September mARKet Update Webinar Summary

In ARK’s September mARKet Update Webinar, the team explored macroeconomic shifts, emerging opportunities across digital assets and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, and the evolving regulatory landscape in healthcare. With a long-term investment horizon and high conviction in disruptive innovation, our team shared insights about how ARK is navigating market dislocations and positioning for potential growth. Below is a summary of the team’s responses to investor-submitted questions. For further insights, please view the full September mARKet Update Webinar here.

It Seems Like Passive-Index Tracking Investing Only Further Inflates Valuations Of The Largest Companies. What Is ARK’s View On This Phenomenon?

Cathie Wood, ARK’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer, opened the discussion by describing how passive index strategies create a self-fulfilling cycle that disproportionately rewards large-cap incumbents. Wood has witnessed this trend since the early 2000s, especially following the Global Financial Crisis, when benchmark-sensitive flows intensified. Wood emphasized that today’s concentration levels are historically extreme and unsustainable.

That said, Wood believes this dynamic is beginning to shift. As the market broadens out, innovation-focused companies—many of which are challenging legacy incumbents—stand to benefit. Wood noted that companies like Apple, Amazon, and Google are showing signs of disruption risk, particularly in areas like AI and autonomous mobility. If those incumbents begin to falter or stagnate, capital could rotate into smaller, more agile innovators positioned for exponential growth.

Please Explain ARK’s Digital Asset Treasury Company (DAT) General Investment Thesis.

Lorenzo Valente, Director of Research, Digital Assets, explained that digital asset treasuries (DATs) are publicly traded companies designed to accumulate cryptoassets—currently exclusively Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Solana. ARK sees these structures as efficient wrappers for income-bearing and programmatically flexible assets like Ethereum (ETH).

Bitmine Immersion, a core holding in ARK’s digital assets strategy, now holds over 2 million ETH and has outpaced its peers in ETH accumulation. Lorenzo noted that DATs can outperform ETFs structurally, as ETFs in the US are still restricted from staking. Furthermore, Bitmine is diversifying into Ethereum ecosystem investments, such as an equity stake in 8co, which is accumulating Worldcoin tokens. This strategy is indicative of a maturing phase in the DAT evolution, wherein capital deployment extends beyond passive accumulation.

What Is Your Ethereum Price Target?

While ARK is preparing a detailed research note on Ethereum valuation, Valente offered preliminary insights. He emphasized that Ethereum remains the dominant platform for decentralized finance (DeFi), stablecoins, and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), with over $120 billion¹ in total value locked and more than $100 billion² in stablecoin volume on its network.

ETH functions as an income-bearing, revenue-generating asset and serves as primary collateral in DeFi. Valente pointed to Ethereum’s growing role in transaction settlement, application development, and smart contract execution. While withholding a specific price target until research is published, he shared that ETH currently represents 13% of crypto’s market cap.

How Do You React When You Hear Critics Say Tesla Has An Excessive Dependency On Its CEO, Elon Musk?

Sam Korus, Director of Research, Autonomous Technology & Robotics, addressed the critique head-on: if any leader warrants such dependency, it’s Elon Musk. Korus argued that Musk’s executional intensity has been essential to Tesla’s progress in autonomous mobility and will be equally critical in advancing the company’s humanoid robot initiatives.

He pointed out that Musk’s incentive structure is aligned with long-term value creation, and his willingness to reinvest personal capital signals a deep commitment to Tesla’s mission. According to Korus, Robotaxi is a trillion-dollar opportunity, and Musk’s vision extends even further—to redefining labor and economic productivity through abundant robotic labor.

Robinhood Has Had A Stellar Year Of Performance So Far. What Is Your Long-Term Vision For The Company?

Nicholas Grous, Director of Research, Consumer Internet and Fintech, shared ARK’s long-term thesis for Robinhood. While specific remarks from this segment were brief, Grous emphasized Robinhood’s strategic positioning as a digital-first brokerage with strong user engagement, innovative product rollout cadence, and increasing institutional adoption of its trading rails. ARK believes Robinhood is evolving into a central platform for financial access and tokenized assets.

What Is Your View On Palantir’s Current Valuation?

Frank Downing, Director of Research, AI and Cloud, acknowledged that Palantir trades at a premium relative to software peers—approximately 75x next-twelve-month sales compared to Cloudflare’s 30x. However, he highlighted that headline multiples obscure Palantir’s exceptional fundamentals, including a 57% free cash flow margin and 93% year-over-year growth in US commercial revenue.³

Palantir’s unique value lies in its ability to deliver AI at scale across industries, enabling real-world deployment for clients like the US government and Fortune 500 companies. Downing reinforced that Palantir remains a top holding due to its strategic importance in the AI infrastructure stack. Wood added that if not for valuation constraints, Palantir would likely be ARK’s top holding alongside Tesla.

Please Provide An Update On Your CoreWeave Investment Thesis.

Frank Downing also discussed CoreWeave, the leading AI “neo-cloud” built specifically for accelerated computing. CoreWeave’s infrastructure powers AI-native workloads for clients like OpenAI and Meta. The company has 470 megawatts deployed and over 2.2 gigawatts contracted, offering a 4x revenue expansion runway.

CoreWeave is deeply aligned with NVIDIA, which benefits from the company's exclusive focus on its full-stack ecosystem. Its recent acquisition of Weights & Biases positions CoreWeave to expand beyond infrastructure-as-a-service into the developer platform layer. Downing characterized CoreWeave as a mission-critical asset in the generative AI economy.

A Few Months Back, Your Team Talked About Deregulation In The Healthcare Space. Can You Please Provide An Update?

Shea Wihlborg, Research Analyst, Multiomics, provided a detailed update on the FDA’s transformation under Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The agency is embracing innovation-friendly reforms, including expedited review timelines, AI-assisted trial designs, and N-of-1 therapy approvals for rare diseases.

Wihlborg noted the FDA’s pivot toward predictive drug development using AI, organ-on-chip technologies, and multiomics data. This regulatory modernization directly supports ARK’s genomic strategies. Cathie Wood added that recent FDA clearance of Tempus Pixel, an AI-powered cardiac imaging platform, exemplifies how data-driven diagnostics are being fast-tracked under the new regime. With over $300 billion in revenue at risk from expiring patents, legacy pharma firms are likely to lean heavily on acquisition-driven innovation, a trend that ARK believes will drive strategic price discovery in its portfolio holdings.

Conclusion

As inflation, interest rates, and geopolitics evolve, ARK continues to invest in the highest-conviction opportunities that we believe are best positioned to shape the future. We thank our clients and partners for their continued trust and encourage you to explore our research and models for deeper insights into the themes covered in this webinar.

Make sure to check out our In The Know video series for deeper insights about inflation, innovation, and macroeconomic developments.

Important Information

The information provided in this material is for informational purposes only and should not be used as the basis for any investment decision and is subject to change without notice. It does not constitute, either explicitly or implicitly, any provision of services or products by ARK, and investors should determine for themselves whether a particular investment management service is suitable for their investment needs. All statements made regarding companies or securities are strictly beliefs and points of view held by ARK and are not endorsements by ARK of any company or security or recommendations by ARK to buy, sell or hold any security. Historical results are not indications of future results. 

Certain of the statements contained in this material may be statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on ARK's current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. ARK assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information. ARK and its clients as well as its related persons may (but do not necessarily) have financial interests in securities or issuers that are discussed. Certain information was obtained from sources that ARK believes to be reliable; however, ARK does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information obtained from any third party.

Digital assets, often referred to as cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin and ether are relatively new investments, which have unique and substantial risks and which may be more volatile than other types of investments. ARK strongly encourages any investor considering an investment in any digital asset to consult with a financial professional before investing. All statements made regarding digital assets are strictly beliefs and points of view held by ARK and are not recommendations by ARK to buy, sell or hold any digital asset. Historical results are not indications of future results.

To view the top ten holdings for ARKK click here.

To view the top ten holdings for ARKQ click here.

To view the top ten holdings for ARKW click here.

To view the top ten holdings for ARKG click here.

To view the top ten holdings for ARKF click here.

To view the top ten holdings for ARKX click here.

To view the top ten holdings for ARKVX click here.

Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives and risks as well as charges and expenses of an ARK Fund before investing. This and other information are contained in the ARK Funds’ prospectuses and summary prospectuses, which may be obtained by clicking here. The prospectus and summary prospectus should be read carefully before investing. 

An investment in an ARK Fund is subject to risks and you can lose money on your investment in an ARK Fund. There can be no assurance that the ARK Funds will achieve their investment objectives. The ARK Funds’ portfolios are more volatile than broad market averages. The ARK Funds also have specific risks, which are described in their respective prospectuses. 

Foreside Fund Services, LLC, distributor.