Market Overview & Earnings Growth - The S&P 500 is up 16% year-to-date, with earnings up 13%, indicating broad participation in earnings growth across industries [2] - Consumer spending remains strong, supported by data from Visa, Mastercard, and Costco's 6.6% US comps [3] AI Investment & Impact - Demand for AI remains strong, supported by commentary from earnings reports, including AMD's strong GPU sales and outlook [7] - Capex for AI is funded by hyperscalers' cash flow and bond market acceptance, with Oracle issuing well-received bonds [8] - AI is contributing to corporate earnings through productivity gains and margin expansion across various companies and industries [9] - Large companies with significant capital and R&D budgets are seeing benefits from AI in their operating expenses, with growing use cases [10] - The industry anticipates years of productivity acceleration from AI, contributing to future earnings growth [11] Consumer Spending Trends - American Express has shown strong results, partly due to its exposure to travel, while Mastercard has broader consumer spending exposure [5] - Both Visa and Mastercard are seeing healthy spending trends and fundamental growth [6]
We're still positive on markets, says Janus Henderson's Jeremiah Buckley