Yesterday, Paradigm ran its America 76/26 event live from the City of Brotherly Love, one block from Independence Hall, exactly one month before America's 250th birthday.

I watched the whole thing from Riyadh, sad that I wasn’t there with the boys. Travel sounds so glamorous. But the truth is, it’s so hot here (107F in the shade) that I had to take my 10,000 steps on the hotel treadmill. And this was the sport that was on the television:

Credit: Saudi Camel Sports and Sean Ring

I couldn’t see what was chasing those camels, but one could only guess! So when I tell you I wish I were in Philly… I really wish I were in Philly!

But while pooped out from missing the beers and cheesesteaks with my friends, I was equally overwhelmed by the wealth of information and recommendations they shared.

Like you, I watched the entire livestream, impressed as all the 12,000(!) viewers were.

After Jim Rickards gave his one-of-a-kind overview of the country and its future, five of the sharpest analysts in the business spent 3 hours breaking down the forces reshaping America's economy: space, defense, precious metals, energy, and AI infrastructure. Each one came loaded with ticker recommendations.

Paradigm Press Grand Poobah Matt Insley has already sent out an email with the replay link. Just click here if you missed it.

Here's a short recap of each analyst’s views.

Byron King: Defense and Rare Earths

Byron's thesis: America is entering a defense supercycle, and the space economy is driving a rare earth crisis DC is only beginning to fix. China controls 93% of the global rare earth supply. That's a national security emergency, not a market inefficiency.

Byron’s blunt warning about SpaceX's IPO hit hard. If you're not an insider, you’re out. The real play is the supply chain beneath the rockets. That includes specialty alloys, composites, and rare earth processors that make guidance systems work.

His standout name was UURAF (U-Core Rare Metals), which is building a DoD-backed rare earth processing plant at the former England Air Force Base in Alexandria, Louisiana. 5 and 6 9s purity. (That’s 99.999% and 99.9999%, respectively.) That’s defense-grade chemistry. Here are Byron’s picks in total:

• The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA)
• Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT)
• Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC)
• RTX Corp. (NYSE: RTX)
• Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. (NYSE: HII)
• Lynas Rare Earths Ltd. ADR (OTC: LYSDY)
• MP Materials Corp. (NYSE: MP)
• USA Rare Earth Inc. (NASDAQ: USAR)
• Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (OTCQX: UURAF)
• Materion Corp. (NYSE: MTRN)
• Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG)

Adam Sharp: Precious Metals

Adam's thesis: gold and silver are still in the early stage of a secular bull market. The monetary regime hasn't changed: deficits are widening, the dollar is weakening, and central banks are still buying gold. Silver is the leveraged play when the cycle accelerates.

His main idea was to own the full monty: Physical metal via PSLV, miners for leverage, and royalty streamers for lower risk exposure. Royalty companies like WPM and FNV collect a cut of production revenue without incurring mining costs. That's a sweet spot in a sector known for its volatility. Here are all of Adam’s picks:

• Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE: HL)
• Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (NYSE: AEM)
• Pan American Silver Corp. (NYSE: PAAS)
• Sprott Physical Silver Trust (NYSE Arca: PSLV)
• Newmont Corp. (NYSE: NEM)
• Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE: WPM)
• Gold Royalty Corp. (NYSE American: GROY)
• Franco-Nevada Corp. (NYSE: FNV)
• Dakota Gold Corp. (NYSE American: DC)
• Rocket Lab USA Inc. (NASDAQ: RKLB)
• AST SpaceMobile Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTS)

Dan Amoss: Energy and Defense Tech

Dan's thesis: the Iran conflict isn't ending soon, oil infrastructure needs rebuilding, and defense tech is getting a budget tailwind that will last years. The market is underestimating the duration of those trends.

His picks span oilfield operators, defense electronics, and the service infrastructure behind energy production. DNOW supplies industrial pipes and fittings to the oil patch. That’s a quiet picks-and-shovels play most investors overlook. CHCI is a contrarian real estate angle tied to the DC-area defense buildup.

• Kinross Gold Corp. (NYSE: KGC)
• Diamondback Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FANG)
• L3Harris Technologies Inc. (NYSE: LHX)
• Comstock Holding Companies Inc. (NASDAQ: CHCI)
• DNOW Inc. (NYSE: DNOW)
• ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP)
• NOV Inc. (NYSE: NOV)
• Ralliant Corp. (NYSE: RAL)
• Kraken Robotics Inc. (OTCQB: KRKNF)

Matt Badiali: Critical Minerals and Agriculture

Matt's thesis: the commodity supercycle has multiple legs. Uranium, copper, and agricultural commodities are all moving together as the energy transition and food security concerns collide. The market is still treating these as separate stories. They're not.

His names lean toward smaller, less-followed names. Matt notes uranium plays, copper miners, and domestic refining names. Matt also likes simple, direct exposure to food commodity stress.

• Talon Metals Corp. (OTC: TLOFF)
• Faraday Copper Corp. (OTCQX: CPPKF)
• Taseko Mines Ltd. (NYSE American: TGB)
• Delek US Holdings Inc. (NYSE: DK)
• CVR Energy Inc. (NYSE: CVI)
• Ur-Energy Inc. (NYSE American: URG)
• Teucrium Wheat Fund (NYSE Arca: WEAT)
• Seabridge Gold Inc. (NYSE: SA)

Zach Scheidt: Income and Infrastructure

Zach's thesis: you don't have to gamble on volatile names to play the AI buildout, the defense supercycle, or the energy transition. The infrastructure layer, which includes power, industrial gases, and specialty materials, pays dividends and wins regardless of which technology bets pan out.

His picks include industrial gases, power infrastructure, engineering and construction, along with specialty materials, heavy equipment, oilfield services, and defense. They’re steady businesses with pricing power. Most of them pay dividends while you wait.

• Linde plc (NASDAQ: LIN)
• Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (NYSE: APD)
• Carpenter Technology Corp. (NYSE: CRS)
• Hexcel Corp. (NYSE: HXL)
• ATI Inc. (NYSE: ATI)
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT)
• GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE: GEV)
• Fluor Corp. (NYSE: FLR)
• Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL)
• Eaton Corp. plc (NYSE: ETN)
• CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CF)

Wrap Up

“The Hitman” Aaron Gentzler ran point for Jim yesterday, while both Matt Insley and he joined the analysts in a lightning round to end the day. 

And they didn’t disappoint. Aaron chose Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (NYSE American: NAK) and Heliostar Metals Ltd. (TSX-V: HSTR; OTCQX: HSTXF) as his picks. Matt chose Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX) as his pick.

That’s 59 tickers from 7 absolute gentlemen. Think of them as your personal stock scanner. You still need to do your research, but you've whittled the list down to under 60 stocks.

If I had to distill the common thread for yesterday, it’d be this: America is rebuilding its industrial base, and the companies supplying the raw materials, the infrastructure, and the specialist expertise are the ones to own. Not the headlines or the IPOs, but the ground underneath.

Philadelphia was the right city for this conversation. The founders had no roadmap either. They just started building.