Aramco's Diversification and Technology Strategy - Aramco is diversifying its revenue streams and investing in technology due to the International Energy Agency's prediction of plateauing global oil demand by 2030 [3] - The company is leveraging AI to improve operations, increase well productivity, and manage costs [5][6] - Aramco's cost per barrel of oil equivalent has remained at $3 for 20 years due to technology [6] - Aramco has invested tens of billions of dollars in computing infrastructure and possesses 90 years of high-quality data, giving it a competitive edge in AI adoption [7] AI and Data Infrastructure - Aramco's Opus center monitors real-time data from over 100,000 sensors across more than 100 plants, optimizing efficiency and reducing costs [4] - The company has 6,000 employees trained in AI [8] - Aramco utilizes its own large language model, Aramco Metabrain, comprised of 90 years of geological data to increase efficiency [9] Investments and Future Goals - Aramco's venture capital arm, Wa'ed Ventures, earmarked $100 million for early-stage AI investments last year [10] - Aramco aims to transform Saudi Arabia into a global AI hub [10] - Aramco is a large minority shareholder in Humane, Saudi Arabia's new national AI company [11] - The company is increasing its focus on natural gas and renewables to power data centers required for the AI revolution [12]

Earnings Expectations - Earnings expectations for Q3 are down 2% quarter over quarter, similar to the setup seen in Q2 [2] - In Q2, consensus earnings expectations for the broader market (excluding technology) were about 2.5%, while realized earnings growth was 8.5%, indicating significant upside potential [3] Market Performance - The Dow and S&P indices experienced their best week since August, reflecting a positive sentiment in the market [1] - Despite some sectors underperforming, such as regional banks and oil, defensive sectors like healthcare, utilities, and gold are performing well [5] Sector Analysis - Regional banks have underperformed by more than 25 percentage points compared to large banks since early 2023, suggesting a preference for large banks as a safer investment [8] - The oil sector is facing challenges due to excess supply following the end of the US driving season, leading to a lack of allocation in energy assets [7] Investment Strategy - The strategy involves not completely rotating away from AI and tech stocks but also considering buying dips in banks and looking at industrials [9] - Gold is being recommended alongside tech stocks, driven by factors such as China's gold stockpiling and central bank diversification [10][14]