The Solution to America’s Labor Woes VIEW IN BROWSER
BY ANDY SWAN, FOUNDER, LIKEFOLIO America’s service economy depends on hourly labor, but that foundation is eroding. Employees are leaving faster than companies can replace them. Those who stay are demanding higher pay, consistent schedules, and union protections that drive expenses higher. Higher costs, persistent turnover, shrinking margins… As companies across sectors face the same costly labor problems, a handful of innovators offer a way out by replacing unreliable labor with technology that delivers consistency, scalability, and cost savings. Struggling businesses are finding that robots – yes, robots – can fill roles where humans are either in short supply or it’s simply too expensive (or too risky) to rely on people. And the best part? Most of the names building those robots aren’t on Wall Street’s radar yet – giving you a head start on the next era of tech profits. Today, I’ll show you why the stars are aligning for robotics to be one of the largest emerging megatrends of the next three to five years – and the compelling opportunities that should be on every TradeSmith Daily readers’ radar today… | Recommended Link | | | | TradeSmith has unleashed a mathematical monster that should terrify hedge fund managers. This Baltimore-based team’s breakthrough technology reveals each stock’s unique “volatility fingerprint,” helping regular people decide when to buy and sell. Click here to see how. |  | | A Tremendous Labor Pain Point – and a Tremendous Opportunity Every time a crew member leaves McDonald’s (MCD), it costs the company close to $6,000 to rehire, retrain, and replace. With turnover cycling through the same roles multiple times a year, those costs pile up relentlessly. Managers devote more time to replacing workers than running restaurants, and the constant drain shows up in lower margins. Take Starbucks (SBUX): Baristas across hundreds of stores have staged strikes and filed union petitions. The company knows it has a problem – and is spending heavily on its workforce to right the ship with a $500 million “Green Apron” plan to improve staffing, training, and service consistency. But profitability and shareholder returns have moved in the opposite direction. (In its most recent quarter, operating margin fell to 10.1%, down 650 basis points from a year earlier, while earnings per share dropped 45%). This labor dynamic is playing out across industries, from fast food to retail – opening up a massive opportunity for the robotics companies that can solve labor problems at scale… In the $5 trillion hospitality industry, more than 60% of hotel properties say they cannot hire enough housekeepers. Managers are capping occupancy, leaving rooms unsold even when demand is strong. Each uncleaned room is revenue lost, a visible reminder of how labor shortages cut directly into sales. Retail companies are feeling the pinch, too: Only 49% reached hiring goals last year – a significant step back from 2023’s 58%, according to a 2025 report from AI recruitment specialist, GoodTime. For 53% of those companies surveyed, a lack of qualified candidates also led to longer time-to-hire. And across logistics and warehousing, labor shortages have become systemic: 74% of U.S. employers in transport and logistics report difficulty securing skilled talent, a six-point increase from last year; 73% of warehouse managers say they lack enough workers to meet demand. (In fact, one of the stocks you’ll be hearing about soon in this article is solving this very problem for big-box stores across the nation.) The takeaway: The traditional labor model no longer works. Turnover drains profits, open jobs go unfilled, and consumer demand is being capped by labor shortages across restaurants, hotels, retail, and logistics. Now, imagine if Starbucks, for example, invested that $500 million into robots that could do the same job (if not better). Labor, uniform, and minimum wage disputes: Over. Robots are the answer these companies can no longer afford to ignore. The Coming Robotics Revolution Industry watchers predict the global robotics market could soar past $200 billion by 2030. Longer-term forecasts see $376 billion by 2035. This explosive growth is fueled by advancements in AI, ubiquitous sensors, and a post-pandemic world desperate to automate labor shortages. Companies are finding that robots can fill roles where humans are either in short supply or it’s simply too expensive (or too risky) to rely on people: Delivering trays in restaurants, shuttling supplies in hotels, moving goods in warehouses, even serving up drinks at baseball games… 
Source: WFAA The robotics applications are endless. And with the cost of industrial robots plunging by nearly 50% in the past decade, they’re rapidly becoming accessible – even for smaller businesses. Which means now is the time for investors to pay attention. As technology and economics finally catching up to the sci-fi vision of robot helpers, these are the stocks to watch… 3 Robotics Stocks to Add to Your Watchlist Today No. 3: Symbotic (SYM) Symbotic is revolutionizing the warehouse and supply chain industry with robotics and AI-powered storage systems that replace manual warehouse labor. Its AI-powered “SymBots” are capable of moving product cases and other inventory at speeds of more than 20 miles per hour across football field-sized warehouses. The company already automates dozens of distribution centers for the world’s largest retailer – Walmart (WMT). Now, it’s taking over Walmart’s robotics business to build 400 in-store pickup and delivery hubs in a deal that could add $5 billion to SYM’s backlog. Walmart accounts for most of Symbotic’s future backlog – and that comes with some risk. However, Symbotic is building out its customer base, now serving Target (TGT), Albertsons (ACI), and other grocers, giving it gradual exposure beyond its anchor customer. In an industry increasingly focused on automation and efficiency, SYM is one to watch. No. 2: Tesla (TSLA) No surprise here for our long-term followers, especially if you read last Sunday’s issue of TradeSmith Daily: TSLA is a top pick for the robotics revolution. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is betting big on his humanoid robot, Optimus, asserting in an X post earlier this month that Optimus humanoid robots will account for ~80% of Tesla’s future value. 
Optimus has great potential to disrupt the labor market. The bot is designed to handle repetitive, dangerous, or mundane tasks. For example, Optimus robots could be deployed in Tesla’s Gigafactories to assemble vehicles with precision and speed. Not only could this increase production rates and lower costs, but it would free up human workers to focus on more creative and strategic roles. Tesla engineers could spend more time innovating and less time on routine maintenance and quality checks, boosting productivity and job satisfaction. Tesla’s Social Heat Score has only ticked higher over the last week – now sitting at a bullish 73.7 (out of 100), driven by a recent boost in near-term digital demand. 
No doubt, TSLA is a buy. But there’s one robotics play that bests even TSLA’s bullish score… No. 1: The Robo-Barista Under $5 per Share The robotics play topping our watchlist is a relative unknown for most investors – other than our MegaTrends subscribers, of course, who are already enjoying a +36% profit from our Sept. 3 buy alert. Yet despite its minute $660 million market cap, this tiny company already has more than 400 robots deployed across U.S. businesses: - Humanoid barista/bartenders serve consistent drinks with complex recipes and make suggestions based on customer preference.
- Elevator-capable bots zip around multi-story hospitals to deliver critical medications to patients and providers 24/7.
- Heavy-duty movers run products across warehouses and factory lines all day, every day.
This company’s robots can be found in restaurants, hotels, casinos, health care facilities, senior-living communities, factories, and even stadiums such as the Texas Rangers’ Globe Life Field. For hotels facing chronic staff shortages and rising labor costs, a robot that can deliver extra towels or midnight snacks efficiently is a big value-add. In a quick-service restaurant like Starbucks, a drink maker that doesn’t require dress code or health care is a game changer that could eventually kill the barista role altogether. The wheels are already in motion: This MegaTrends pick recently signed a major agreement with a U.S. retailer, completed a pilot with a top five U.S. automotive dealership, and entered a key international market where it can expand its revenue stream abroad. Service industries spend hundreds of billions annually on low-wage labor. Even a modest substitution of robots for workers translates into multibillion-dollar demand for suppliers. This company is one of the only pure-play automation companies targeting this need at scale. If its bots get adopted by major hotel chains, hospitals, or otherwise, the upside for early investors could be enormous. I’d love to let you in on this opportunity with our MegaTrends subscribers. Digital demand is trending near all-time highs… the stock is still trading under $5 a share… and its Social Heat Score is a scorching 92 out of 100, signaling plenty of runway ahead. 
To join today and get the full details on this “Robo-Barista” company, along with the entire MegaTrends portfolio, go here now. Bottom line: We see robotics as one of the largest megatrends of the coming decade. Because as AI improves, machines will become smarter, more capable, and more efficient – in design and cost. Don’t wait to take advantage. Start building your watchlist today. Until next time, 
Andy Swan
Founder, LikeFolio See What’s Coming from TradeSmith – Tuesday, Sept. 30, at 1:00 p.m. ET The Social Heat Score simplifies stock picking by distilling millions of LikeFolio consumer data points into a 0 to 100 score signaling whether an asset is a buy or a sell. And for you avid traders out there… TradeSmith’s new T-Line simplifies what to buy and what to sell in real time with an equally simple system: Search for a stock ticker, pull up the T-Line chart, and know exactly which options to trade by following one simple rule: Buy what’s below the line, sell what’s above the line. 
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