Dr. Ed Yardeni vs. Dan Ives: Is 2026 the Year to Rotate Out of Big Tech or Double Down on AI? | The Motley Fool

Dr. Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research and Dan Ives of Wedbush are two well-known market strategists and tech analysts on Wall Street right now. Yardeni holds a Ph.D. in economics from Yale University and has a storied career as a chief investment strategist on Wall Street. Yardeni currently runs investment firm Yardeni Research and has nailed bullish calls on tech, artificial intelligence (AI), and the stock market for the past several years now. Ives has built a career by being ultra-bullish on tech and now artificial intelligence for much of his 25-year career on Wall Street, a thesis that has paid off handsomely. Ives and his colorful outfits can be frequently spotted on all the major business networks or being quoted in the country's most prominent business publications. Currently, one of these analysts is quite bullish on tech and AI heading into 2026, while the other is starting to pull back. Who will be right? Image source: Getty Images. Yardeni: Time to pump the brakes Yardeni and his firm recently did something for the first time in 15 years: They shifted their stance on the broader benchmark S&P 500 's ( ^GSPC +0.32%) tech and communications stocks, changing their recommendation from overweight to market weight, which is essentially a neutral rating. This group of stocks specifically refers to the " Magnificent Seven ," tech giants expected to benefit immensely from the rise of artificial intelligence . Yardeni suggested being overweight in the financials, industrials, and healthcare sectors. Yardeni says the tech and AI landscape has changed. Members of the Magnificent Seven have begun to "aggressively" compete with one another, which is actually a big change from recent years. "They used to just operate in their own moats and kind of leave each other alone, but I think we're now having a competitive situation," Yardeni told CNBC recently. "Not only that, but I think we're going to find out start-ups are coming [to] challenge some of their technologies." For instance, Alphabet has built its own chips that the company has reportedly begun pitching to AI companies, and that could cut into some of Nvidia 's market share. Furthermore, Yardeni also cited examples like the Chinese start-up DeepSeek, which sent U.S. AI stocks reeling after the company supposedly developed a ChatGPT rival at a fraction of the cost, although there is much debate over the resources that went into DeepSeek. NASDAQ: GOOG Key Data Points Ives: Another gangbuster year incoming Ives has never been one to shy away from market skepticism, and while many investors are starting to question AI companies more prominently, including their massive capital expenditure plans and big valuations, Ives says tech stocks are set to post at least a 20% gain in 2026. Ives and his team wrote in a recent research note: Heading into 2026, the tech world and investors are both excited and nervous about the AI Revolution. On one hand this is a 4th Industrial Revolution taking shape, with the U.S. leading China on tech...

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