Skeptical about AI? UBS offers alternatives including Visa, BYD and the maker of Labubu dolls.

By Steve Goldstein

UBS has a list of alternatives for investors who think there is an AI bubble

Visa is among the alternatives listed by UBS for investors skeptical on AI.

Nvidia’s latest results have not definitively settled the question of whether or not there’s an artificial-intelligence bubble.

But what can an investor convinced there is such a bubble do? Strategists at UBS led by Michel Lerner looked at some alternative ideas.

First, they hunted for stocks in thematic exchange-traded funds – apart from AI, of course – that screen well in their HOLT valuation database but that also have strong momentum. It’s a list that includes Visa (V), AppLovin (APP) and PayPal (PYPL), as well as global companies including Korean memory-chip maker SK Hynix (KR:000660).

   Attractive stocks held in secular growth thematic ETFs (excluding U.S. AI), by market cap 
   Company                                                                                    Country/territory  Theme 
   Visa Inc.                                                                                  U.S.               Digital currency 
   Applovin Corp.                                                                             U.S.               Videogames and E-sports 
   SK Hynix Inc.                                                                              South Korea        Non-U.S. Al 
   Iberdrola S.A.                                                                             Spain              Infrastructure 
   Enel SPA                                                                                   Italy              Infrastructure 
   Paypal Holdings Inc.                                                                       U.S.               Digital currency, digital consumer 
   Aena SME S.A.                                                                              Spain              Infrastructure 
   Entergy Corp.                                                                              U.S.               Infrastructure 
   Emcor Group Inc.                                                                           U.S.               Infrastructure 
   Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd.                                                             Hong Kong          EVs and batteries 
   Gen Digital Inc.                                                                           U.S.               Cybersecurity 
   MasTec Inc.                                                                                U.S.               Infrastructure 
   Tokyo Gas Co.                                                                              Japan              Infrastructure 
   Core & Main Inc.                                                                           U.S.               Water 
   Carpenter Technology Corp.                                                                 U.S.               Infrastructure 
   Sunny Optical Technology Group Co.                                                         Hong Kong          Metaverse 
   Acciona S.A.                                                                               Spain              Clean energy 
   Mueller Industries Inc.                                                                    U.S.               Clean energy 
   Yara International ASA                                                                     Norway             Agriculture and food innovation 
   China Merchants Port Holdings Co.                                                          Hong Kong          Infrastructure 
   Italgas SPA                                                                                Italy              Infrastructure 
   Valmont Industries Inc.                                                                    U.S.               Infrastructure, water 
   Charoen Pokphand Foods PLC                                                                 Thailand           Agriculture and good innovation 
   Coway Co.                                                                                  South Korea        Water 
   TXNM Energy Inc.                                                                           U.S.               Infrastructure 
   Source: UBS 

Next they looked for non-U.S. high-quality growth stocks at a reasonable price. It’s a list led by Chinese electric-vehicle maker BYD (HK:1211) that also includes Labubu maker Pop Mart International (HK:9992) and U.K. private-equity firm 3i (UK:III).

   Non-U.S. quality growth stocks at a reasonable price, by market cap 
   Company                                                              Country/territory 
   BYD Co.                                                              China 
   DBS Group Holdings Ltd.                                              Singapore 
   Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.                                 Japan 
   Zijin Mining Group Co.                                               China 
   Pop Mart International Group Ltd.                                    Hong Kong 
   3i Group PLC                                                         U.K. 
   BOC Hong Kong (Holdings) Ltd.                                        Hong Kong 
   Emirates NBD PJSC                                                    UAE 
   Eoptolink Technology Inc.                                            China 
   Daikin Industries Ltd.                                               Japan 
   Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB                                     Sweden 
   Anta Sports Products Ltd.                                            Hong Kong 
   Swedbank AB                                                          Sweden 
   Sungrow Power Supply Co.                                             China 
   Banco BTG Pactual S.A.                                               Brazil 
   Bank of Ningbo Co.                                                   China 
   Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co.                             China 
   Adnoc Drilling Co. PJSC                                              UAE 
   Wiwynn Corp.                                                         Taiwan 
   Accton Technology Corp.                                              Taiwan 
   Attijariwafa Bank                                                    Morocco 
   Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Ltd.                                            Israel 
   Qatar Islamic Bank QSC                                               Qatar 
   Meritz Financial Group Inc.                                          South Korea 
   Genmab A/S                                                           Denmark 
   CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd.                                       Hong Kong 
   Power Finance Corp.                                                  India 
   Guangdong Haid Group Co.                                             China 
   Jonhon Optronic Technology Co.                                       China 
   National Atomic Co. Kazatomprom JSC                                  U.K. 
   Banco Santander-Chile                                                Chile 
   Vietnam Technological & Commercial JS Bank                           Vietnam 
   Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade           Vietnam 
   Bank of Chengdu Co.                                                  China 
   Source: UBS 

Finally, they looked for attractive opportunities in sectors that are the least correlated to the performance of technology. That includes companies including Stop & Shop owner Ahold (NL:AD), broadcaster Fox (FOX) and Warner Music (WMG). (Fox Corp. shares common ownership with News Corp, the parent company of MarketWatch publisher Dow Jones.)

   Attractive opportunities in sectors that are least correlated to the performance of the technology sector 
   Company                                                                                                    Industry                Country/territory 
   Cnooc Ltd.                                                                                                 Energy                  China 
   Enel SPA                                                                                                   Utilities               Italy 
   Wuliangye Yibin Co.                                                                                        Consumer staples        China 
   EOG Resources Inc.                                                                                         Energy                  U.S. 
   Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V.                                                                            Consumer staples        Netherlands 
   Imperial Brands PLC                                                                                        Consumer staples        U.K. 
   Shanxi Xinghuacun Fen Wine Factory Co.                                                                     Consumer staples        China 
   Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd.                                                                               Real estate             Hong Kong 
   Luzhou Lao Jiao Co.                                                                                        Consumer staples        China 
   Naturgy Energy Group S.A.                                                                                  Utilities               Spain 
   Fox Corp.                                                                                                  Communication services  U.S. 
   Advanced Info Service PLC                                                                                  Communication services  Thailand 
   Naver Corp.                                                                                                Communication services  South Korea 
   Aldar Properties PJSC                                                                                      Real estate             UAE 

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08-28-25 1130ET

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