AI Now Controls 45% of the S&P 500: Is This a Bubble or a New Era?

Juhi Mirza
Colorful stock chart showing rising trend lines with growth percentages, symbolizing bargain stocks with high growth potential against a blue digital background
Source: Watcher.Guru

Artificial intelligence is now penetrating deep into the world’s systems. The tech has now acquired an essential place in the global world order. The latest facts are telling a new story, with AI stocks dominating nearly 45% of the S&P 500 market cap. The tech has been slowly rising up the radar, dominating the markets as of late. Is this truly an era of AI, or is this bubble about to burst now?

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AI Dominates S&P 500 Market Cap

Ai stocks
Source: Reddit

Artificial intelligence has continued to evolve over time, with the tech being one of the fastest to take over the world. AI now constitutes nearly 45% of the S&P 500 index market cap, showcasing how the world is now slowly pivoting towards AI-based companies and tech to make lives easier. Per the latest post from the Kobeissi Letter, this percentage has surged 20 percentage points since November 2022, the time ChatGPT was launched.

Moreover, nearly 15.4% of investment-grade debt is now tied to AI, showcasing how bullish companies are considering the artificial intelligence domain. In addition to this, this percentage has also risen 3.5% since 2020.

“Shocking stat of the day. AI-related stocks now reflect a record 45% of the S&P 500’s market cap. This percentage has surged +20 points since November 2022, when ChatGPT was launched. Furthermore, a record 15.4% of investment-grade debt is now tied to AI, making it the largest sector in the US credit market. This percentage has risen +3.5 points since 2020. This comes as AI-linked debt has nearly DOUBLED over this period to an all-time high of $1.4 trillion. Never before has a single theme dominated both US equity and credit markets to this magnitude.”

AI Boom In The US

As AI continues to become a leading part of our lives, another post by KL outlines how consistent use of AI is now rising among US employees. Another KL post outlines this new reality, adding how 50% of employed adults in America used AI in their roles at least a few times in Q1, 2026. This percentage has now doubled over the last 3 years.

“AI-related stocks now reflect a record 45% of the S&P 500’s market cap. This percentage has surged +20 points since November 2022, when ChatGPT was launched. Furthermore, a record 15.4% of investment-grade debt is now tied to AI, making it the largest sector in the US credit market. This percentage has risen +3.5 points since 2020. This comes as AI-linked debt has nearly DOUBLED over this period to an all-time high of $1.4 trillion. Never before has a single theme dominated both US equity and credit markets to this magnitude.”

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