CLINT GHARIB, AIF, CFED
Wow, what a new year can ring in. If you’ve been reading my updates then you know I have been saying for many months to prepare for a real sell-off: “So when the next big sell-off comes (a sale), remember this idea of so many proposed data-center projects to shop during the sale. I don’t know the future, but I can see “miles and miles and miles” of proposed spending ahead.“ Also, you may recall from the “Deepseek” moment in early 2025 that I’ve not been a fan of OpenAI, believing Sam Altman is more ‘sizzle than steak’. This by no means tempers my enthusiasm for the upside potential from the massive buildout of technology and electrification. Rather, it continues to reinforce to me the importance of stock selection. Remember, I have believed we are in a new Bull market (started March 2023 imo) and like past Bull Trends, there can be serious sell-offs while in the Bull Trend. The long-term possibility of this massive buildout reminds me of the scale of rebuilding Japan and Europe after WWII.
Dunnn dunn… duuuunnn duunn… (‘Jaws’ theme music)
At the end of 2025, we saw folks begin to worry about debt & circular AI deals, especially with Oracle and OpenAI. Reactions by many remind me of the hilarious scene in “Caddyshack” when the candy bar is floating in the pool and panic ensues whe a child yells, “Doodie! Doodie!” After they have the entire pool drained and sanitized by Bill Murray’s character in a hazmat suit (while we know it was a Baby Ruth candy bar), he deadpans, “It’s no big deal” as he takes a bite. Like the caddies in the pool, Wall Street is known to overreact on the up as well as the down. Yes, I do think OpenAI and Oracle’s debt are doodie, warranting sell off, but the notion that the upside potential is over like a dot.com burst seems to me like the reaction of the pool cleaning scene: way over the top. Scary declines within a Bull trend can offer potential springboards to a portfolio after the panic subsides. Remember, amidst the fear, what seems like doodie can end up being just a Baby Ruth candy bar.
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