Bits & Pieces
Edition #282 | 05/06/2026
Most traded | Markets & Macro | Snowflake | Chart of the Week | DAX ETFs | Product Highlight
Before Elon Musk potentially becomes a trillionaire next week, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF in the US has broken the $1 trillion mark in assets under management. And while index heavyweight Alphabet has attracted a prominent anchor investor, we take a look at software snowflakes in the AI storm. Plus: why the DAX is defying the economic malaise in Germany and how physical AI could soon take over your living room.
Note: The data refers to the ratio of purchases and sales of the 100 most traded stocks in the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø broker between 29/05/2026 and 04/06/2026.
In focus:
Starbucks isn't just serving up its summery Coconut Matcha at the moment – its shares are also experiencing a bit of a dip. While CEO Brian Niccol’s turnaround strategy has brewed up revenue growth, rising personnel and technology expenses could dilute margins.
Buffett's successor makes a bold AI statement
The countdown to the biggest IPO of all time is on: just seven days left until SpaceX is set to take off on the Nasdaq. Before then, the company aims to raise $75bn, with the previously rumoured price of $135 per share implying a company valuation of almost $1.8tn – more than 70 times the revenue expected for this year.
At the same time, Elon Musk isn't the only one drumming up capital on the trading floor. Anthropic, the company behind the AI platform Claude, which was valued at $965bn in its latest funding round, has also filed initial documents for its public offering with the SEC. This increases the pressure on OpenAI – the ChatGPT developer is now likely to firm up its listing plans in the near future as well.
But first, Alphabet is tapping the capital market. After continuously buying back its own shares since 2019, the Google parent company is now turning the tables – issuing over $80bn in new shares to finance its massive data centre investments. A prominent anchor investor has already been found: Berkshire Hathaway has upped its stake by $10bn. With this move, Warren Buffett's successor Greg Abel is not only raising his profile but also demonstrating confidence in the AI economy. This sends an important signal to the market. After all, the mega deals from SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI and Alphabet alone are expected to soak up to $300bn in fresh capital.
The snowstorm has passed
Following the dramatic sell-off of recent months, software stocks have recently managed to make up significant ground, supported by strong figures. Leading the pack is Snowflake, a cloud-based platform for structuring and analysing vast amounts of data.
- Growth: First-quarter revenue climbed 34% year-on-year to $1.33bn – the strongest increase in almost three years.
- Loyalty: The net revenue retention rate stands at 126%. This means existing clients spent an average of 26% more than a year ago.
- Snowballing: The number of clients splashing out over $1m a year on Snowflake services grew by 29% year-on-year.
The growth story was further fuelled by a billion-dollar deal with Amazon Web Services. For around $6bn, Snowflake secured cloud and AI infrastructure from the industry giant for the next five years, suggesting the company expects to significantly scale its own AI applications. Wall Street responded to the good news by sending the shares soaring.
For now, the realisation seems to be taking hold that the general fear of an AI disruption in the software-as-a-service business was exaggerated. Companies that are deeply integrated into their clients' operational processes and can leverage these with powerful AI tools should be able to continue growing profitably. The valuation spectrum is correspondingly broad: following the recent rally, Snowflake and database specialist MongoDB are already trading at more than 40 times their expected free cash flow for this year; by contrast, the stock market only grants PDF inventor Adobe a multiple of ten.
Chips are the new money
Weighting of selected sectors in the MSCI All Country World Index
Source: MSCI, as of 3 June 2026
Due to the ongoing price rally, semiconductor and memory chip stocks now account for 18.9% of the MSCI All Country World Index. The top beneficiaries of the AI boom therefore hold more weight than the global financial sector – banks, insurance companies and credit card providers only account for 15.5%. And even the equities from economic sectors so essential to our daily lives contribute just 15.8% to the World portfolio combined: healthcare, consumer staples (food, drink, hygiene) and energy.
A hefty chunk that the chip industry is putting on the stock market scales – but at the same time, it is also a reflection of real economic conditions, namely the epic revenue and profit growth of NVIDIA, Broadcom, TSMC, Samsung, SK Hynix & co. It also shows that specialised investment products are not strictly necessary to adequately capture the AI boom. A global ETF like the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø MSCI AC World Xtrackers ETF is enough to ensure you are part of this megatrend at the lowest cost.
Second and third tiers ready to catch up?
The German economy is stuck in its longest phase of weakness since 1949. Despite this, the German stock index (DAX) has gained almost 60% over the past five years. This is because the DAX is not Germany: on average, the 40 companies in the index generate just a fifth of their revenue domestically and two-thirds of their workforce is based abroad.
For Hochtief, Germany accounts for just 3% of its business. The company, founded in Frankfurt am Main in 1873, primarily builds in the US and Australia, is involved in numerous data centre projects and will join the DAX at the end of the month after its share price increased more than tenfold at its peak. Making way for it is Porsche Auto Holding, which will now play in the stock market's second division – the 50-stock MDAX.
The index is still trading below its 2021 highs, and the SDAX below it – the third tier, so to speak – has fared little better on balance. Medium and small companies are often unable to avoid location-based disadvantages such as high energy prices and labour costs as flexibly as the top corporations.
However, if the much-invoked economic turnaround finally succeeds, the MDAX and SDAX would certainly have catching up to do. Furthermore, both indices are more broadly diversified than the DAX, where the seven largest companies account for a 55% share. Those who still cannot decide between large, mid and small caps can alternatively opt for the FTSE Germany All Cap Index, which tracks more than 95% of the German market capitalisation with 145 stocks from all three tiers.
When AI leaves the server
A humanoid robot that dusts, cleans windows and does the laundry? That might still be science fiction. But the integration of artificial intelligence with the real world is advancing rapidly. Physical AI is no longer confined to factory floors, but is also taking place on the streets, in the air and even in our own homes:
- Robotaxis: The Chinese tech innovator Pony.ai plans to expand its fleet to more than 3,500 autonomous vehicles this year and is also growing internationally. In Zagreb, it has launched Europe's first commercial robotaxi service in collaboration with Uber and Verne.
- Drones: With its AI-supported systems like the Black Widow reconnaissance drone, Red Cat is benefiting from rising global defence budgets. It recently secured a major order from Japan – and following the acquisition of the software specialist Apium Swarm Robotics, the company will soon be able to offer networked swarm systems rather than just individual drones.
- Household: China's robotics pioneer Ubtech has just launched pre-sales for a life-sized, hyper-bionic robot on the e-commerce platform JD.com. As a physical interface for smart home and entertainment functions, it is currently an expensive toy for tech aficionados, but an important first step into the consumer market.
These companies are also included in the new WisdomTree Physical AI, Humanoids and Drones ETF. In total, the ETF bundles 60 physical AI companies from developed and emerging markets. A specially developed scoring model ensures that highly specialised small caps can carry the same weight as the big tech titans. Almost half of the portfolio consists of companies from Asia – where a large part of the hardware innovation takes place.
Editorial deadline: Friday, 7 a.m.
Sources: ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø and dpa-AFX