In Episode 67 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, provides a broad market update amid the ongoing, record-breaking government shutdown. Lake highlights the continued strength of equity markets, with the S&P 500 up 16.97% and the Nasdaq up 22.74% year to date. Likewise, he discusses resilient corporate earnings, particularly among major tech firms such as Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, and Palantir. Lake examines the Federal Reserve’s rece...

In Episode 66 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, provides an updated analysis of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM), a key holding in the GW Investment Institute’s portfolios and cornerstone of the global AI supply chain. Lake highlights the company’s exceptional gross margins at 59%, strong revenue growth at 39%, and a profit-driving manufacturing model. He also praises CEO Dr. C.C. Wei and the management team for maintai...

In Episode 65 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, shares market updates on the government shutdown, corporate earnings, and global trends. He highlights strong bank results from JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley, noting improved stability since 2008 and continued consolidation, including Capital One’s purchase of Discover. He discusses Coca-Cola’s “two-tiered economy” and use of AI to boost efficiency, then reviews TSMC’s stand...

In Episode 64 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, delivers an analysis of Alibaba, one of China’s largest and most influential technology conglomerates. He examines the company’s structure, leadership under Eddie Wu and Jack Ma, and its expanding focus beyond retail into cloud computing and artificial intelligence—where Alibaba trails only AWS and Microsoft Azure. Drawing on insights from his recent trip to China, Lake emphasizes the nat...

In Episode 63 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, provides a market update as the third quarter of 2025 ends, highlighting strong year-to-date gains for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq amidst interest rate cuts, tariffs, and a government shutdown. He discusses Apple’s recent iPhone 17 launch and high valuation but expresses concern over their unclear AI strategy compared to Nvidia and Amazon. He also explores Amazon’s Kuiper satellite project...

In Episode 62 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, welcomes Sevin Yeltekin, the new dean of the GW School of Business, for a discussion on her leadership experience, the role of AI in education, and her vision for the school. Dean Yeltekin highlights her passion for building programs, fostering innovation, and preparing students for a future shaped by AI and rapid market disruptions. She emphasizes the importance of pairing technical prof...

In Episode 61 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, analyzes Qualcomm (QCOM), a GWII portfolio holding and underappreciated player in the AI and 5G ecosystem. Qualcomm leads the industry in modem chips, Snapdragon processors, edge computing, and automotive technology, and stands to benefit from the commercialization of low-Earth orbit satellites. Lake points to Qualcomm’s strong gross and net margins, steady cash flow, and $172 billion mar...

In Episode 60 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, reviews broad market trends, including strong year-to-date performance of the S&P 500, payroll revisions that signal weaker job growth, the likely Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, and the competitive tech industry. He highlights how AI spending continues to drive markets, focusing on Apple’s lagging AI strategy, high valuation, and whether its loyal customer base and ecosystem can ...

In Episode 59 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, provides a detailed analysis of John Deere’s financial condition, highlighting declining revenue, shrinking margins, and weakening free cash flow despite heavy capital expenditures aimed at driving innovation. Management under CEO John May has sought to reposition Deere as a technology company, but challenges persist with tariffs, slowing growth, and questions around execution. The compan...

In Episode 58 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, analyzes Palo Alto Networks, a leading cybersecurity company that is not in the GWII portfolio but holds strategic importance in today’s market. Lake highlights Palo Alto’s strong client base, consistent high gross margins, improving profitability, and robust free cash flow, while noting a gradual slowdown in revenue growth and low net margins. He also examines the company’s $25 billion c...

In Episode 57 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, analyzes Tesla, a small but significant holding in the GW Investment Institute portfolios. He frames Tesla as more than an EV manufacturer, highlighting its leadership in real-world AI applications such as autonomous driving, energy storage, AutoBidder software, and the Optimus humanoid robot. Lake also weighs Elon Musk’s visionary leadership and capital allocation into future markets lik...

In Episode 56 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, revisits Apple, one of the first companies purchased by the GW Investment Institute’s student-managed fund in 2005. He highlights Apple’s enduring strength in its iPhone-centered ecosystem, with a $3.4 trillion market cap, $408 billion in revenue, and $96 billion in free cash flow over the past 12 months. At the same time, he raises concerns about regulatory pressures, slowing reven...

In Episode 55 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, opens a conversation on broader market trends. The episode begins with CPI data showing a modest 0.3% inflation increase, which boosted market sentiment and heightened expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts. The discussion extends to AI investment trends, infrastructure needs, and derivative plays such as energy suppliers. Lake also explores AI and robotics’ transformative impact on p...

In Episode 54 of "Market News with Rodney Lake," Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, analyzes Adobe, a digital experience software-as-a-service company. Lake highlights Adobe’s transition from a licensing to a subscription-based business model, which now accounts for approximately 95% of its revenue. Despite slowing revenue growth rates, Adobe’s gross margins remain exceptionally high at around 89% and net margins are projected to reach 37% for the fiscal year 2025. Manag...

In Episode 53 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, assesses Disney’s investment value and future outlook. Lake highlights Disney’s strong brand and diversified business model spanning entertainment, experiences, and sports, but notes challenges including slow revenue growth, high content costs, and stiff competition in streaming from Netflix, Apple, and Amazon. He addresses optimistic financial performance with Disney’s gross margins impr...

In Episode 52 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, offers a comprehensive analysis of Meta, an ad-driven business that owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. He explores Meta’s $1.8 trillion market cap and its strategic pivot from the Metaverse to AI, particularly through its open-weight Llama models. Lake highlights Meta’s strong financials—including gross margins near 80%, net margins above 40%, and interest coverage ratio a...

In Episode 51 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, starts season 3 with an in-depth analysis of ServiceNow. Lake highlights ServiceNow’s strong enterprise software performance and strategic shift toward agentic AI-powered solutions. The company demonstrates exceptional gross margins of approximately 79%, consistent free cash flow growth, and a well-managed balance sheet. However, modest net margins and a high forward PE at 58 times raise ...

In Episode 50 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, Director of the GW Investment Institute, analyzes Roper Technologies, an industrial operator turned high-margin software-as-a-service (SaaS) business. Under CEO Neil Hunn’s leadership since 2018, Roper has maintained gross margins around 70% and net margins near 20%, with projections suggesting an increase to 27%. Despite solid revenue and free cash flow, revenue growth has slowed from a peak of 15% in 2023 to a projected 8% in ...

In Episode 49 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, Director of the GW Investment Institute, explores Xylem, a water technology company that serves individual consumption and critical infrastructure like data centers. The company maintains stable gross margins around 37.5% and has steadily grown its net income and free cash flow, reaching a 12% net margin and $889 million in trailing twelve-month free cash flow. Lake notes that while new CEO Matthew Pine is an industry veteran, h...

In Episode 48 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, Director of the GW Investment Institute, discusses Emerson Electric as the company is critical in supporting infrastructure behind AI technology. With a market cap of $67 billion and annual revenue of approximately $17.6 billion, Emerson Electric has delivered moderate growth alongside a notable increase in gross margins, from 44% to 52% in recent years. Lake remarks that the net income and free cash flow have trended upward, su...