo paused withdrawals from a large private credit fund after redemption requests hit $2.4 billion (16.8%), imposing a 5% quarterly cap.

Partners Group, with an $8.6 billion fund, limited withdrawals after requests surged to 9.8%, nearly double its limit. The Swiss firm’s shares fell 13% in Zurich.

Blackstone Mortgage Trust issued a $343 million loan tied to a June 9 default on a Chicago skyscraper. The 2018 loan included about $159 million in commercial mortgage-backed securities.

Redemption gates are often an early sign that stress is spreading through the financial system.

✔️ @venture