The Disciplined Growth Investor: The DG Portfolio

SoFi: A Meme “Phenom” (Crypto & Private Equity)

Mark Hines — Sat, 12 Jul 2025 03:48:32 GMT

SoFi is a millennial-focused financial services company that’s up more than 200% in the last year. And the gains are not just because of social media hype, but also due to SoFi’s impressive fundamental growth (as the company capitalizes on a growing distrust of traditional finance). This report reviews SoFi’s powerful “product differentiation” strategy, growth opportunities (particularly its latest foray into cryptocurrency and private equity), current valuation and risks, and then concludes with a strong opinion on investing.

Top 10 AI Growth Stocks, Big Disruptive Upside

Mark Hines — Sat, 21 Jun 2025 13:54:39 GMT

If you are getting AI revolution fatigue… don’t. While some names are more volatile than others, this megatrend is still just getting started and there are plenty of stocks that still have lots of disruptive upside. In fact, I rank and countdown my top 10 in this report, starting with an “honorable mention” and finishing with my very top ideas.

Before getting into the specific names, it is important to remind you that investing is a goal-focused exercise, and everyone’s situation is different. You may want to consider a few of the names in this report as just one part of your prudently-diversified/concentrated portfolio. And if you are not a pro (or at least an expert-level investor) speak with an investment advisor or tax professional before you start investing.

So with that backdrop in mind, let’s get into it…

Honorable mention:

Palantir (PLTR)

Palantir is one of the most impressive growth stocks you are ever going to see. It has expanded from a private business with many government contracts (which is a very challenging business to break into, but also very lucrative once you have) and into additional high-growth and high-margin commercial businesses (something the naysayers said they couldn’t do; I love it when negative people are proven wrong). What’s more, the company launched its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) right at the time the AI megatrend was ramping up, and this has launched its growth (and share price) into the stratosphere (incredible!). However, it’s the recent amazing run up in share price that keeps this once out of the official top ten (it’s only an “honorable mention”), but this is still an incredible software (as a service) business that may well prove the naysayers wrong yet again!

You can read my latest report on Palantir here.

10. Nebius (NBIS)

This is the only name in the top 10 that I don’t have a separate writeup for (and I don’t have a position in, yet), but the opportunity is potentially so good that I needed to add it to the list. Nebius has an important partnership with Nvidia to build large-scale GPU clusters in an “AI-native” cloud environment/ datacenters (that basically allows hyperscalers to get up and running fast with the latest Nvidia Blackwell chips). And for perspective, in the most recent quarter, Nebius reported impressive 385% year-over-year revenue growth (reaching $55.3 million) driven by strong ongoing demand for AI compute power. Yet despite its high-growth trajectory, Nebius remains relatively under the radar, trading at a forward price-to-sales ratio (~12.5x based on 2025 revenue estimates) significantly lower than hyperscaler peers.

I’ll have more to say about Nebius in the near future, but for the time being, you can see how it compares to other top AI companies (in the following table) based on various valuation metrics (and more).

9. Tesla (TSLA)

Continuing with the theme of proving the naysayers wrong, the CEO of Tesla (Elon Musk) has done this before (by basically taking on The Big 3 Automakers, with electric vehicles, and winning). However, Musk is also an extremely hated person right now (by many people) for political reasons (he took over Twitter and also has been partnering with the Trump administration), and as a result (of that and the fact that sales growth has fallen off a cliff), Tesla shares are still well below their all-time highs.

However, Musk has set his sites on another massive market opportunity, this time driven by AI, with his plans to turn Tesla’s into fully autonomous vehicles driving themselves (and passengers), and it will be coming to a city near you soon, if Musk gets his way. Not only does this add to the value of Electric Vehicles, but it also potentially opens a massive trillion-dollar-plus growth opportunity in the ride hailing industry (because self-driving vehicles are potentially significantly less expensive than physically manned Uber and Lyft vehicles). The uncertainty and challenges of this opportunity are so high that Tesla is not ranked higher in this report, but if Musk succeeds with autonomous vehicles taking over the ride-sharing industry, these shares can still go dramatically higher from here.

You can read my latest writeup on Tesla here.

Palantir: AI Revolution, 10 Top Stocks

Mark Hines — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 14:53:36 GMT

While Wall Street has been bashing Palantir hard, the longs (including Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives) have been right all along as the artificial intelligence (“AI”) megatrend continues. This report reviews Palantir in detail (including its wide-moat business model, AI growth trajectory, current valuation and risks), compares the shares to the other top …

This $15B Chip Stock Has Big Upside (Solving AI Connectivity)

Mark Hines — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 23:01:26 GMT

The stock I review in this report is growing rapidly because it solves datacenter bottlenecks created by the AI megatrend. It also has several competitive advantages and strategic partnerships (e.g. Nvidia, Amazon) allowing it to capture a significant share of a large and growing market (cloud data and AI). This report reviews the business, the high growth, total addressable market, current valuation and risks, and then concludes with my strong opinion on investing.

Innodata: AI "Picks-and Shovels" Play

Mark Hines — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 21:18:40 GMT

It’s a bit of a turnoff to see a 30-year-old stock marketing itself as an Artificial Intelligence play (considering that’s a megatrend that only just started to ramp within the last 2-years). Nonetheless, Innodata (INOD), a data engineering company, is finding its niche (capitalizing on the surging demand for high-quality AI training data) and hitting i…

CoreWeave: New Trade, The Plot Thickens

Mark Hines — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 02:43:56 GMT

CoreWeave shares are up 220% in the last month and now trade at 14.4x 2025 revenue guidance. That is a high multiple, that can easily go much higher, for this NVIDIA/AI-focused hyperscaler cloud platform (optimized for generative AI workloads, such as Microsoft, Meta and Open AI) through multiple expansion or revenue growth (they can keep landing new contracts/deals).

Veeva: Impressive Moat, Margins, AI Momentum

Mark Hines — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 19:58:40 GMT

Veeva Software (VEEV) is dominating in a large TAM industry (life sciences) with its software-as-a-Service solutions benefiting from high margins and AI momentum. This report takes a closer look at the business (post this quarter’s powerful earnings report), competitive moat, AI opportunities, growth, valuation and risks, and then concludes with my strong opinion on investing.

Tesla: Despite "Woke Mob," Musk to Better US Again (FSD Edition)

Mark Hines — Wed, 28 May 2025 15:17:04 GMT

We've all been the target of anger, but few as much as Tesla (TSLA) CEO, Elon Musk, after he purchased Twitter and joined forces with Trump. However, an examination of his body of work at Tesla reveals he brilliantly created the modern electric vehicle ("EV") industry in anticipation of renewable energy becoming a significantly larger portion of the US electric grid (see chart below) and thereby enabling EVs to ultimately be powered more by clean energy and less by the dirty fossil fuels that dominated the grid and powered EVs when that industry began. It was a brilliant innovation that improved quality of life in the US, and he seems, presciently, about to do it again. This report is about the existential total addressable market opportunity Full Self-Driving (“FSD”) technology creates for Tesla, including competitive advantages, valuation, risks and concluding with my strong opinion on investing.

Novo Nordisk: 3.4% Dividend Yield, Shares Down 50%

Mark Hines — Fri, 23 May 2025 11:05:18 GMT

Novo Nordisk (NVO) is a global leader in diabetes and obesity care, and its shares are down 50% since peaking in June 2024 (due to competition, pipeline setbacks and political uncertainty). However, the underlying fundamentals appear compelling. This report reviews the business, growth, risks, valuation and capital allocation, and then concludes with my strong opinion on investing.

Nvidia: 5 Channel Checks Ahead of Earnings

Mark Hines — Wed, 21 May 2025 17:16:35 GMT

The most important company in the world right now is Nvidia (NVDA), and it’s set to announce earnings on Wednesday, May 28th after the close. Governments, other companies (large and small), and billions of people all rely increasingly on Nvidia’s computer chips directly and indirectly. And considering the massive Artificial Intelligence (AI) megatrend, demand for Nvidia’s Hopper (H100 and H200) and Blackwell chips dramatically exceeds supply (as incredible value-adding use cases are only just beginning to be discovered). This report reviews Nvidia’s business, growth potential, five important channel checks (suggesting Nvidia will surpass its revenue and EPS guidance), valuation, big risks, and then concludes with my strong opinion on investing.

UnitedHealth Group: Post 50% Decline, Shares Worth Considering

Mark Hines — Mon, 19 May 2025 15:10:03 GMT

UnitedHealth Group, a stalwart Dow Jones component and important part of the healthcare sector, is trading 50% below recent all-time highs due to operational challenges (they pulled guidance), regulatory scrutiny (the DOJ is probing potential Medicare Advantage fraud) and leadership changes. This report reviews the business, growth, capital allocation, valuation and risks, and then concludes with my strong opinion on investing.

Amazon: Despite Big Risks, Big Opportunities Ahead

Mark Hines — Fri, 16 May 2025 17:25:21 GMT

Most people recognize Amazon as the global leader in e-commerce, but it’s also a huge cloud company with massive advertising revenue growth. Further, Amazon is spending heavily on Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) and other innovation, while simultaneously strengthening profitability under CEO Andy Jassy. And despite big risks, the shares are attractively valued (especially considering its strategic focus on large-TAM megatrends). I review the details in this report and then conclude with my strong opinion on investing.

View: The Disciplined Growth Portfolio

Mark Hines — Fri, 16 May 2025 16:32:21 GMT

Everyone should have a Disciplined Growth Portfolio. Mine consists of approximately 25 individual stocks held for the long term to generate compounding wealth. The portfolio includes weights, “buy under” prices, real time ratings and more.

Monolithic Power: Impressive Dividend Growth, Valuation

Mark Hines — Thu, 15 May 2025 17:06:59 GMT

Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR) presents a particularly compelling investment opportunity. Not only is it an Nvidia AI megatrend beneficiary (enabling energy-efficient semiconductor technologies), but it’s an enormously profitable (81% net margin), strong-balance sheet, dividend-growth powerhouse that is currently trading at an attractive price. In this report, I review the business, market opportunity, growth, valuation, dividend and risks, and then conclude with my strong opinion on who may want to consider investing, and how.

About the Business

Monolithic Power designs integrated circuits (IC) to manage power for electronics/semiconductors (such as those used for cloud computing via data centers, Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) and automobile infotainment systems). Its mission is “to reduce energy and material consumption to improve all aspects of quality of life.”

Importantly, MPWR uses a “fabless” business model, whereby manufacturing is outsourced, thereby providing flexibility and cost efficiency (and helping it navigate the current “tariff environment” more efficiently than others, more on this later).

Market Share & Total Addressable Market (TAM)