Dan Ives: Tech Stocks Are Experiencing a '1996 Moment,' Not a Bubble Like in 1999
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Oct 10 2025
0mins
Should l Buy META?
Source: Benzinga
Market Outlook: Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives believes the recent pullback in Big Tech stocks is a buying opportunity, likening the current market conditions to a "1996 Moment" rather than a "1999 Moment" indicative of a dot-com bust.
AI Revolution: Ives emphasizes that the AI revolution is just beginning, with significant growth potential in global AI infrastructure led by major tech companies like Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon, despite ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions.
Investment Strategy: He advises long-term investors to view temporary market sell-offs as prime entry points to buy tech winners, recommending diversified tech ETFs such as QQQ, XLK, and IVES.
Long-Term Perspective: Ives stresses that the AI era is still in its early stages, and investors should focus on the long-term opportunities rather than being swayed by short-term market fluctuations.
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Analyst Views on META
Wall Street analysts forecast META stock price to rise
44 Analyst Rating
37 Buy
6 Hold
1 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 676.870
Low
655.15
Averages
824.71
High
1117
Current: 676.870
Low
655.15
Averages
824.71
High
1117
About META
Meta Platforms, Inc. is building human connections, powered by artificial intelligence and immersive technologies. The Company's products enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) headsets, augmented reality (AR), and wearables. It also helps people discover and learn about what is going on in the world around them, enabling people to share their experiences, ideas, photos, videos, and other content with audiences ranging from their closest family members and friends to the public at large. The Company's segments include Family of Apps (FoA) and Reality Labs (RL). FoA segment includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads. RL segment includes its virtual, augmented, and mixed reality related consumer hardware, software and content. Its product offerings in VR include its Meta Quest devices, as well as software and content available through the Meta Horizon Store.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- FedEx Restructuring: FedEx is spinning off its less-than-truckload unit, FedEx Freight, expected to complete by June 1, a move that typically creates more shareholder value, with Jim praising CEO Raj Subramaniam for navigating a competitive landscape effectively.
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- Close to Market Leader: With a 19% market share in China, Apple is just 1% behind Huawei, positioning the company favorably for future competition and strategic initiatives aimed at reclaiming the top spot.
- Overall Market Decline: While Apple excelled, the overall smartphone shipments in China fell by 4%, indicating a tough market backdrop, and highlighting Apple's ability to grow in a declining sector.
- Executive Transition Impact: The impending retirement of long-time marketing chief Stan Ng after 31 years may influence Apple's branding strategy and market outreach, necessitating close observation of the successor's impact on the company's direction.
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- Investor Confidence Wavers: In 2026, investor confidence in the AI sector has significantly declined as they begin to question the actual returns on massive capital expenditures, particularly with projected spending nearing $700 billion, a 60% increase from 2025, raising concerns about an AI bubble.
- Earnings Growth Dependent on AI: Goldman Sachs analysts estimate that AI infrastructure investments will account for 40% of S&P 500 earnings growth in 2026, indicating that if AI companies fail to deliver satisfactory results in their earnings reports, it could lead to a rapid market repricing, jeopardizing the entire bull market.
- Uneven Market Pressure: Companies like Nebius Group, which has nearly $50 billion in contracted backlog despite less than $1 billion in revenue for 2025, face different pressures compared to enterprise AI software firms that have oversold their product-market fit, with the latter facing greater scrutiny this earnings season.
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See More
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- Market Sentiment Shift: In 2026, investors are demanding higher returns from AI investments, with projections that Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta will collectively spend nearly $700 billion on AI and infrastructure, a 60% increase from 2025, indicating that failure to deliver results could lead to rapid market repricing.
- Concentration of Earnings Growth: Goldman Sachs analysts estimate that AI infrastructure investments will account for approximately 40% of S&P 500 earnings growth in 2026, highlighting the critical role of AI technology in the market's growth narrative, where failure to deliver could jeopardize the entire bull market.
- Performance Disparity: Companies like Nebius Group, with nearly $50 billion in contracted backlog despite less than $1 billion in 2025 revenue, face a crucial moment in April earnings to demonstrate contract conversion into real revenue, while others may struggle under increased scrutiny.
- Supply Chain Challenges: This earnings season marks the first where the helium supply shock impacts chip manufacturers, creating genuine production constraints, and management's commentary on supply chain issues will be closely monitored, especially following the temporary ceasefire in the Iran conflict that has helped lift broader market sentiment.
See More
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- Strong Financial Performance: Last year, SpaceX generated up to $16 billion in revenue and $8 billion in profit, indicating its profitability has surpassed that of Tesla, thereby attracting investor interest in its future growth potential.
- Vast Market Opportunities: McKinsey estimates that the global space economy could reach $1.8 trillion by 2035, while PwC analysts predict that AI will create over $15 trillion in global economic value by 2030, highlighting SpaceX's strategic significance in these sectors.
- Historical Lessons Caution: Despite SpaceX's bright prospects, historical data shows that large IPOs typically lose an average of 10% of their value six months post-IPO; if SpaceX follows this trend, it could face a market value loss of up to $175 billion, necessitating careful risk assessment by investors.
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