Investors Beware: Don’t Fall for the Hype Over AI Stocks
The excitement around AI stocks in the market may be new, but the surge in high-flying tech names is nothing we haven’t seen before. In other words, buyer beware.
Analysts warn that the meteoric rise of the “Magnificent Seven” signals troubling similarities to past market bubbles, posing risks for late-arriving investors hoping for strong returns.
These concerns are reminiscent of the dot-com bubble of the late 90s, with companies like Pets.com and Webvan coming to mind. Nicole Tanenbaum, of Chequers Financial Management, points to the specter of real yields and aggressive monetary policy that preceded the dot-com bust.
Goldman Sachs reports that the top-heaviness of the S&P 500 is leading to large stock gains among a few tech giants, giving rise to the “Magnificent Seven” – Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Tesla, and Nvidia. These companies have driven an 80% increase this year while the rest of the index remains mostly flat.
Some fear that the valuations of these companies are starting to resemble the 2000 tech bubble, with average P/E ratios over 50. Apollo Global Management’s chief economist, Torsten Slok, describes AI as the “shiny new toy” driving the excitement behind these stocks.
The overvaluation signals potential risks for millions of investors who unwittingly have exposure to these giants, according to George Schultze of Schultze Asset Management.
Despite these concerns, analysts argue that these companies have more substantial fundamentals than their tech predecessors, with higher profit margins, faster growth, and healthier balance sheets. This could justify their premium valuations and suggest positive earnings momentum.
While the comparisons to the dot-com bubble raise alarm, the context of the market today and the higher trading potential for strong returns may provide a vastly different landscape.
Research from BMO Capital markets suggests that as the mega-cap tech stocks lose momentum, smaller opportunities are likely to emerge, leading the way for the investment theme in 2024.
However, cautionary voices warn investors not to be complacent and to anticipate a reversion to the mean, where stock prices descend to more normalized levels. In the dynamic market environment, it’s important to keep a level head and stay ahead of the curve.
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Follow Yahoo Finance’s Hamza Shaban on Twitter @hshaban for his latest articles covering markets and the economy.
