Why Infrastructure Is Back at the Center of AI Growth
Energy, capacity, and physical constraints are no longer background details - they're shaping which companies can grow and which cannot.
That shift helps explain why investors like Kevin O'Leary focused on this play.
This company secured foundations years ago, before demand was obvious.
Discover the company positioned here:
APH, RCL, FCX: Insiders Are Dumping These 3 Hot Stocks
Submitted by Leo Miller. Originally Published: 2/20/2026.
Amphenol (NYSE: APH), Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL) and Freeport McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) are three companies that hold powerful positions in their industries and whose shares have delivered strong recent returns. However, amid these gains several company insiders have been selling. Let's review those trades and what they may signal to investors.
APH CEO Initiates +$75 Million Sale After Option Exercise
Amphenol manufactures a wide variety of connectors, antennas, sensors, cables and other electronic equipment. The stock was especially strong in 2025, delivering a total return of 96% as the company benefited from extensive data center demand.
That demand helped the company post revenue growth of 52% in 2025, its highest level on record. Its Communications Solutions segment, which includes data center sales, nearly doubled revenue during the year. Shares have continued to perform well in 2026, up more than 10%.
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Key Points
- After posting strong gains, insiders are executing multi-million dollar sales in APH, RCL, and FCX.
- However, which of these sales are truly worrisome, and which are not?
- After a huge post-earnings spike, Royal Caribbean's +$150 million of insider sales raises some eyebrows.
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After Amphenol's latest earnings report, the company recorded a very large insider sale. Amphenol CEO Adam Norwitt sold nearly $76 million worth of shares. Importantly, these sales were not disclosed as part of a predetermined 10b5-1 plan, meaning they appear to have been discretionary.
Norwitt's sale followed the exercise and immediate sale of over 600,000 stock options. He exercised near $22.37 and sold near $147.26, locking in roughly a $125 gain per option. Given the large embedded gain, it is unsurprising he monetized a portion of his holdings.
Norwitt still holds almost 2.8 million Amphenol shares, so his stake in the company remains substantial. Taken together, while the size of the sale is notable, it does not necessarily indicate a loss of conviction.
After RCL's Spike, Key Insiders Are Executing Big Sales
Royal Caribbean produced a total return near 30% over the past 52 weeks, roughly double the S&P 500. Shares jumped after the company's latest earnings report, rising nearly 19% on the news.
The company's sales and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) were generally in line with—or slightly below—expectations. What drove the rally was the outlook: Royal Caribbean issued guidance calling for double-digit revenue growth, versus analysts' estimates for high-single-digit growth. The firm's adjusted EPS guidance also exceeded consensus.
Since the report, a number of Royal Caribbean insiders have taken shares to the market. In total, insiders sold more than $168 million of stock during February. Sellers included the company's CEO, the CEO of its international division, and the CFO.
Seven different individuals sold shares, and none of these transactions appears to have been executed under a 10b5-1 plan. One CEO and the CFO reduced their positions by more than 50%, while the international division CEO trimmed his stake by more than 25%. These were large, coordinated sales by several senior executives rather than an isolated transaction.
Given the breadth and magnitude of these sales, they represent a meaningful, potentially bearish signal. Still, insider trades are only one input when evaluating a stock and should not be considered in isolation.
FCX Spikes in Wake of Grasberg, Insiders Sell in February
Freeport-McMoRan is one of the world's largest copper mining companies. The stock plunged in September 2025 after a mudslide at Freeport's Grasberg mine in Indonesia. Many workers died and the company temporarily shut the facility. Freeport plans a phased restart in Q2 2026, with about 85% of production expected to be restored in the second half of the year.
Despite the catastrophe, Freeport shares have rallied since late September 2025, up more than 75%. Rising copper prices have been a major driver, with copper futures climbing over 20% in the same period.
Amid that rally, several insiders have been selling FCX stock in 2026. Insiders sold just under $34 million of shares in February, and none of those transactions appears to have been part of a 10b5-1 plan.
Some sales represented meaningful position reductions—roughly 10% to more than 40%. The largest percentage reductions came from FCX's Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer, executives who are closely familiar with the company's financials and capital allocation. Those reductions are a noteworthy signal and deserve monitoring.
Keep an Eye on RCL's Insider Activity
Among the three, the Royal Caribbean insider sales raise the most questions. While management's guidance points to strength, the size and breadth of the sales suggest executives may view the recent pop as an opportunity to monetize shares rather than a signal of sustained upside. Investors should watch RCL's insider activity closely as more disclosures emerge, while weighing these trades alongside fundamental and macro factors.
Down 41% in 2026, Reasons for AppLovin Optimism Remain
Submitted by Leo Miller. Originally Published: 2/16/2026.
Key Points
- AppLovin shares have sold off sharply in early 2026 despite strong revenue and earnings beats.
- Investor fears center on new competition from Meta Platforms and startup CloudX.
- However, the company's growth remains highly impressive, and analysts are forecasting more than 50% upside.
- Special Report: [Sponsorship-Ad-2-Format3]
Of every stock in the S&P 500, few have had worse starts to 2026 than advertising technology giant AppLovin (NASDAQ: APP). After delivering a return of more than 700% in 2024 and over 100% in 2025, shares of APP are now down more than 40% this year.
This weakness stems from several factors. At the start of the year, AppLovin was trading near its all-time high, but software names broadly have been under pressure in 2026. A new competitive threat—specific to AppLovin—sent shares tumbling 16% on Feb. 4, and the stock fell nearly 20% on Feb. 12 as the market digested the company's latest earnings.
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Despite the sell-off, there may be reasons to consider buying AppLovin while shares are on sale. Here's why.
AppLovin Posts Solid Beats, But Faces Questions About META Competition
In Q4 2025, AppLovin reported revenue of $1.66 billion, a 66% year-over-year gain that beat estimates of $1.61 billion. Earnings per share (EPS) rose 87% YOY to $3.24, topping expectations of $2.89. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margin exceeded 84%, up roughly 200 basis points versus Q3 2025.
For the next quarter, the company guides to revenue of $1.76 billion at the midpoint, which would imply growth of about 52%, and expects adjusted EBITDA margin to hold near 84%. That guidance beat analyst estimates, but investors were clearly looking for more.
Analysts' questions about potential increased competition from Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) likely amplified the market's caution. AppLovin has deep, specialized expertise in mobile game advertising, and it isn't obvious Meta will choose to aggressively pursue this particular niche.
Meta's scale and technology could allow it to disrupt AppLovin if it chose to enter this space, but doing so would require significant investment. With Meta projected to generate roughly $250 billion in 2026 revenue versus about $8 billion for AppLovin, the financial incentive to aggressively chase this segment may be limited. Still, the risk merits monitoring.
CloudX: A Threat Investors Are Likely Overweighting
On Feb. 4, startup ad-tech company CloudX announced the general availability of its platform, which spooked investors and helped drive that day's sharp decline in AppLovin shares.
The concern is understandable. CloudX founders Jim Payne and Dan Sack previously built MoPub and MAX—key technologies that AppLovin acquired and that have been instrumental to the company's success.
That these innovators are launching a new product that could compete with AppLovin is a legitimate worry. But whether CloudX represents the existential threat implied by the sell-off is questionable.
In a recent interview, Payne and Sack made several remarks that are instructive:
- "I think we can actually bring more people into the mobile ads ecosystem and grow the entire market, and that's where our growth is going to come from."
- "We actually avoid the word 'move' because it is inaccurate to say that we ask people to move. We don't ask people to move. We're looking to be additive."
Importantly, the founders are not pitching CloudX as a product that forces mobile app developers to abandon AppLovin. Instead, they position CloudX as an additive tool designed to unlock incremental demand and expand the overall mobile advertising market, rather than simply taking AppLovin customers.
That market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of more than 12% from 2025 to 2033, according to Grand View Research. That suggests total addressable market expansion could outpace either company's ability to substantially erode the other's share.
While Payne and Sack's comments do not eliminate the competitive risk, the panic-induced sell-off implies the market may be treating CloudX as a more immediate and consequential threat than the founders' stated strategy suggests.
AppLovin: Growth, Profitability, and Analyst Backing
AppLovin now trades at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio near 25x, a level not seen since September 2024.
The company expects roughly 52% revenue growth next quarter and is among the most profitable firms in the market. AppLovin's free cash flow margin of 72% over the past 12 months is the highest of any technology stock in the S&P 500.
The consensus 12-month price target for AppLovin is about $652, implying roughly 78% upside from current levels.
The average of targets updated after the company's earnings report is even higher, at $670, suggesting roughly 83% potential upside.
Overall, AppLovin is a highly volatile stock that requires a strong degree of conviction before investors consider adding it. Still, the company's growth profile, profitability, and bullish analyst targets provide tangible reasons to believe it could stage a substantial recovery.
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