RJ Hamster
Into the Dark
Delivering World-Class Financial Research Since 1999
OpenAI still isn’t making enough money… A ‘dark AI crisis’ is coming… What to do about it… A lot of news on the war in Iran… Economic pressure is mounting… Oil prices keep going higher…
You couldn’t write the story any worse…
A Wall Street Journal report this morning painted a sour picture for OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT… saying the company “recently missed its own targets for new users and revenue” and that its chief financial officer is concerned it’s overcommitted to spending on data centers…
Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has told other company leaders that she is worried the company might not be able to pay for future computing contracts if revenue doesn’t grow fast enough, according to people familiar with the matter.
Board directors have also more closely examined the company’s data-center deals in recent months and questioned Chief Executive Sam Altman’s efforts to secure even more computing power despite the business slowdown, the people said.
Altman and Friar didn’t deny those facts in a statement to the Journal, saying, “We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can.” That doesn’t mean it will turn things around, though.
Every so often, a report about a single company – and in this case, a private one – can significantly move the market. This one sent shares of a handful of businesses with ties to OpenAI down in sympathy…
Oracle (ORCL) and Broadcom (AVGO) were down about 4% today, continuing a pullback over the past few days, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares fell around 3%, and Nvidia (NVDA) lost more than 1%.
We also saw real estate and infrastructure firms with data center exposure down too.
The negative sentiment weighed on the overall market and tech stocks in particular. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index and small-cap Russell 2000 Index lost around 1%, and the benchmark S&P 500 Index was down 0.5%.
We’ve been warning about the risks of this sort of “circular” scenario over the past year.
In short, companies like Nvidia and AMD have invested in OpenAI to be the firm’s primary chip suppliers. In return, OpenAI has essentially promised future spending (some $600 billion) for these and other companies to develop the data centers and infrastructure needed to grow AI’s footprint.
This dynamic has fueled buzz about OpenAI’s business – without the needed revenue to justify it. ChatGPT is no doubt a useful, breakthrough product, but is OpenAI’s business profitable? Not so much. Yet, it has played a large part in the rising expectations for all AI businesses over the past few years.
We wrote about OpenAI and its web of deals with Nvidia, Oracle, AMD, Microsoft (MSFT), CoreWeave (CRWV), and others in February. And we shared the take of our Stansberry’s Investment Advisoryeditor Whitney Tilson…
These circular relationships can keep a company like OpenAI going for a long time – but can collapse quickly. And I think we’ve reached a tipping point.
Today is just one day, but if things are as bad at OpenAI as this latest report suggests, and if the company pulls out the rug on most or all of its spending promises, look out for the companies that have been known as the “AI leaders” in the past few years.
Oracle alone is expecting to collect $300 billion from OpenAI over the next five years to provide data-center compute power.
While we’re on the subject of AI…
You may have seen an e-mail or two from us about this already, but I (Corey McLaughlin) want to make sure all Digestreaders hear about it…
Marc Chaikin, our friend and founder of our corporate affiliate Chaikin Analytics, has been warning about an AI fallout. As Marc says…
The Mag Seven companies who’ve carried this market higher for three years are about to hit a brick wall.
Not because their businesses are failing or anything you’ve seen in the headlines.
But because of a structural problem so fundamental… so deeply embedded in the future of AI itself… that it could paralyze shares of Mag Seven companies almost overnight and cause millions of Nvidia’s AI chips to go dark.
In short, Marc says the entire AI market is facing a limitation that can’t be designed away in a lab by Nvidia’s engineers or anyone else… It’s a “dark AI” crisis, and tomorrow, Marc is debuting a new free presentation to discuss all the details.
Marc will be joined by a Silicon Valley insider and AI expert who has spent three decades in executive roles helping develop the next generation of chips, like those powering today’s AI bull market.
Together, these investing legends will explain everything you need to know about this crisis, including how a similar scenario once caused a nearly 80% crash in tech stocks. They’ll reveal why many investors could see unbearable losses in America’s favorite AI companies this time around. However, it’s not all bad news. As they’ll explain, investors could also see incredible 10 times opportunities in a group of stocks that will replace the “old guard.”
For example, one company slated to go public in the largest AI IPO in history is well positioned to soar as this story plays out. And just for tuning in to the presentation tomorrow, you’ll hear a ticker that will allow anyone to claim a stake in this company before it goes public.
For all the details, click here to register for the event now.
Meanwhile, on the war front…
The double-sided blockade of the Persian Gulf remains in place… and President Donald Trump reportedly plans to reject a “deal” to re-open the Strait of Hormuz because it doesn’t include an agreement about Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Another consequence of the war has also emerged. The United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) said this morning that it’s leaving the OPEC oil cartel and OPEC+ group (headed by Russia), effective this Friday.
The UAE is one of the world’s largest oil producers and has been part of OPEC since 1967. So this is a shakeup to the global energy scene. But in recent years, despite increased energy-production capacity, the UAE hasn’t been able to sell as much oil as it wanted because of OPEC quotas. We’ll have more on this story tomorrow.
Looking ahead, things should break one way or another in Iran relatively soon. The country has two or three weeks left of unused oil supply, Bloomberg reports. And Iranian security officials are becoming more concerned about societal unrest…
According to the “independent” outlet Iran International (which has ties to Saudi investors), Iran’s Supreme National Security Council met in recent days to discuss a possible resurgence of public protests as economic effects of the war grow in Iran…
Estimates shared during the meeting suggested that Iran’s economy may not be able to withstand more than six to eight weeks of a naval blockade. The blockade began on April 13, and around two weeks have now passed.
Another major concern raised was the near-total shutdown of production centers in key sectors, including oil, petrochemicals, and steel. According to the assessments, rebuilding these industries could take years.
Security officials also said internet shutdowns have left around 20% of the workforce dependent on online activity unemployed. They warned that, based on economic forecasts, an additional two million people could lose their jobs in the private sector by the end of spring.
Last week, Trump said he has “all the time in the World, but Iran doesn’t – The clock is ticking!” He’s not wrong.
The White House appears content to wait things out as the pressure builds. Just before the market opened today, Trump published a Truth Social update that essentially held firm on keeping up the Strait of Hormuz blockade…
Iran has just informed us that they are in a “State of Collapse.” They want us to “Open the Hormuz Strait” as soon as possible, as they try to figure out their leadership situation (Which I believe they will be able to do!).
We shall see.
We’ve recently read reports that the power vacuum in Iran has only emboldened “hardliners” – those in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard who are more inclined to try to break the U.S. Navy blockade. The former head of Iran’s negotiating team was also forced to resign for trying to include the nuclear issue in new negotiations with the U.S.
In the end, oil and gas again didn’t flow as they once did through the Persian Gulf. Oil futures continued to move higher. Brent crude is near $111 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate is at $100. And it looked like the early days of the Iran War in terms of market reaction.
Only the energy sector was up significantly (almost 2%). Plus, typically defensive consumer staples stocks gained about 1%. A number of names from both sectors helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average be the only major U.S. index to finish little changed.
Recommended Links:
Urgent: Bottleneck Pumps Brakes in AI Build-Out. Here’s What It Means for Investors.
Bloomberg just reported that HALF of data centers planned in the U.S. for 2026 have been quietly delayed or canceled. This is just one of the reasons 50-year Wall Street legend Marc Chaikin predicts the Magnificent Seven companies carrying this AI bull market are about to hit a BRICK wall. On Wednesday, April 29, he’s meeting with Silicon Valley insider Jeff Brown to reveal a new bottleneck in AI that is creating a generational opportunity that could 12X your money if you act NOW. Click here to reserve your seat for the “Dark AI Summit” on Wednesday, April 29.
‘Dark Energy’: Elon Musk’s Next Potential $10 Trillion Move
A highly secure site in West Texas now houses an emerging potential $10 trillion technology backed by Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. This breakthrough could completely replace our need for foreign oil – and send one small group of stocks soaring in the process. Click here to learn how you can invest in Musk’s next $10 trillion move.
New 52-week highs (as of 4/27/26): Canadian National Railway (CNI), DigitalOcean (DOCN), Emcor (EME), iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex China Fund (EMXC), EnerSys (ENS), iShares MSCI South Korea Fund (EWY), Alphabet (GOOGL), Helmerich & Payne (HP), Intel (INTC), KraneShares Global Humanoid and Embodied Intelligence Index Fund (KOID), Keyence (KYCCF), Liberty Energy (LBRT), Linde (LIN), Nucor (NUE), Nvidia (NVDA), Invesco Oil & Gas Services Fund (PXJ), ProShares Ultra Technology (ROM), USCF SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Strategy No K-1 Fund (SDCI), and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM).
Nothing happening in the mail today… What’s on your mind? As always, e-mail us at feedback@stansberryresearch.com.
All the best,
Corey McLaughlin
Baltimore, Maryland
April 28, 2026
Stansberry Research Top 10 Open Recommendations
Top 10 highest-returning open stock positions across all Stansberry Research portfolios. Returns represent the total return from the initial recommendation.InvestmentBuy DateReturnPublicationMSFT
Microsoft11/11/101,393.0%Retirement MillionaireMSFT
Microsoft02/10/121,371.7%Stansberry’s Investment AdvisoryCIEN
Ciena10/20/22814.1%Stansberry Innovations ReportADP
Automatic Data Processing10/09/08771.1%Extreme ValueBRK.B
Berkshire Hathaway04/01/09765.7%Retirement MillionaireGOOGL
Alphabet12/15/16763.3%Retirement MillionaireALS-T
Altius Minerals03/26/09671.5%Extreme ValueWRB
W.R. Berkley03/15/12615.1%Stansberry’s Investment AdvisorySII
Sprott01/11/18601.2%Extreme ValueLITE
Lumentum04/15/21553.8%Stansberry Innovations Report
Please note: Securities appearing in the Top 10 are not necessarily recommended buys at current prices. The list reflects the best-performing positions currently in the model portfolio of any Stansberry Research publication. The buy date reflects when the editor recommended the investment in the listed publication, and the return shows its performance since that date. To learn if a security is still a recommended buy today, you must be a subscriber to that publication and refer to the most recent portfolio.
Top 10 Totals3Extreme ValueFerris3Retirement MillionaireDoc2Stansberry Innovations ReportEngel2Stansberry’s Investment AdvisoryPorter
Top 5 Crypto Capital Open Recommendations
Top 5 highest-returning open positions in the Crypto Capital model portfolioInvestmentBuy DateReturnPublicationBTC/USD
Bitcoin11/27/181,958.4%Crypto CapitalWSTETH/USD
Wrapped Staked Ethereum12/07/181,867.2%Crypto CapitalONE/USD
Harmony12/16/191,008.5%Crypto CapitalPOL/USD
Polygon02/26/21641.2%Crypto CapitalQRL/USD
Quantum Resistant Ledger01/19/21482.4%Crypto Capital
Please note: Securities appearing in the Top 5 are not necessarily recommended buys at current prices. The list reflects the best-performing positions currently in the Crypto Capital model portfolio. The buy date reflects when the recommendation was made, and the return shows its performance since that date. To learn if it’s still a recommended buy today, you must be a subscriber and refer to the most recent portfolio.
Stansberry Research Hall of Fame
Top 10 all-time, highest-returning closed positions across all Stansberry portfoliosInvestmentDurationGainPublicationNvidia (NVDA)^*5.96 years1,466%Venture Tech.Microsoft (MSFT)^12.74 years1,185%Retirement MillionaireInovio Pharma. (INO)^1.01 years1,139%Venture Tech.Rocket Lab (RKLB)^2.35 years1,034%Venture Tech.Seabridge Gold (SA)^4.20 years995%Sjug Conf.Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B)^16.13 years800%Retirement MillionaireIntellia Therapeutics (NTLA)1.95 years775%Amer. MoonshotsRite Aid 8.5% bond4.97 years773%True IncomePNC Warrants (PNC-WS)6.16 years706%True Wealth SystemsMaxar Technologies (MAXR)^1.90 years691%Venture Tech.
^ These gains occurred with a partial position in the respective stocks.
* Editor Dave Lashmet closed the first leg of this Nvidia position in November 2016 for a gain of about 108%. Then, he closed the second leg in July 2020 for a 777% return. And finally, in May 2022, he booked a 1,466% return on the final leg. Subscribers who followed his advice on Nvidia could’ve recorded a total weighted average gain of more than 600%.
Stansberry Research Crypto Hall of Fame
Top 5 highest-returning closed positions in the Crypto Capital model portfolioInvestmentDurationGainAnalystBand Protocol (BAND)0.31 years1,169%Crypto CapitalTerra (LUNA)0.41 years1,166%Crypto CapitalPolymesh (POLYX)3.84 years1,157%Crypto CapitalFrontier (FRONT)0.09 years979%Crypto CapitalBinance Coin (BNB)1.78 years963%Crypto Capital
You have received this e-mail as part of your subscription to Stansberry Digest. If you no longer want to receive e-mails from Stansberry Digest click here.
Published by Stansberry Research.
You’re receiving this e-mail at pahovis@aol.com. Stansberry Research welcomes comments or suggestions at feedback@stansberryresearch.com. This address is for feedback only. For questions about your account or to speak with customer service, call 888-261-2693 (U.S.) or 443-839-0986 (international) Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Eastern time. Or e-mail info@stansberryresearch.com. Please note: The law prohibits us from giving personalized financial advice.
© 2026 Stansberry Research. All rights reserved. Any reproduction, copying, or redistribution, in whole or in part, is prohibited without written permission from Stansberry Research, 1125 N Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21201 or stansberryresearch.com.
Any brokers mentioned constitute a partial list of available brokers and is for your information only. Stansberry Research does not recommend or endorse any brokers, dealers, or investment advisors.
Stansberry Research forbids its writers from having a financial interest in any security they recommend to our subscribers. All employees of Stansberry Research (and affiliated companies) must wait 24 hours after an investment recommendation is published online – or 72 hours after a direct mail publication is sent – before acting on that recommendation.
This work is based on SEC filings, current events, interviews, corporate press releases, and what we’ve learned as financial journalists. It may contain errors, and you shouldn’t make any investment decision based solely on what you read here. It’s your money and your responsibility.
