Energy Secretary Interview, Low-Beta Stock Picks, Nucor CEO Exclusive 10/27/26

Ascendis Pharma A/S

• Michael Landsberg · Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth ManagementBullish

  Ascendis has three drugs and could grow revenue about tenfold in five years, to roughly $2B.

  Landsberg says Ascendis has three drugs on the market, so it is not a pre-revenue biotech. Revenue is about $200 million and is heading toward $2 billion. He expects a 10x revenue opportunity over five years, which he says doesn't mean the same for the stock price. The company plays in rare diseases that big pharma hasn't tackled, and he sees it as a possible takeover candidate given its smaller size.

  “It looks like there's one of those companies that has a lot of potential upside... we look at it over the next five years, it has a 10 x potential in revenue... looking to go to $2,000,000,000 in revenue.”at 26:13

NVIDIA

Across the shows: 44 speakers in other episodes, 37 bullish and 15 bearish calls, past 30 days

• Michael Landsberg · Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth ManagementBullish

  NVIDIA is the engine behind AI; a long-term hold, though trimming after its big run is reasonable.

  Landsberg's firm bought NVIDIA in January 2019 for gaming GPUs, not AI, and it is his firm's largest position. He sees the chips as the engine that makes everything in AI, so it is a core holding. He acknowledges the stock has been dead money for five months and that some AI names are up 500 to 700% in a year. For investors who can't stomach a 60% drawdown like 2022, taking some money off the table and reallocating is reasonable. He says the stock works best for those who can hold it for ten years.

  “NVIDIA is the engine that makes everything. The chips kind of come from them, so you have to.”at 27:34

Tesla

Across the shows: 19 speakers in other episodes, 15 bullish and 17 bearish calls, past 30 days

• Michael Landsberg · Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth ManagementBearish

  Tesla's stock multiple is too high to understand, so his firm has never owned it.

  Landsberg says his firm has never been a big Tesla fan because the valuation multiple is something he can't understand. His firm prefers to buy businesses it can understand and explain to clients. He calls the stock multiple crazy, despite saying the cars are cool.

  “We've never been big Tesla fans. Just because the multiple, I can never understand that.”at 27:34

Citigroup

Across the shows: 4 speakers in other episodes, 2 bullish and 2 bearish calls, past 30 days

• Chris Kampitsis · Barnum Financial GroupBullish

  Citigroup benefits from rate sensitivity, trades below 10x forward earnings, and has buybacks.

  Campitzis expects rates to rise, and says Citi benefits because its high-rate credit cards and variable-rate corporate loans let it reprice quickly. He says the stock trades at less than 10 times forward earnings. He also points to a diversified mix of loans, deposits and wealth services, and to management beginning buybacks that support earnings per share.

  “Number one, rate sensitivity between their high interest rate credit card opportunities as well as variable rate corporate loans.”at 30:13

The PNC Financial Services Group

• Chris Kampitsis · Barnum Financial GroupBullish

  PNC's 22% non-interest-bearing deposits should lift margins as it redeploys cheap funding.

  Campitzis says PNC is the eighth-largest US bank by assets, not a small regional. About 22% of its deposits are non-interest-bearing, which is cheap funding it can redeploy into higher-yielding loans and investments. Combined with its commercial lending exposure, he sees a real opportunity for better margins and net interest income.

  “roughly 22% of its deposits are non interest bearing, giving it inexpensive funding that it can redeploy here into higher yielding loans and investments.”at 31:15

US rates & the Fed

• Elizabeth Burton · Fortress Investment Group

  Fed should have hiked in July; a 9% odds of a hike tomorrow is too low given unchanged data.

  Burton says the Fed should have hiked in July. The data hasn't changed since then: labor looks about the same or slightly worse, and she calls the 9% market odds for a hike tomorrow unjustified unless there is forward guidance. She argues that guidance is already coming from other FOMC members, though she is unsure whether they speak for the committee or for themselves. Her view is that a hold now would box the Fed in.

  “I really like Kevin [Warsh]. I think he should have hiked in July.”at 4:59

• Chris Kampitsis · Barnum Financial Group

  Rates likely get hiked before year-end, and bond yields may rise even without a hike.

  Campitzis expects rates to be hiked before the end of the year because inflation is still a concern. He says it's quite possible that bond yields rise even without a hike, since the market looks ahead. He separates a pause from a pivot, which is why he picks financials that can hold up in a slightly rising-rate environment.

  “It's anticipated that rates... will get [hiked] at some point before the end of the year with inflation still being a concern here, and it's quite possible that bond yields rise even without a rate hike.”at 29:34

Natural gas & LNG

• Chris Wright · U.S. Department of Energy

  US LNG exports are ramping fast and will grow significantly next year, helping Europe wean off Russian gas.

  Wright says US LNG exports grew a lot this year and will grow significantly next year. US supply is what lets Europe finish getting off Russian gas, which is one of its goals, though it is not off it yet. The US ramp-up is the enabling factor.

  “US is rapidly ramping up our LNG exports. They grew a lot this year. They'll grow a significant amount next year.”at 19:58

• Chris Wright · U.S. Department of Energy

  Europe's gas storage is too low for winter; a cold winter would mean hard times there.

  Wright agrees with Sullivan that Europe's storage is lower than it should be going into winter. He calls European governments a little cavalier about it. He says that if the winter is cold, times will be rough in Europe, and he wants US exports to ramp as fast as possible so Europe can refill before cold arrives.

  “Their storage is lower than it should be going into this winter. I think they're being a little cavalier about that. If they have a cold winter, it'll be rough times in Europe this winter.”at 20:06

AI infrastructure & data centers

• Elizabeth Burton · Fortress Investment Group

  Main market risk is disappointment on AI capex spending and the productivity it produces.

  Burton says one of the main risks in markets is disappointment on AI capex and on the productivity results it should produce. Concern has moved on from whether the spending will happen, which was the worry in March and April, to whether it translates into earnings, dollars and revenue. Investors are looking for any reason to find a hiccup, so she is getting more cautious.

  “one of the main risks that we see in the markets is this disappointment on maybe CapEx spend and AI and the productivity results coming from it.”at 2:42

US stock market outlook

• Elizabeth Burton · Fortress Investment Group

  Equities look less attractive: index gains lean on AI, and bonds now pay about 5%.

  Burton is more measured on equities. About 7 points of the S&P's roughly 14.7% year-to-date gain comes from AI, which she says is driven by a single theme and a single company not yet public, so positioning looks precarious. Equity risk premium is thin: investors can get about 5% in bonds or an extra quarter point of yield in equities, which she calls hard to justify at this point in the cycle. She would look for ways to protect a portfolio, though she says she is not bearish on AI.

  “I'm not not bullish on equities. I would just say that I'm more measured here. ... you can get 5% in bonds or you can get an extra quarter of a point in in yield in equities.”at 3:58

Credit markets

• Elizabeth Burton · Fortress Investment Group

  Credit offers a distressed-debt opportunity even without a recession, as maturities loom and rates stay high.

  Burton is excited about real estate and corporate credit. A maturity wall is coming up. Her partners report that borrowers who waited for rates to fall now accept that they won't, so they are finally transacting. Credit stress is building, and she says a distress cycle doesn't need a recession to create opportunities. She adds that if productivity gains won't pay out in the next twelve months, investors should hold the more senior part of the capital structure rather than equity.

  “Two, I think we're seeing when we talk to our partners... they're not coming back down. ... I think there is a real opportunity and actually it doesn't need a recession to have, like, a pretty good, you know, distress cycle.”at 7:19

Private equity

• Elizabeth Burton · Fortress Investment Group

  Private equity is not a great setup: high rates are hurting software buyouts made in the low-rate era.

  Burton says the setup is not good for private equity. Her evidence is a Wall Street Journal report that high rates are weighing on businesses bought during the low-rate era, especially concentrated software bets. The point is that the debt used for those deals now costs much more to service.

  “I certainly would say it's not a great setup for private equity. ... high rates are just taking their toll on a lot of businesses that were bought during the low rate era in software, a lot of concentrated bets there.”at 7:45

Nuclear energy

• Chris Wright · U.S. Department of Energy

  The nuclear renaissance is real: uprates and restarts add capacity, with new reactors coming soon.

  Wright cites the Constellation deal: 15 reactors at eight sites will be uprated, and the plant behind him gains 150 megawatts. Loans will add 1.1 gigawatts of capacity from existing plants, which he says lowers pressure on power prices and supports manufacturing. The plant was days from closing five years ago. He credits Trump-era policy for restarting three plants and says new reactor announcements are coming.

  “It definitely is. In fact, the plant behind me a little over five years ago was days away from being closed. ... So, yes, the nuclear renaissance is real, Brian. It's happening.”at 14:22

Renewables & clean energy

• Chris Wright · U.S. Department of Energy

  Subsidies for intermittent power made even existing nuclear plants uneconomic, and policy has now reversed that.

  Wright argues that subsidies for intermittent power, along with Democratic energy policy, made the economics of existing nuclear plants very hard. The plant behind him was days from closing about five years ago. His view is that Trump's push for more energy production and more demand reversed that trend.

  “Democrat energy policies, subsidies for intermittent power had made it very hard to make the economics work even for existing nuclear power plants.”at 14:29

Oil & fuels

• Chris Wright · U.S. Department of Energy

  Refined product flows out of the Gulf are rising and will lower gasoline, diesel and jet fuel prices.

  Wright says Iran has tried to disrupt energy markets through the Gulf, the Red Sea and missile attacks on commercial ships. Since the conflict began, the US military has worked daily to move products out despite Iran's behavior. He cites an increase in refined product flows out of the Arabian Gulf, now carried on ships, which he says will bring gasoline, diesel and jet fuel prices down. He adds that these efforts would ramp up further if Iran escalates.

  “We've seen an increase in the flow of refined products out of the Arabian Gulf region. ... That'll help bring gasoline and diesel and jet fuel prices down.”at 16:48

Russia & Ukraine

• Chris Wright · U.S. Department of Energy

  A six-month diesel sanctions waiver is a carrot to end the war, and could bring more ships.

  Wright says the US has issued a temporary six-month sanctions suspension covering only diesel, not oil or other Russian products. Russia has not exported diesel for many weeks because it is short on diesel itself, so one ship is a sign of the policy's effect. He calls it an incentive to reduce the conflict, which would add a little to global diesel supply. He says more ships are quite possible and rejects the idea that this is going soft on Russia.

  “We've done a temporary six month suspension of sanctions, not on Russian oil, not on any other Russian products, only on diesel, which is the one product they have not exported for many weeks.”at 18:47

Cybersecurity

• Michael Landsberg · Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth Management

  He prefers cybersecurity over AI, since smarter AI means cybersecurity needs to be better.

  Landsberg is a big cybersecurity investor and would rather own cybersecurity than all of AI. His reasoning is that the smarter AI gets, the more cybersecurity has to improve to defend against it. CrowdStrike is one of his firm's biggest positions.

  “I'm a big cybersecurity guy, and I'd rather own cybersecurity than I would all AI because the smarter AI gets, the better cybersecurity has to be.”at 28:01