Two Phone Kings the Market Buried in the 2000s Just Outran Nvidia. Here Is Why That Matters.
The obvious story is still Nvidia and the AI giants. The strangest and freshest story is this: Nokia and BlackBerry, two names the market left for dead a generation ago, have not just come back to life, they have outrun Nvidia itself. When the corpses of the 1990s mobile wars beat the most important company in the world, it is worth asking what is really going on underneath.
The answer is Jensen Huang, and the lesson is about infrastructure. He did not revive these as phone makers. He plugged them into the AI buildout. Nvidia put $1 billion into Nokia to develop AI-RAN, which bakes AI straight into 5G and 6G networks, and tied BlackBerry’s safety-critical software to Nvidia’s self-driving platform. Both stocks soared and beat Nvidia. The takeaway for a beginner is the oldest one in a gold rush: the biggest percentage gains often come not from the obvious gold, but from the forgotten names repurposed as shovels.
The second layer is how enormous and how wide this infrastructure wave is. Meta and Microsoft are leading $850 billion in future data-center leases, SK Hynix is about to raise nearly $30 billion in one of the largest IPOs in history when it lists on July 10, and SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son just vowed to strike first by building the most powerful data centers on Earth. The sheer capital pouring into AI plumbing is what is lifting these unexpected names, and it is the real engine of the market right now.
The warning is to read the rotation honestly. When the obvious leaders tire and money sprints into long-dead laggards, that is often a late-cycle tell, not just good news. Nvidia has now traced a head-and-shoulders, NASDAQ has too, Apple is walking into its seasonal September weakness, and the whole market is forming a trumpet-shape consolidation. Only the Dow is cleanly trending higher. Fear and Greed sits at 28 and the VIX is hovering just under its warning zone. Broadening leadership is healthy, but broadening because the leaders are stalling is a different thing.
The money is in AI infrastructure and the proof is dead names beating Nvidia, so the question into July is simple: does that boom keep lifting the laggards, or is Nvidia’s topping pattern the real signal hiding under all the excitement.
Full report available via the download button below. Read previous US Stock Express editions here.
US Stock Express 20260625 BB NOK NVDA AAPL
About the Author
Daniel Yue has been an active investor since 1980, with experience spanning stocks, currencies, futures, metals, and bonds. A scholar of the Chicago School of Economics, he holds a Certificate with Distinction from Cambridge University and a degree in International Trading from National Taiwan University. He served as Chief Analyst for over 30 years and Chief Mentor at Sincere Finance. In 2017, he received an award from the University of Arizona for financial internship leadership.
The analysis and opinions expressed in this article are for educational purposes only and do not constitute financial advice. Investing involves risk. Please consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.
About the Author
Daniel Yue has been an active investor since 1980, with experience spanning stocks, currencies, futures, metals, and bonds. A scholar of the Chicago School of Economics, he holds a Certificate with Distinction from Cambridge University and a degree in International Trading from National Taiwan University. He served as Chief Analyst for over 30 years and Chief Mentor at Sincere Finance. In 2017, he received an award from the University of Arizona for financial internship leadership.
The analysis and opinions expressed in this article are for educational purposes only and do not constitute financial advice. Investing involves risk. Please consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.