The Bot Brief

"There is no force on earth more powerful than an idea whose time has come."     

- Victor Hugo

Bots in the News:

Good economic news on the employment and consumer front helped push the broad market up nearly 4%. The Bot Index also participated in the rally, gaining 3.70%. The bots were paced by the 19% increase on NVIDIA Corp., as investors decided enough was enough in the company’s recent disfavor. Strength was also noted in the performance of the Asian companies that also bounced back following investor concerns over the carry trade. Keyence rose almost nine and a half percent, while Fuji Corp. gained 7.57%, and Yasakawa Electric jumped 5.35%.

Also participating in the market rally were Amazon, (+6.06%) and Tesla (+8.06%) due to the stronger than expected consumption jump.

The drone manufacture AeroVironment continued to gain favor on both the battlefield and the trading floor, rising another 8.19%.

There were only 3 negative stocks in the Bot Index this week. Azenta Corp. reported its quarterly results which noted revenues which exceeded analyst estimates by 4.3%. Earnings per share, however, missed analyst estimates by 3.4%. The stock fell 8.83%.

The two remaining weaker stocks were Google and 3D Systems.

Wet and Wild:

A couple of years ago the Bot Brief interviewed professors and students from Emery Riddle University who were gearing up for a nautical robotic competition. In a more recent news release, that was sent to us from our friend Bob Stearns, the growth of the industry was updated in an interview in Newport RI. At the Innovate Newport, Andrew Gregg discussed the rapid rise of uncrewed surface vehicles (USV). His company Havoc AI produces scalable USV’s powered by solar panels and are suitable for a variety of commercial and defense applications.

Mr. Gregg cited the impact of USV’s utilized by Ukraine forces to wreak havoc (pun intended) on Russian navy vessels. The photo below is a depiction of the Rampage, the USV offered by Havoc AI. The device can travel up to 300 miles at speeds of 15 knots. According to Mr. Gregg, “the boats are designed to hunt, stalk and intercept vessels, but they are also capable of being programed to perform a variety of tasks in the commercial sector.

Member: American Economic Association, Society of Professional Journalists, United States Press Association. Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts, Robotic Industries Association (now A3 Automation), Member IEEE.

The Bot Brief is a weekly newsletter designed for economists, investment specialists, journalists, and academicians. It receives no remuneration from any companies that may from time to time be featured in the brief and its commentaries, analysis, opinions, and research represent the subjective view of Balcones Investment Research, LLC. Due to the complex and rapidly changing nature of the subject matter, the company makes no assurances as to the absolute accuracy of the material presented.