What does 'operating leverage' mean, and why does it matter?

Operating leverage simply means a company is growing its profits faster than its costs. Imagine a business that spends a lot to set itself up, but once it's running, each new customer costs very little to serve. That's operating leverage in action. When AI helps a company like Airbnb cut its customer support costs or speed up product development, it gets to keep more money from every booking it processes. That's great news for investors, because higher profits with lower costs usually means the company's shares become more valuable.

What is AI and how are these companies actually using it?

AI, or artificial intelligence, refers to computer systems that can perform tasks that normally require human thinking — like answering questions, making recommendations, or optimising routes. The companies in this basket are using AI in practical, profit-driving ways: Airbnb uses it to reduce customer service costs, Meta uses it to show users more relevant adverts, and Uber uses it to find the fastest routes for drivers. These aren't future plans — they're happening right now and already showing up in company earnings.

What is a 'consumer internet platform'?

A consumer internet platform is an online service that connects people — usually at very large scale. Think of booking a holiday on Airbnb, ordering food on DoorDash, or searching for something on Google. These companies build digital marketplaces or services that millions of people use every day. Because they operate online, they can add millions of new users without dramatically increasing their costs, which makes them well-suited to benefit from AI efficiency gains.

Why are cloud providers and chip makers included in this basket?

AI doesn't run on thin air — it needs enormous amounts of computing power. Companies like NVIDIA make the specialised chips (called GPUs) that data centres use to train and run AI models. Meanwhile, cloud providers like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud supply the computing infrastructure that consumer platforms rent to power their AI tools. As platforms spend more on AI, these infrastructure companies stand to benefit directly, which is why they're an important part of this basket.

What is a 'market cap' and why is it listed for each stock?

Market cap, short for market capitalisation, is simply the total value of a company as judged by the stock market. You calculate it by multiplying the current share price by the total number of shares in existence. It's a useful way to understand the size of a company. A very large market cap (like those of Microsoft or Apple) generally means a more established, stable business, while a smaller market cap might indicate a younger or faster-growing company with potentially higher risk and reward.

What does 'analyst rating' mean for a stock?

An analyst rating is the recommendation given by professional financial researchers who study a company in depth. They typically rate stocks as 'Buy', 'Hold', or 'Sell'. A 'Buy' rating means the analyst believes the stock is likely to rise in value, a 'Hold' suggests it's fairly priced as it is, and a 'Sell' means they think it may decline. These ratings are one useful input when considering an investment, though they are not guarantees of future performance.

What does 'potential profit %' mean?

The potential profit percentage is an estimate of how much a stock's price could rise, based on the combined outlook of professional analysts. For example, if a stock is currently priced at £100 and has a potential profit of 20%, analysts believe it could reach £120. This figure is based on aggregated analyst sentiment provided by Refinitiv Ltd and is a forward-looking estimate, not a guaranteed return. It's a helpful guide, but all investments carry risk and values can go down as well as up.

15 Handpicked stocks

Are Consumer Platforms Unlocking Real AI-Driven Margins?

Airbnb's stock surged 15% following a strong quarterly earnings report fueled by significant operating efficiencies gained from artificial intelligence. This breakthrough highlights a growing investment opportunity in consumer internet platforms and the technology infrastructure providers powering their next-generation services.

Jamie Dutta | Financial Market Analyst

Published on August 11

Top Picks from This Group

Here are a few of the assets in this group. Create an account to unlock the full list.

NVIDIA CORP

NVDA

Current Price

$223.75

NVIDIA provides the fundamental GPU hardware required by data centers to train and run the AI models used by consumer platforms.

META PLATFORMS INC

Why You'll Want to Watch These Stocks

🚀

The AI Profit Moment Is Here

Airbnb's 15% earnings surge proved that AI isn't just hype — it's already cutting costs and boosting profits at major consumer platforms. This could be just the beginning of a much bigger market shift.

🌐

The Whole AI Value Chain in One Basket

From the platforms using AI to the chip makers and cloud providers powering it, this group covers every link in the chain. Missing one part of this story could mean missing out on the bigger opportunity.

👀

Experts Are Watching This Space Closely

Professional analysts have handpicked these stocks because they see real, measurable financial gains emerging from AI adoption right now. When the pros are paying attention, it's worth taking a closer look.

Your Basket's Financial Footprint

This basket's total market capitalisation is $19.56T and is heavily weighted toward a few very large-cap stocks that anchor its profile. That concentration suggests lower idiosyncratic volatility but greater sensitivity to broad-market moves.

Key Takeaways for Investors:

Large-cap dominance tends to mean lower volatility, steadier returns, and closer tracking of broad market performance.
Suitable as a core, long-term holding to provide stable exposure—less appropriate as a speculative, high-growth trade.
Expect steady, long-term appreciation rather than explosive short-term gains; growth may be moderate but more predictable.

Total Market Cap

NVDA: $5.42T
META: $1.51T
MSFT: $3.71T
Other

12 Month Growth Potential

Use the growth calculator to see how much investing in these assets could return over one year, based on aggregated analyst sentiment provided by Refinitive Ltd.

If you invested across these assets:

≈

In 12 months it might be worth:

$1,000.00

+126.20%

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About This Group of Stocks

Our Expert Thinking

Airbnb's 15% stock surge after a strong earnings report — powered by AI-driven cost savings — marked a turning point for the market. It showed that artificial intelligence is no longer just a buzzword; it's already improving real business results. This basket captures that momentum by grouping consumer internet platforms alongside the cloud, hardware, and software companies making it all possible.

What You Need to Know

This is a growth-oriented collection of stocks spanning online travel, ride-hailing, food delivery, social media, cloud computing, and enterprise software. These companies are at different stages of integrating AI into their operations, which means varying risk profiles. Some are large, well-established businesses, while others are more dynamic and fast-moving — giving the group a broad spread of opportunity.

Why These Stocks

Each stock in this basket was handpicked by professional analysts to reflect the full AI value chain in consumer services. From platforms like Airbnb and Meta that are using AI to grow profit margins, to infrastructure providers like NVIDIA and Microsoft that supply the essential compute power, every pick plays a distinct and meaningful role in this theme.

Group Performance Snapshot

126.2%

Average 12 Month Profit

On average, analysts expect assets in this group to grow 126.2% over the next year.

14 of 15

Stocks Rated Buy by Analysts

14 of 15 assets in this group are rated Buy by professional analysts.

Source: Analyst sentiment is provided by Refinitiv Ltd, a global leader in financial market data with over 40k business clients. Refinitiv Ltd is an independent third party to Nemo. This is not advice.

Get the full story on this Basket. Read our detailed article on its risks and potential.

Read Full Insight

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