The Best Artificial Intelligence (AI) Growth Stocks After the Helium Shock Are the Ones That Don’t Need the Strait of Hormuz The crisis that exposed the artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain also revealed which companies sit above it.
Since Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz on Feb. 28, the global helium market has lost access to roughly 30% of total output
Qatar’s Ras Laffan facility, the world’s largest helium production site, has been idle since early March. Moody’s confirmed in April what semiconductor engineers had already calculated: There is no viable substitute for ultra-high-purity helium at scale, and the gas is indispensable at multiple stages of chip manufacturing. The companies that build the physical chips are working against a six-month stockpile clock.
For investors trying to buy into AI right now, the supply chain question has a clear answer. The companies that matter most are the ones whose products are pure software. Two reported earnings this week make the case for them. 1.