Wells Fargo Securities’ Ohsung Kwon expects artificial intelligence to dominate third-quarter earnings season. “Outside of AI, I’m not really excited about anything,” Kwon, the firm’s chief equity strategist, told CNBC’s ” Fast Money ” on Monday. He expects demand for AI to be the chief reason why results will exceed Wall Street estimates. He contends the sector is not in a bubble and said investors should stick with the group because fundamentals are driving the recent gains. According to Kwon, the AI trade is still in its early innings. “I think AI matters more than the Fed,” he said. Kwon’s comments came hours after he released his first earnings season preview note since starting at Wells Fargo in May. “Tech equipment spend as % of GDP remains well below PC and internet boom levels,” he wrote in the research note. “Generative AI is being adopted at work and at home at nearly twice the speed as the internet was and ChatGPT is the fastest-growing consumer app of all time. Software companies are earning more with fewer employees.” Kwon pointed to a special model that helped build his forecast. “We essentially looked through all the macro variables that we could find — about 350 macro variables. We went through this machine learning process to figure out where the sales could be, and it’s still pointing to a pretty decent beat. So, we’re forecasting about a 4% beat led by AI. Semis ,” he told “Fast Money.” His prediction comes as the S & P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq closed at all-time highs . The S & P 500 has gained nearly 15% so far this year, while Nasdaq is up nearly 19% in 2025. Kwon’s S & P 500 year-end price target for next year is 7,200 . It implies a 7% percent gain from Monday’s close. Join us on Thursday, December 11th for a front-row seat to the ultimate holiday trading experience with Melissa Lee and the “Fast Money” traders, live from the Nasdaq Marketplace. Get your tickets now: cnbcevents.com/fastmoneylive Disclaimer
