investing

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an example of an investment idea that could boost your investment returns, or, more likely, end up costing you money. All in all, we think that the biggest, surest gains from AI will come from investing in established businesses that are already profitable and growing, and that can gain all the more by applying AI to their operations.


Here are two companies that are already profitably taking advantage of AI, and they should be among the leaders in the push to extend AI’s use:


ADOBE INC., $508.13, is a #1 Power Buy for your 2024 investing. The company (Nasdaq symbol ADBE; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (www.adobe.com; Shares outstanding: 452.5 million; Market cap: $225.3 billion; No dividends paid) has just announced that it will unveil a new generative AI-powered video creation and editing tool in a limited release later this year.


Called Adobe Firefly Video Model, the new tool will establish Adobe in the growing market for AI-based video generation tools, a space already targeted by OpenAI’s Sora, Stability AI’s Stable Video Diffusion, and other AI video apps from smaller startups....

Adobe Inc.’s recent quarter showed strong growth with revenue up 10.6% and earnings up 13.7% as the AI boom continues.

A: Allegion plc, $135.13, symbol ALLE on New York (Shares outstanding: 87.1 million; Market cap: $11.7 billion; www.allegion.com), sells security products and solutions in 120 countries.

The company is based in Ireland for tax purposes, but it has regional corporate centres in Carmel, Indiana; Brussels, Belgium; and Shanghai, China.

Allegion sells to commercial, institutional, and residential end-users....

OMAI GOLD MINES CORP., $0.16, symbol OMG on TSX Venture, owns 100% of the past producing Omai gold mine in Guyana. The company currently does not generate revenue from the mine.

The history of the Omai gold mine dates back to March 1993. That’s when Cambior Inc....

NORTH WEST COMPANY, $50.70, is a buy. The retailer (symbol NWC on Toronto) sells food, and everyday products and services through 227 stores. Those locations are mainly in northern communities across Canada and Alaska. Through your shares, you also tap the company’s operations in remote regions of Hawaii, the wider South Pacific and the Caribbean.

North West’s food offerings consist of perishable and non-perishable products including groceries, dairy, produce, meat, convenience foods, food service, home meal replacement, health and beauty aids, paper products and cleaning supplies....

Restaurant Brands Int’l trades at a reasonable valuation, especially considering its diverse brand portfolio & long-term international growth prospects.

A main part of our approach to investing is to look for companies with hidden assets that can unlock long-term value for investors. In the case of consumer products giant Procter & Gamble, its hidden assets are its brand names, many of which have been around for more than 100 years.


Despite higher inflation and interest rates, many consumers continue to buy Procter’s products instead of switching to cheaper brands....

ALCON INC., $96.09, is a buy. The company (symbol ALC in New York) is the world’s biggest eye-care firm. Specifically, it’s the leader in ocular surgical supplies and No. 2 in contact lenses.

While Alcon is based in Switzerland, it is headed by an American, reports its results in U.S....

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an example of an investment idea that could boost your investment returns, or, more likely, end up costing you money. All in all, we think that the biggest, surest gains from AI will come from investing in established businesses that are already profitable and growing, and that can gain all the more by applying AI to their operations.


Here are two companies that are already profitably taking advantage of AI, and they should be among the leaders in the push to extend AI’s use:


PAGERDUTY INC., $19.68, is a buy. The company (New York symbol PD; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (www.pagerduty.com; Shares outstanding: 95.6 million; Market cap: $1.9 billion; No dividends paid) operates a platform that collects real-time data from software systems and devices and then notifies its IT customers of any incident that could harm their operations.


The PagerDuty platform sits on top of a company’s technology systems, taking in data....

In general, spinoffs are the closest thing you can find to a sure thing. Study after study has shown that following an initial adjustment period of a few months, spinoffs tend to outperform groups of comparable stocks for several years.


In many cases, we advise investors to not only hold onto their new shares but to add to their position....