The best opportunities in the market might be the ones no one is paying attention to — and that’s exactly where microcap investor Mathieu Martin is looking. On this episode of In the Money with Amber Kanwar, Amber sits down with Mathieu Martin, Portfolio Manager for the Rivemont MicroCap Fund, to break down one of the most underfollowed — and potentially most lucrative — corners of the market.
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The kids are hiding something from me. I figured out they’ve found candy and have it stashed away somewhere. This secret is coming with unexpected benefits. They are cohesive as a sibling unit – united in their deception. And they are perfectly compliant after returning from one of their stealth candy missions. My usual commands: Come to dinner! Time for bath! Brush your teeth! Are all met with, “Yes, Mom!” So, I’ve decided to let them have this. A few trips to the dentist feels like the right price to pay for this kind of civility.
Here are five things to know this morning:
Bad breadth: Stock markets are in the red this morning following record highs for the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ. Weakness in tech, higher oil prices, and the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz are all conspiring against the market today. If you want a tangible example of what high energy prices are doing, look at American Airlines this morning which warned the energy shock is driving up costs by $4 billion. It’s profit forecast ranges from a loss of 40 cents/share to a profit of $1.10/share. You could drive their whole fleet through that gap. The tech weakness this morning is driven by earnings (more on that below). Aside from that, the rally hasn’t been broad. Yesterday, more stocks fell on the S&P 500 than were up. Indeed, the equal-weight version of the S&P 500 is underperforming the market-weight version in April indicating narrow participation. The TSX has been hurt by weaker oil and gold prices in April. This is a problem because those two sectors account for 87% of the index’s outperformance so far in 2026, according to Derek Benedet of Purpose Investments. “Everything else is a rounding error, besides the drag of Technology. Considering how no one would have predicted energy’s dominance this year, we’d classify the Canadian market as the accidental bull,” he wrote in a piece a few days ago.
Tech-no: IBM is down 7% in the pre-market after software sales failed to exceed expectations stoking fears that AI is still gunning for the business. Big Blue didn’t raise its 2026 forecast which is also weighing this morning. IBM touted AI has a tailwind noting that GenAI book of business with 80% of backlog coming from net new clients and $4 billion in annual recurring revenue. However, consulting revenue barely grew which is an area that investors fear is being substituted by AI-generated solutions instead. While fears likely overblown and stock trading at 17x FCF,” wrote Stifel’s David Grossman, “Complexity/quarter/guide (means the) stock likely range-bound (above current levels) pending 2Q-report.” Shares of Tesla are falling 3% despite solid quarterly results due to higher than expected spending plans this year. Tesla plans to spend $25 billion to develop AI and robotics. This is three times higher than last year and an increase from its original $20 billion forecast. In the reported quarter, the EV business did better than expected thanks to higher prices and 51% increase in full-self driving subscriptions. But that is not what the stock trades on. We aren’t paying 200x earnings for higher EV margins. No, it is all about robotics and Tesla becoming a physical AI company. “Tesla is morphing into a physical AI stalwart…the path is here and it requires more CapEx,” wrote Dan Ives of Wedbush, “We maintain our OUTPERFORM rating and $600 price target.” ServiceNow is also weighing on the tech trade with the stock falling 12% in the pre-market after subscription revenue came in lower than expected because of the Iran war. The company said the war delayed the closing of several large deals in the Middle East. It increased its full year subscription revenue forecast, but that doesn’t appear to be comforting investors. While the company is blaming the war, investors are most nervous about the software company being disrupted from AI. “Servicenow has a redemption opportunity in two weeks at investor day where we expect commentary on the AI-driven revenue reacceleration,” wrote Citi’s Tyler Radke who says the stock can recover in the back half of the year.
Rocket fuel: Texas Instruments is a bright spot in tech soaring 10% to a fresh record high. The semiconductor company is benefiting from spending on data centres and boosted its sales forecast for the year. Semiconductors have been white hot with the index up a whopping 14 sessions in a row. The sector is up 44% so far in 2026 and it has nothing to do with Nvidia which has been a lame duck for months. Rival Marvell has trounced Nvidia up 88% so far this year while memory stocks have been on fire. Even Intel is doing better than Nvidia! Although Intel’s rally may be tested with earnings out after the bell today.
Down dog: Lululemon is falling 6% in the pre-market after the appointment of a former Nike executive to be CEO fails to impress investors. The athletic apparel maker announced Heidi O’Neill would become the next CEO after Calvin McDonald left in January. O’Neill was at Nike for 26 years and considering that stock is also in the toilet, investors don’t think the company is picking from strong stock. “Ms. O’Neill’s start date is September 2026. If we assume it takes 2-3 months to get up to speed, the earliest we’d expect strategic changes with Ms. O’Neill’s fingerprints would be early 2027, and the financial impact of those actions could be a F2H27 event,” wrote Rick Patel of Raymond James, “The risk is that LULU’s current strategy underwhelms and/or the stock develops a “do nothing” investment narrative until strategic changes are implemented.”
Board battle: Activist investor Plantro is nominating three people to Ag Growth International’s board and pushing for a sale of the embattled grain handling company. “Plantro repeats its call that the Board commence a formal strategic review and sale process of the Company, having concluded that a near-term sale is the most certain path to maximizing shareholder value,” stated the release this morning. Ag Growth has found itself in a mess of trouble after accounting issues, a weak farming economy, and troubles in its Brazil business. We talked about this with Marc Robinson on the podcast this week. “Do I think the activists are going to improve the situation? No. Like underscore no,” he said. Robinson thinks the business can ultimately be sold but not until a recovery in the ag market.
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