7 standout stocks from our research trip in the US

Note: This video was recorded on Saturday, 27 September 2025. 

Welcome to the new and improved Market Mixers, your latest excuse to shake (not stir) up your investment ideas. Former Livewire deputy managing editor Ally Selby joins me, Armina Rosenberg (aka “Arms”), in a podcast that delivers a healthy dose of investment insights alongside some cocktail chaos. 

In this episode, we're doing something a little different. We dive into my latest research trip in the US, what it is actually like on the ground, as well as some of the companies that stood out from the 30 I saw while I was there. 

From a satellite company and a haircare product company, to SaaS players, biotech and medtech companies, and even the gaming company that makes GTA, we dissect the companies that really impressed, as well as two huge disappointments. 

Off the back of this trip, we established two new positions in Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD) and Atlassian (NASDAQ: TEAM). Robinhood is expanding beyond its already strong retail growth into retirement accounts, debit/credit and institutional crypto through its acquisition of Bitstamp. This is an innovator poised to capture wallet share as its cohort matures. Meanwhile, Atlassian's structural growth, high retention, and sticky products impressed. We believe overblown "AI eats SaaS" fears have created an opportunity in the stock.

On the other side of that, I walked away from the trip steadfast that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) continues to lag its peers in terms of AI development. We are worried about the outlook here, and have maintained our short in the stock. We also trimmed our position in Super Micro (NYSE: SMCI), and while it’s still a good company, there are a few reasons we felt it was prudent to take some chips off the table. Its growth is dependent on NVIDIA's (NASDAQ: NVDA) cycle, pricing aggression from competitors is starting to compress near-term margins, and crowding in the stock means any surprises could hit hard. 

So, what else looked interesting (and not so interesting) on the ground in the US? You'll have to watch the episode to find out. 

You can listen to the podcast here: 

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts

Timecodes

• 0:00 - Intro 
• 1:03 - Cocktail making 
• 1:52 - What it's actually like on the ground in the US 
• 6:06 - Standout stocks from the trip 
• 9:39 - A meeting with a possible AI investor relations bot
• 11:25 - The most disappointing meeting - Stride (NYSE: LRN) 
• 12:27 - Common themes that emerged from the trip: AI, defence, energy, healthcare
• 18:14 - Is it worthwhile meeting with companies in the new AI world
• 19:51 - How to turn the noise into actual insights 
• 20:40 - New additions to the portfolio off the back of the trip - Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD) and Atlassian (NASDAQ: TEAM)
• 23:01 - Why we have trimmed Super Micro (NYSE: SMCI)
• 24:01 - A company that surprised us - Olaplex (NASDAQ: OLPX)
• 25:02 - US market wrap-up and dispersion in outlook for companies

Recipe - The "Bloody Trump" 

• Ice
• 2 shots vodka 
• Bloody Mary mix (we used this brand)
• Few shakes of Worcestershire sauce
• Few shakes of Hot Sauce (Franks)
• Squeeze of lemon
• Celery sticks 
• Bacon 
• Pickles
• Salt and pepper to taste 

Method: 

1. This is truly the easiest cocktail to make and was probably the best one we have made yet. Just add ice to a glass and then pour two shots of vodka (around 100ml) into the glass. 
2. Add your Bloody Mary mix, lemon, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce to the glass, and pop in the celery, bacon and pickles as your snack. 
3. Enjoy.