Most people see the AI story as a choice between two headlines: a bubble about to burst, or the opportunity of a lifetime. I see something more useful underneath the noise.
In this PWM Perspective, I break down what’s really driving the AI trade in plain English: what tokens are, why AI keeps getting cheaper while companies spend more on it than ever, and what data centers really mean for energy and water. I look at the growing role of debt in paying for the build-out, why strong earnings at companies like Alphabet still sent their stocks lower, and what SpaceX’s first months as a public company may teach us ahead of Anthropic’s IPO.
The common thread is simple. The market isn’t questioning whether AI demand is real. It’s questioning what that demand costs, and who’s paying for it.
Read the full article to see why great companies don’t always make great investments on day one, and how I’m thinking about AI in the portfolios I manage.