So I've been looking at Cathie Wood's stock picks and there's something interesting about how she's positioned in AI. People act like she just hopped on the trend recently, but her Ark Innovation ETF has been deep in AI for over a decade now. That's the thing - while everyone else was catching up in 2023 and 2024, she was already positioned.

Let me break down her three best performers from last year and what's worth watching going forward.

First up is Palantir. This one absolutely went crazy - we're talking nearly 380% gains by end of 2024. The company's doing solid revenue growth quarter after quarter, which is the kind of thing that actually matters. Their CEO was pretty clear about it too - they're at the center of this AI revolution reshaping industries. The S&P 500 addition in September helped momentum, and then Nasdaq-100 picked it up. But here's my concern: the valuation got pretty stretched at 172 times forward earnings. That's the kind of multiple that makes you nervous about what happens next.

Nvidia is the second one, and this is where it gets interesting. Wood actually sold a bunch of her Nvidia stake back in 2022-2023, but Ark kept some positions in it across their robotics and internet ETFs. Probably a good call given how 2024 went - the stock was up over 180%. The demand for their GPUs has been insane, and they're basically the standard for training large language models. Their CEO makes a bigger point though - he sees this as part of a shift to accelerated computing overall, not just AI hype. That's a more durable thesis than pure AI momentum.

Then there's Tesla. If any stock is tied to Cathie Wood's reputation, it's this one. It's her largest position across multiple Ark funds. The stock jumped over 80% in 2024, but almost all those gains came after early November. That timing is no accident - it tracks pretty closely with the election and Elon Musk's relationship with the incoming administration. The robotaxi rollout could be a real catalyst too.

Now, looking at 2025 and beyond, the question everyone's asking is whether these cathie wood stock picks still make sense. Wall Street's split on it. Some analysts think Palantir and Tesla could lose momentum, but most are still bullish on Nvidia. Personally, I think all three could keep running, but the risk profile is different for each.

Palantir's valuation is my biggest red flag - 172x forward earnings is frothy. Tesla's at 135x which also feels pricey, though the robotaxi story gives them something to grow into. Nvidia feels like it has more room because the GPU cycle is still ramping up with new chip launches coming.

If I had to pick which of Cathie Wood's AI holdings has the best setup going forward, I'd probably lean toward Nvidia. The thesis feels more grounded in actual demand for accelerated computing rather than political tailwinds or stretched valuations. But that's just how I'm reading the landscape right now.