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VDTA Could Be One of the More Interesting AI Infrastructure Stories Developing Beneath the Surface.

Vertical Data Inc. (OTCQB: VDTA) remains one to keep firmly on the radar as the AI boom expands beyond chips and into the massive infrastructure ecosystem required to power it.

While NVIDIA continues to dominate the AI headlines, VDTA is targeting the layers underneath the revolution — GPU hardware and financing, managed AI infrastructure, high-density data centers and edge computing.

With the company pointing to an AI infrastructure market that could surpass $800 billion by 2030, plus a planned 20 MW Chicago data center targeting revenue in Q2 2027, there are multiple developments ahead that could give traders fresh reasons to revisit the story.

But the quantum cybersecurity angle could be what makes VDTA particularly interesting.

Through its non-binding collaboration with Quantum eMotion, the company is exploring how quantum-security technology could be integrated directly into GPU clusters and data-center infrastructure, with an initial pilot targeted for 2026.

It’s still an emerging story with execution risks and plenty to prove, but the setup is compelling: AI needs compute, compute needs infrastructure, and increasingly, that infrastructure needs next-generation security.

As VDTA moves its projects forward and the AI infrastructure race continues accelerating, this is one small-cap technology name worth keeping on the radar.

Want to see where VDTA could be headed next? Find Out Why VDTA is One Name to Keep on Radar as AI Infrastructure Accelerates!

AI Is Reshaping SaaS—These 2 Software ETFs Offer Different Ways to Play It

Submitted by Nathan Reiff. Published: 9/21/2026.

Software spending continues to grow, with AI providing additional tailwinds in many cases, and a recent spate of earnings wins affirms this trend. Of course, as the landscape shifts with the influx of AI and the threat of a "SaaSpocalypse" that could eliminate or reduce the value proposition of many software-as-a-service (SaaS) firms, investors must be more cautious. Strong revenue growth, expanding margins and free cash flow, customer and net revenue retention, and other factors all matter more than ever.

At the Dreamforce 2026 conference, customer relationship management giant Salesforce Inc. (NYSE: CRM) announced an expanded partnership with OpenAI that will integrate the latter's frontier AI models into its platform. With the potential for a symbiotic relationship emerging, investors may have renewed interest in the SaaS space more broadly. Fortunately, two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with significant exposure to the sector are already rallying and may have more room to run as new catalysts take hold.

How AI Could Drive Further SaaS Growth (and What to Watch Out For)

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The Salesforce partnership with OpenAI allows the CRM company to serve as an orchestration layer rather than compete with a technology that many have feared could replace SaaS entirely. For OpenAI, the benefits include potential access to a new customer base. Salesforce's customer relationships and enterprise data are significant advantages that could lead to a material revenue impact. Given the company's record Q2 revenue of $11.4 billion and AI-related annual recurring revenue of $1.5 billion, it's not difficult to imagine an expanded partnership continuing to drive growth in those areas.

At the same time, SaaS firms could still face trouble down the line if AI compresses margins by becoming a "must-have" for every company, even when it provides little benefit, or if usage and customer bases fail to maintain appropriate growth levels.

IGV's U.S. Software Focus Illustrates the Industry's Risks and Rewards

For broad exposure to SaaS going forward—without the need to bet on the success of individual companies—a fund like the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (BATS: IGV) may appeal. The fund focuses on about 107 U.S. software firms, including companies that are already heavily involved in AI as well as those that have not yet publicly made that pivot.

IGV's momentum over the last six months is impressive: The fund has climbed 26% during that period, though it remains up only about 2.75% year to date (YTD) because of declines earlier in the year. With more than $14 billion in assets under management and robust trading volume, investors should not have to worry about liquidity, regardless of how actively they trade IGV shares.

The fund's performance so far in 2026 reflects both investor uncertainty about the future of SaaS and the recent momentum building across the industry. With the Salesforce-OpenAI partnership serving as a visible endorsement of the potential synergies between SaaS and AI, that momentum could continue for the foreseeable future.

WCLD: A Higher-Beta Cloud Software Alternative

The WisdomTree Cloud Computing Fund (NASDAQ: WCLD) has a different focus from IGV. It targets cloud computing companies more broadly rather than U.S. software makers specifically, although the two funds have considerable overlap. For a slightly higher fee—0.45% for WCLD compared with 0.38% for IGV annually—WCLD has returned a much more impressive 44% over the last six months and 19% YTD.

WCLD targets U.S.-listed firms, including ADRs, giving it a fairly broad geographic reach. It is also equally weighted, so each of its 66 positions accounts for roughly the same portion of the portfolio. This can insulate the fund from standout negative performances, although it may also limit the positive impact of its strongest holdings.

One trade-off for WCLD's stronger returns this year is its significantly smaller asset base—the fund has less than $300 million in assets under management—and much lower trading volume relative to IGV. Its portfolio is substantially narrower as well. These factors further shape the fund's risk-reward profile. WCLD does not rely as heavily on mega-cap technology companies to drive returns, instead opting for a basket that also includes emerging cloud software companies. These firms may see an outsized benefit if enterprise AI spending broadens significantly across the industry.

For investors, the choice between these funds may come down to risk tolerance and overall conviction. IGV provides exposure to more established software firms, along with the benefit of durable customer bases, while WCLD may offer a higher-beta alternative.

Why Guidewire’s Post-Earnings Plunge May Not Last

By Thomas Hughes. Date Posted: 9/7/2026.

Guidewire Software’s (NYSE: GWRE) post-release stock plunge looks like a knee-jerk reaction that could soon reverse.

The plunge was caused by tepid guidance linked to a strategic shift from legacy licensing models to cloud-based subscriptions, which generate lower revenue but deliver better margins. The downside is slower top-line growth, but sluggish growth in the face of expanding margins could simply be an opportunity to improve both.

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As it stands, the cloud transition underpins a robust outlook, and its near-term drag on revenue is widely expected to fade. The more important story is what that transition is now producing: accelerating recurring-revenue growth and improving profitability.

While adjusted net income grew only 300 basis points faster than revenue, it was affected by increased investment, while operating income grew more substantially. Up 51.4% year over year (YOY), operating income points to ample cash flow and capital-return capacity over time.

Guidewire Outperforms, Issues Cautious Guidance

Guidewire had a solid quarter despite the impact of its strategic shift. Revenue grew 15%, outperforming estimates by 200 basis points (bps), driven by a 32% increase in subscriptions and a 10% increase in services. Licensing, the legacy business, contracted 18% and is expected to continue declining in the coming quarters. Cloud annual recurring revenue (ARR), a measure of annual subscription-based sales, grew 35% to account for 84% of total ARR, providing visibility into future results. This suggests that cloud-based revenue growth will accelerate.

Margins were the bright spot, improving across all comparisons and bringing adjusted earnings to 99 cents per share, up 22% YOY and 5 cents ahead of consensus. The only downside was the impact of capital expenditures (CapEx) and investments, which reduced bottom-line strength.

Cash flow is sufficient to sustain the fortress-like balance sheet while returning capital to shareholders. Capital returns include aggressive share buybacks, which reduced the share count by 3% YOY as of fiscal Q4 and are expected to continue in future quarters.

The current headwind is that Q1 forecasts came in below expectations, but a catalyst for share price recovery is already in play. Guidance is likely to be cautious, given the company’s cloud strengths and signals from other AI-enabled, cloud-based software providers that collectively reflect accelerating demand across the software ecosystem. In this scenario, the company could outperform in the next quarter, prompting an upward revision to its already-strong full-year guidance.

Analysts Respond With Caution, Outlook Remains Bullish

The primary takeaway from analysts' responses to the release was caution centered on the tepid revenue outlook. No downgrades were issued, but numerous price targets were reduced, limiting the upside potential while reinforcing the consensus view. Consensus, as reported by MarketBeat, is pegged in the low $220s, indicating 10% upside relative to the pre-release close and closer to 35% following the release. GWRE stock is likely to remain under pressure in the coming months, without a significant catalyst for a rebound until the Q1 results are released.

Technically, GWRE stock is in the midst of a major reversal, and the post-release plunge aligns with that trend. Price action reached fresh long-term highs earlier this year, breaking above several resistance levels, including a cluster of moving averages that now form a Golden Cross. As of early September, the stock has retreated to the pivot point to retest support, and that support is likely to hold.

Institutional activity was bullish ahead of the release and is likely to remain so afterward. Although selling capped gains earlier in the year, institutional investors reverted to an accumulative posture in early Q3, helping drive the stock price through its resistance levels. The likely outcome is that this group buys the dip, potentially accelerating accumulation because of the steep discount.

High Valuation Versus Deep Moat and Visibility

Guidewire’s biggest risk is its valuation. The stock traded at about 50 times earnings ahead of the report, setting the stage for execution-related volatility that the weak guidance triggered. Investors may be overreacting, however. Near-term headwinds are easing, and the long-term outlook includes improving margins, cash flow and capital returns, driven by the company's ever-deepening moat.

Guidewire is a mission-critical software layer for insurance companies globally, providing the operating systems for more than 500 insurers and counting. It is indispensable to their operations and incredibly costly to replace because it affects 100% of their business. A clear sign of strength is the nearly 100% retention rate, signaling that once onboarded, an insurer is likely to remain a customer for life. Within that, the company has an underappreciated growth driver tied to insurance inflation: Guidewire's network earns a toll as inflation increases costs and natural disasters drive activity.