Investors are increasingly wary of betting on artificial intelligence, unsure when record spending on AI will start to yield tangible returns. Against this backdrop, shares of the largest technology companies have plummeted, dragging the stock market with them.
Investors are increasingly wary of betting on artificial intelligence, unsure when record spending on AI will start to yield tangible returns. Against this backdrop, shares of the largest technology companies have plummeted, dragging the stock market with them.
According to the Financial Times, on Thursday the S&P 500 index, which reflects the dynamics of the 500 largest US companies, fell by 1,6%. The Nasdaq Composite, which traditionally has many technology companies, lost 2%. The largest contributors to the decline were Apple (-5%), Meta (-2.8%) and Amazon (-2.3%).
The pressure was also heightened by earnings news. Cisco shares fell 12,3% after its earnings guidance missed market expectations. AppLovin, a company associated with AI approaches to mobile app development, fell 19,7% after reporting results.
The article explains that investors are simultaneously concerned about two things. First, AI can quickly change the rules of the game in entire industries, including software and financial services, which increases the risks for business models. Second, the largest companies are spending a lot on infrastructure and computing power, but there are still no clear signals of a quick return.
During the sell-off, some of the funds went into US government bonds. At the same time, gold fell by 3,2% and silver by 11%, which is associated with the sale of assets to obtain cash, as well as with the weakening of demand on the eve of the Chinese New Year.
After hitting record highs in late January, the market has almost erased the gains since the beginning of 2026, and investors have begun to react more painfully to any signals that the AI boom may pay off more slowly than expected.
Previously, dev.ua wrote about how in November, stock markets, where shares of many global technology leaders are traded, recorded the biggest weekly decline in the last seven months. Investors fear an «AI bubble» and doubt the profitability of the artificial intelligence industry.
