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Gupta cited the company’s Agentforce system, which was introduced last year. “You can describe what you want or drag and drop to create specialized agents. They are creating workers, if you will, for any and all tasks,” he said. The new AI agents can be custom-configured by Salesforce’s corporate clients to employ AI to summarize customer interactions and manage and analyze data to help sales, and service and support teams.

Agentforce can also be used to enhance automated systems that handle customers’ phone inquiries. “They are going to charge $2 per conversation, which might seem a steep price, but there are bulk discounts,” Gupta said. He added that Salesforce estimated the technology could be configured to handle 80% of customers’ phone calls. So even though $2 per call might seem to be a high price for Salesforce’s corporate customers to pay, the overall cost savings could be profound.

Gupta cited a Nextiva estimate of the annual turnover of employees in customer-service centers, which typically range from 30% to 40%. “You can actually make the customer service experience for the company and the workers much better by using these agents,” he said.

Gupta expects the deployment of AI technology to boost Salesforce’s revenue. He also said the company was focused on becoming more profitable as AI improves its efficiency.

“So we expect double-digit increases in operating profit over time. And most of that translates to free cash flow, deployed through dividends and buybacks,” he said.

Meta Platforms

Meta Platforms Inc. META has a commanding position in social-media services, with an estimated 3.35 billion active users in December, according to the company’s annual report for 2024. “To serve that large customer base you need a massive amount of research and development and capital expenditure to maintain the user experience, or users will leave you,“ Gupta said.

Not all of Meta’s investments in technology pan out, but Gupta said he was impressed at how Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg’s “economic interest is in line” with other shareholders, as he has majority control of shareholder vote through his ownership of its Class B shares.

Gupta estimates that Meta’s core business earns about $87 billion annually, while the company loses about $18 billion a year as it works on new technology, including AI, within its Reality Labs unit.

His argument in favor of the stock is that “you can see the losses today, but you cannot see the option value on the investment.”

And while investors wait to see what among Meta’s technological developments can be monetized, Gupta expects the company’s digital-advertising business to continue to grow at a double-digit annual pace.

C.H. Robinson

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. CHRW is a truck freight broker — one of a handful of players that dominate the business of coordinating commercial transportation among thousands of independent trucking companies in the U.S. According to Gupta, the company leads in the U.S. with a 12.4% market share for truck freight brokering, followed by J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. JBHT with an 8% share.

He said C.H. Robinson has been developing “a more tech-focused approach” to running an old business. And because it and other large competitors have the cash to invest in AI technology, he expects the largest freight brokers to get even bigger and companies to outsource more shipping and make more use of the brokers.

He also expects C.H. Robinson to gain more business helping companies with in-house transportation to manage their fleets.

“Almost every large retailer is a customer of C.H. Robinson and its competitors,” Gupta said.

“They use AI, for example, to automate freight codes,” he said, which can cut processing time for an emailed request to 90 seconds, to generate a price quote for a customer. “Using a human, it takes four hours to process the whole thing,” he added.

Taiwan Semiconductor

The last company Gupta discussed was Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. TSM, which is, of course, a hardware play.

According to Gupta, Taiwan Semiconductor has the largest market share in the world for semiconductor production — the actual foundry work — with a 60% share in 2024. First Eagle has held the stock for “many years,” he said.

He said it was very difficult for other companies to compete because TSM’s scale means “its R&D and capex budget exceeds revenue of its competitors.”

“Even hyperscalers lack capacity to serve their customers. Taiwan Semiconductor owns the high-end of the market,” for production of GPUs for Nvidia and its competitors, he said.

When asked about particular risks for Taiwan Semiconductor in light of China’s claim on Taiwan, Gupta pointed to the company’s plan to invest $100 billion in manufacturing capacity in the U.S. That can lower risk for long-term investors, he said.

Gupta added that Taiwan Semiconductor has tended not to repurchase shares, but consistently raises its dividend. And it trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 19.1, compared with a weighted forward P/E of 20.5 for the S&P 500 SPX. Meanwhile, Taiwan Semiconductor is expected by analysts polled by FactSet to increase its revenue at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.8% from 2024 through 2026, with a projected earnings-per-share CAGR of 24.1%. In comparison, the S&P 500 is expected to increase its revenue at a weighted CAGR of 6.1% and its EPS at a CAGR of 13.5% from 2024 through 2026.

Fund performance

The First Eagle Global Fund fund is rated five stars (the highest rating) by Morningstar within the investment information provider’s “Large Value, Global Allocation” category. The total return for the fund’s Class A shares ranks in the seventh percentile among 279 funds that Morningstar has tracked for five-year performance.

The First Eagle Global Fund’s Class A shares SGENX have annual expenses totaling 1.1% of average assets under management. The Class I shares SGIIX have an expense ratio of 0.86%.

The First Eagle Global Fund’s Class A shares have a maximum 5% sales charge in the fund’s prospectus. The sales charge is reduced depending on the size of the account. That fee is typically waived at mutual fund “supermarkets,” including Charles Schwab and Fidelity. Customers with advisory relationships may be directed to the Class I shares, which have no sales charge.

The Class A shares have annual expenses totaling 1.1% as a percentage of the value of the investment. The Class I shares have an expense ratio of 0.86%. All fund returns in this article are after expenses.

The First Eagle Global Equity ETF FEGE (launched in December and co-managed by Gupta) has an expense ratio of 0.79%, however, First Eagle is waving 0.29% for net expenses of 0.50% until at least the end of 2025.

Since the ETF is so new, the following table includes performance through March 21 only for the First Eagle Global Fund’s Class A and Class I shares, their Morningstar category and two benchmark indexes — in U.S. dollars as calculated by FactSet. All fund returns in this article are after expenses and exclude sales charges. Returns for funds and indexes include reinvested dividends.

The MSCI Global Index tracks the performance of stocks across 23 developed markets, including the U.S. and Canada. The MSCI EAFE Index tracks the performance of stocks in developed markets excluding the U.S. and Canada.

For 2025 through March 21, the First Eagle Global Equity ETF’s total return was 8.5%.

The First Eagle Global Fund has underperformed the two MSCI indexes for most of the long periods shown, but its focus on value and its gold holdings have reduced its volatility and might appeal to investors who want to take less risk through broad diversification with a value focus. During 2022, the MSCI World Index declined 17.7% and the MSCI EAFE Index declined 14%. That year the First Eagle Global Fund’s Class A shares were down 6.5%, while the Class I shares fell by 6.3% and the fund’s Morningstar category was down 12.3%.

ETF holdings

The First Eagle Global Equity ETF was 49% invested in U.S. companies as of Jan. 31, according to Morningstar.

Here are the ETF’s largest 10 holdings (out of 81) as of Monday:

Don’t miss: This five-star all-weather ETF can lower your exposure to risky stocks and bonds

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