Colin’s Note: Happy New Year, investors! We’ve returned to the Legacy offices today… And we’re bringing you some of our biggest and boldest predictions for 2024.

What do I believe you can expect in the year ahead?

Apple will lose its position as the world’s most valuable company… Microsoft will take the lead… and a perhaps unexpected company will rise up to push Apple into third place among America’s giants.

We also have a surprising call in the commodity sector… an AI-powered piece of tech that’s almost certainly coming this year… And another sector set to soar in 2024 that you might not expect.

It’s a packed video for you today. You can watch it all by clicking below… Or read on below for the edited transcript.

Welcome back to The Bleeding Edge, investors. Happy New Year to you all!

Today, I will share forecasts that could significantly influence your investment portfolio in 2024 should they materialize.

Here’s my first bold projection…

Apple will fall from its position as the world’s most valuable company to being the third largest company in the United States.

Microsoft – currently trailing Apple by a few hundred billion dollars in market capitalization – is set to overtake Apple any day now.

Microsoft’s new Copilot software it has developed in collaboration with OpenAI – along with its recent acquisition of the video game company Activision Blizzard – is set to substantially increase its revenue and profits in 2024.

Now, that’s an easy one. But which company might surpass Apple to take the second spot?

My bet is on Amazon.

This is quite a gutsy call considering Amazon’s current market value is approximately half Apple’s. For Amazon to match Apple’s market cap, its stock would need to essentially double in value.

But there’s more to consider.

My view is that Apple might face a particularly tough year ahead. Wall Street is predicting minimal revenue growth for Apple in 2024 while Amazon is expected to reach over $630 billion in revenue.

This shift could cause a significant reallocation of investments from Apple to more growth-oriented names like Amazon.

Regardless, Apple is beginning to look and feel more like a tired giant rather than the innovator we’ve known for the past 30 years.

Don’t get me wrong, the company’s products are still top-level. But in some ways, they’re almost too good. I’m perfectly comfortable with my several-years-old Macbook and iPhone rather than the latest versions of Apple’s tech.

That brings me to my next prediction… And it will also hurt the world’s largest company.

I expect OpenAI – in partnership with Apple’s former chief design officer, Jony Ive – will release an artificial intelligence-powered smartphone in 2024.

Jony Ive was essentially Steve Jobs’ right-hand man in terms of design at Apple. He was vital in the design of Apple’s biggest products including the iPod, iMac, iPad, and, of course, the iPhone.

He’s since left the company to start his own design firm. And another chief designer at Apple has also recently left the company to join him. OpenAI has enlisted the firm to work on the project. In my eyes, all signs point to an imminent product release.

This will have Apple shares under pressure all year and open the door for Microsoft and, surprisingly, Amazon to surpass the tech giant in value.

My next bold prediction is in the commodity side of the market… And it’s related to crude oil.

After peaking in the summer of 2022, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Crude Oil index has continued to slide lower. WTI crude is currently sitting on a bead of support at the $60 level. But we haven’t seen a break at that level in more than two years now.

I believe a combination of politics and slowing demand will send crude oil prices falling to the $40 level in 2024.

That would equate to another 40% decline if the $40 level is reached.

Here in the U.S., we’re heading into a hotly contested election year. Gasoline prices and the popularity of the president are correlated to a certain degree.

Despite his many flaws, President Biden is no dummy when it comes to playing politics. He’s got the U.S. quietly pumping more oil than any country in history right now.

That’s right. As the President will campaign on being “green” and hip to alternative energy, he’s actually got the country pumping more fossil fuels than ever.

And even if President Biden loses in November, no one is expecting former President Trump or any Republican to reverse the oil production boom.

OPEC would love to keep prices high. One way to do that is actually to drive prices down. That would make drilling in the U.S. less profitable. We’ve seen this strategy used before. I expect it to happen again in 2024.

This will be good news for consumers, airlines, freight, and logistic providers. It would also almost guarantee inflation continues a steady path towards the Fed’s 2% target.

My next bold prediction is this will be the year of the investment bank.

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanely, take your pick really… Both firms are trading at the same levels they were at almost three years ago.

The lack of IPOs and corporate fundraising over the past 18 months has decimated the investment banking profit centers that rely on capital raises from large companies.

Now 2024 is shaping up to be an epic year for IPOs with mature businesses like Reddit, Stripe, Instacart, Panera Bread, Fanatics, and more set to reach the public markets for the first time.

This will spark a fundraising frenzy. And the investment banks are set to capitalize. Lower interest rates will spark a new round in corporate debt fundraising as well. All totaled, it’s shaping up to be a fantastic year for the investment banks.

My final bold prediction is that the profit artificial intelligence (“AI”) is generating right now will catch many investors by surprise.

We’re just weeks away from software companies like Microsoft and Salesforce proving to investors that it’s been able to charge customers more money for AI-powered software and services.

Investors will be shocked because most of this software is being sold b2b – or business to business – rather than to individual consumers.

Most consumers’ interaction with AI might be using ChatGPT or a customer service chatbot. But large corporations are aggressively adopting and using AI to analyze data, make decisions, and run more efficiently.

Microsoft has essentially layered AI into its software that is 30 or 40 years old… And it’s on the cusp of charging more for it.

This will be a trend that plays out all year. And despite the solid run many of these software stocks saw last year… 2024 will be even better.

Folks, those were the bold predictions for 2024. If, and when, one or more of them fails, I fully expect to hear about it. Feel free to reach out at [email protected] if that happens.

Otherwise, let me know what your bold predictions are for the year. I’d love to hear from you. And until then, Happy New Year! My name is Colin Tedards, and I’ll see you again soon.