If enough folks moved to California, Samuel Brannan knew he would be rich... Brannan arrived in San Francisco in 1846 – a few weeks after the U.S. had taken control of the area from Mexico.

Don't Ignore 'Middleman Operations' Behind the AI Boom By Marc Chaikin, founder, Chaikin Analytics If enough folks moved to California, Samuel Brannan knew he would be rich... Brannan arrived in San Francisco in 1846 – a few weeks after the U.S. had taken control of the area from Mexico. He bought some nearby land and built a flour mill. He began publishing a newspaper. He also opened a general store at Sutter's Fort in Sacramento. The first year was slow. Barely 1,000 people lived in the area. In early 1848, Brannan saw his big opportunity... A local worker brought some gold dust to Brannan's general store. He offered it as payment for whiskey. The man worked at Sutter's Mill, a few miles away on the American River. He said other people had found gold in the riverbed there. Brannan wanted to print the story in his newspaper. But his staff had all left for Sutter's Mill after hearing the story. Then he realized there was a better way to make a fortune off the news... Instead of waiting for his staff to return, Brannan started ordering goods from stores across California. He bought up every pick, shovel, and pan he could find – plus plenty of flour, salt, blankets, gunpowder, and other supplies. Next, he put together a special edition of his newspaper to spread the word. He sent thousands of copies back East – everywhere from Salt Lake City to New York. On May 12, 1848, Brannan put on a show for San Francisco's residents... He paraded down a busy street holding up a bottle filled with gold flecks as he loudly called out...   Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River! Everyone had heard rumors of the gold strike at Sutter's Mill. But many folks were still skeptical. That changed with Brannan's publicity stunt... It triggered an exodus out of San Francisco. And it generated a fortune for Brannan. Best of all, Brannan didn't even need to risk looking for gold himself... 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Get Marc's Frontier AI Hotlist right here. Making Money No Matter Who 'Strikes It Rich' You see, Brannan had bought up all the mining supplies in California. He also owned the only general store on the way to Sutter's Mill. Brannan sold pans for $15. He had paid $0.20 for them a few months earlier. A pound of gunpowder sold for more than 10 times the normal price. Flour cost about 7 times what it went for in the rest of the country. Brannan made about $36,000 in the first nine weeks of the gold rush. By that point, the news had spread across America... The New York Herald eventually got a copy of Brannan's newspaper – the special edition he published in April 1848. It ran its own version of the story on August 19. Soon, the entire East Coast was talking about the gold rush. President James K. Polk even mentioned it in his State of the Union address in December. Tens of thousands of people headed out to California. Brannan's sales surged to roughly $150,000 a month. Within a couple years, he became California's first millionaire. He didn't stop there... Brannan invested in land, railroads, and telegraph companies in California. He organized a vigilante squad that served as San Francisco's police department. He bought the first steam locomotive in California. And he was elected a state senator in 1853. By 1870, Brannan's wife had divorced him – and forced him to sell much of his real estate to give her the half of his assets she was owed. Brannan spent his later years drinking and racking up debts. He eventually died at age 70 in Escondido, California. Folks, we've all heard of the "picks and shovels" approach to investing... But most people have never heard of Samuel Brannan. More than 100,000 people went to California during the gold rush. Nearly all of them failed to mine any gold. Brannan made a fortune. And he did it by simply acting as a middleman – selling equipment during a boom. He wasn't alone. Plenty of folks made a profit selling food, clothing, and other goods to miners. These kinds of middleman operations don't often earn much respect from investors. But they can make a fortune in the right circumstances. Of course, it's no surprise that modern "picks and shovels" companies are cashing in on the AI boom... Just think of a business like Caterpillar (CAT)... It isn't an AI company. But it's providing the heavy equipment needed for the data-center build-out fueling the AI megatrend. As such, Caterpillar's stock has surged by about 133% over the past year. And its current "bullish" rating in the Power Gauge suggests there could be more upside ahead. Folks, my point is simple... You don't have to bet on AI companies themselves to profit from this megatrend. The picks-and-shovels businesses powering the build-out are positioned to make money – no matter who "wins" with AI. Good investing, Marc Chaikin Market View Major Indexes and Notable Sectors     # Hld:     Bullish     Neutral       Bearish Dow 30 +0.27% 11 12 8 S&P 500 +0.85% 124 284 90 NASDAQ +1.66% 23 52 26 Small Caps +1.28% 675 1080 300 Bonds +0.15%   Information Technology +2.18% 31 37 5 — According to the Chaikin Power Bar, Small Cap stocks and Large Cap stocks are Bullish. Major indexes are mixed. *  *  *  * Sector Tracker Sector movement over the last 5 days Energy +3.01% Information Technology +2.64% Communication +0.83% Financial -0.14% Discretionary -0.23% Health Care -0.96% Real Estate -1.01% Utilities -1.38% Industrials -1.52% Staples -2.11% Materials -3.36% *  *  *  * Industry Focus Oil & Gas Equipment Services 3 31 0 Over the past 6 months, the Oil & Gas Equipment Services subsector (XES) has outperformed the S&P 500 by 15.46%. Its Power Bar ratio which measures future potential is Very Strong, with more Bullish than Bearish stocks. It is currently ranked #3 of 21 subsectors and has moved up 9 slots over the past week. Top Stocks OII Oceaneering International, Inc. AROC Archrock, Inc. WTTR Select Water Solutions, Inc. *  *  *  * Top Movers Gainers LITE +11.13% HPE +9.94% FDXF +7.64% SNDK +7.59% NCLH +6.98% Losers APA -5.05% PSKY -4.31% COST -4.21% CINF -3.38% PEP -3.26% *  *  *  * Earnings report Earnings Surprises WDFC WD-40 Company Q3 $2.24 Beat by $0.67 *  *  *  * You have received this e-mail as part of your subscription to PowerFeed. If you no longer want to receive e-mails from PowerFeed, click here. You're receiving this e-mail at STEVENMAGALLANES520.NIMS@BLOGGER.COM. For questions about your account or to speak with customer service, call +1 (877) 697-6783 (U.S.), 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Eastern time or e-mail info@chaikinanalytics.com. Please note: The law prohibits us from giving personalized financial advice. © 2026 Chaikin Analytics, LLC. All rights reserved. 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