S&P 500 soars with AI, but concentration sparks warning
Artificial intelligence will become the main driver of the S&P 500 in 2026. Between March and June, companies linked to the sector within the index accumulated an appreciation of around 45%.
In the same period, the S&P 500 without these companies was practically zero.
For Bernardo Pascowitch, presenter of Resenha do Dinheiro, the current scenario shows that the index no longer reflects a diversified economy and starts to depend almost exclusively on AI.
"What we see today in the United States is no longer the traditional S&P 500. It has practically become an 'S&P IA'", he says.
The market is currently experiencing an unprecedented concentration on a topic that is still considered new and little tested, says Marilia Fontes, founding partner of Nord Investimentos.
She highlights that the market is closely following the increase in billion-dollar investments in AI infrastructure, mainly in data centers and chips.
"Before, these companies had a lot of cash on hand and spent less to grow. Now, they need to invest billions in infrastructure and technology to support the advancement of AI and the market expects these expenses to bring a return in the future", he explains.
Despite this, Marilia considers that the current scenario still differs from the internet bubble of the 2000s.
"In the dot-com bubble, many companies had losses and strong leverage. Today, technology giants have cash, high revenues and consistent profits", he analyzes.
The strong concentration of the market in technology and artificial intelligence companies has also increased discussions about investor appetite for increasingly billion-dollar businesses linked to the sector.
One of the examples of this was the IPO of SpaceX, Elon Musk's company, last Friday (12), which should quickly enter the Nasdaq after the IPO.
"SpaceX should not enter the S&P 500 as it requires a trading and profit history of at least one year. But it will quickly enter the Nasdaq. And this directly impacts investors who have ETFs linked to the technology index", he explains.
A rule change implemented by Nasdaq in March 2026 allows mega-IPOs like SpaceX to be included in the Nasdaq-100 index within 15 business days of debut, rather than waiting months under traditional criteria. This puts inclusion around July 6, 2026.
For Thiago Godoy, financial educator, despite the risks, the advancement of AI represents a structural transformation of the global economy.
"We are facing a paradigm shift. The race is now about who will develop AI faster and implement it in business. This can generate a lever for growth and productivity that we may not even be able to imagine yet", he observes.
Dinheiro Review
Carried out with the support of B3 and the investment manager BlackRock, the program is presented by Thiago Godoy, the "Financial Daddy", Marilia Fontes, founding partner of Nord Investimentos; Bernardo Pascowitch, founder and CEO of Yubb, proposes a light, direct and uncomplicated approach to topics related to financial education and investments. The attraction addresses the main themes of the economy weekly with the informality of a conversation between friends - without compromising on analysis.
The Money Review airs every Friday, at 7pm, on the CNN Money YouTube channel and on Sundays, at 3pm, on CNN Brasil.
Source: CNN