3 Ways A.I.'s Boom Could Bust Your Retirement

AI-driven job cuts, inflated tech stocks, and rising utility bills threaten your survival.

Experts in the tech and finance sectors both agree, AI will change the world.

But here's the rarely mentioned truth.

If you are in or near retirement, the unintended consequences of the AI boom could end up costing you dearly.

There are three key factors that present major risks if your savings are tied to retirement funds such as a 401(k), IRA, or pension.

It starts in your 401(k). AI-linked companies now carry an estimated 36% of holdings in major indexes, leaving many 401(k)s overcommitted to this one sector.

If those companies fall short of earnings projections at any point, retirement balances could fall fast.

Then there's job risk. AI-driven layoffs accounted for over 54,000 job cuts in 2025 alone.

Fewer high-paying jobs can mean weaker consumer spending, softer earnings, and more pressure on the stocks and dividends inside retirement accounts.

Third, may leave you paying higher utility costs as communities upgrade infrastructure to fuel the beast.

It's estimated, data centers nationwide use 400 million gallons of water per day to cool down the massive machinery that powers AI.

As the world gets smarter and productivity increases, so does the risk to your income, investments, and cost of living.

AI may be the future, but your life's savings should not be forced to carry every risk it creates.

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Q3 Earnings Could Be the Catalyst the Market Has Been Waiting For

Written by Thomas Hughes. Article Published: 9/8/2026.

Q3 earnings reporting, which kicks off in October, looks set to deliver another solid season for the market. While factors including geopolitics, oil, inflation and the FOMC point to volatility, earnings trends and seasonal trends suggest that a robust rally could follow.

Seasonally, Q4 is typically the strongest quarter of the year. It often starts slowly before ending with a bang, usually capped by a Santa Claus Rally. This year, the stage is set for significant outperformance and confirmation of next year’s results, potentially leading to a substantial market reset.

The 1929 warning system is flashing a new signal for 2026 (Ad)

In 1929, a young analyst named Irving Weiss studied financial reports while Wall Street partied, then warned of the crash that followed.

His system, now known as Weiss Ratings, was ranked number one for investment performance by a study published in The Wall Street Journal and has flagged the Dot-Com Bust, 2008 crisis, and 2020 crash.

It's now flashing one of its most urgent signals in years, pointing to stocks that could struggle and others that stand out.

See which stocks Weiss Ratings is watching right now

The S&P 500 has historically outperformed its consensus estimates, although the outperformance typically falls within the low-single-digit range. The current narrative is that Q1 and Q2 results came in so far above consensus that they revealed a major disconnect in the market. Q1 results outperformed consensus by 1,750 basis points from the low set just ahead of peak season, with average earnings per share (EPS) growth topping 28.5%. Q2 results accelerated further, outperforming by 2,750 basis points from low to high and peaking above 47%. Against this backdrop, the Q3 consensus estimate of 28.5% growth appears conservative and is likely to be surpassed, with healthy guidance providing an additional boost.

Oil Is Powering the Energy Sector's Earnings Surge

Oil has been a primary driver of outperformance. High oil prices are boosting energy company profits across the industry, supporting upstream operations while wide crack spreads and strong demand benefit downstream operations. The key takeaway is that the energy sector, which grew EPS by 146% in Q2 and outperformed by 2,400 basis points, is expected to remain strong in Q3 and potentially into Q4 and Q1 2027. That strength should help underpin the broader market. The forecast for energy-sector earnings growth is just over 100% for Q3.

AI Is the Real Story in Earnings This Year

As robust as the energy outlook is, AI is what is driving the S&P 500 today. The information technology sector posted the second-fastest earnings growth in Q2. NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) underpinned those gains, along with a broad group of infrastructure companies and a growing number of software companies successfully monetizing the technology. The Q3 forecast calls for another 62% increase. Revision trends are positive, and outperformance is likely to be substantial.

While NVIDIA remains the primary driver, Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) is unleashing another wave of GPU capacity. The MI450/Helios launch is expected to feature prominently in Q3 results, including those of AMD's ecosystem partners. Early signs, including results from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE), the primary source for Helios racks, point to strong momentum. The company reported 42% new-order growth, a record backlog and a pipeline suggesting exponential strength in the coming quarters.

Software could return to the spotlight for the right reasons. Q2 results from companies such as Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) and a host of cybersecurity companies showed that fears of a SaaS-pocalypse were misplaced. Salesforce, for example, reported explosive growth in its AI offerings, with clients flocking to its platform rather than abandoning it. Key advantages include its data moat, data-handling capacity and agentic automation. Strong profits, cash flow and capital returns add to the appeal.

Earnings Season and Elections Could Break the Market’s Sideways Trend

Seasonal factors suggest that the market could continue moving sideways, potentially correcting ahead of the upcoming earnings season. JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) kicks off the peak season with a mid-October report, but momentum may not build until early November, after big tech companies begin reporting and the results of Election Day are known.

Meanwhile, community-based opposition to AI data centers is growing and delaying new construction. Elections may come down in part to which candidates support data centers, although development is likely to continue regardless of the outcome. The primary hurdles are land, power and water, with power and water more easily addressed. Companies such as Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE) and AirJoule (NASDAQ: AIRJ) provide technologies that can help sidestep these hurdles, and Bloom Energy, at least, is in high demand. AirJoule is awaiting UL product certification, which is anticipated soon.

Wall Street May Be Underestimating 2027 Earnings Growth

Another catalyst for stock price action will be long-term forecasts and indications of what 2027 may bring. Forecasts point to another solid year but may be underestimating growth by a wide margin. Assuming the trends from the first half of the year continue, Q3 and Q4 should be strong, setting the stage for a solid first half of 2027—an outcome analysts are not currently forecasting. Consensus estimates as of early September suggest a good start, with Q1 2027 earnings expected to grow by nearly 18%, followed by a rapid slowdown to nearly flat growth in Q2.

Under this scenario, the market could see at least four more quarters of S&P 500 earnings growth, outperformance and upward revisions, all of which could drive stock prices higher. With these factors in place, the index is likely to trend higher and could easily advance to 8,500 or above by early 2027.

The biggest risk is the impact of oil prices on the earnings outlook. WTI is expected to revert to the $60 range sometime in 2027, which would cause a sharp slowdown in average earnings growth.

3 CEOs Are Buying Millions of Dollars of Their Beaten-Down Stocks

Written by Leo Miller. Article Published: 9/4/2026.

Insider purchases are one of many signals investors can use to gauge a stock’s outlook. While insider buying is just one piece of a larger picture, it can be particularly notable when the buyer is a company’s top executive: the CEO.

Amid a run of poor performance in 2026, the CEOs of three companies have signaled significant confidence in their businesses’ paths forward. Combined, their purchases total more than $20 million across their respective companies, suggesting the market may be undervaluing these three names.

Alibaba CEO Among Recent Insider Buyers as Shares Fall in 2026

The 1929 warning system is flashing a new signal for 2026 (Ad)

In 1929, a young analyst named Irving Weiss studied financial reports while Wall Street partied, then warned of the crash that followed.

His system, now known as Weiss Ratings, was ranked number one for investment performance by a study published in The Wall Street Journal and has flagged the Dot-Com Bust, 2008 crisis, and 2020 crash.

It's now flashing one of its most urgent signals in years, pointing to stocks that could struggle and others that stand out.

See which stocks Weiss Ratings is watching right now

First up is Chinese e-commerce giant and cloud platform Alibaba Group (NYSE: BABA), one of the largest purchasers of AI hardware outside the United States. The company’s stock has run into trouble in 2026 as Alibaba invests in both AI initiatives and its e-commerce network. These investments have put significant pressure on profitability, with non-adjusted net income falling 75% year over year (YOY) last quarter.

However, the company’s cloud business grew an impressive 45% YOY, while revenue from its AI-related products grew by triple digits for the 12th consecutive quarter. Additionally, Alibaba’s Zhenwu chips are now being used by more than 650 cloud customers. Profitability concerns have outweighed these positive developments, however, leaving shares down more than 20% for the year.

Amid this backdrop, multiple top insiders are buying. These buyers include CEO Eddie Wu and Director Joseph Tsai. In total, their recent purchases amount to just over $15 million. The buys came at approximately $14.30 per ordinary Alibaba share. Because eight ordinary shares are equivalent to one of Alibaba’s American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), the purchase price equates to roughly $114.40 per ADR—very close to the NYSE-listed stock’s recent levels.

Compared with their very large BABA holdings, these insiders’ purchases were not significant. For example, Wu’s position increased by around 2.6%. However, the purchases still signal confidence from key company insiders, providing a moderately bullish indicator for the stock.

Klarna Leader Increases Stake by $10 Million as Shares Tank Following Earnings

Payments platform and fintech company Klarna (NYSE: KLAR) was one of the market’s most discussed IPOs in 2025. Shares popped 15% on their first day of trading, demonstrating the initial excitement surrounding the company. However, the stock’s trajectory has been nearly all downhill since then. Shares are down more than 65% from that point and have experienced significant volatility along the way. Following Klarna’s last three earnings reports, the stock moved up or down by 20% or more on the following day.

Klarna’s latest report was on the wrong side of that equation, with shares plummeting 22.8%. Despite beating expectations for revenue and earnings per share (EPS) and raising its profitability guidance, the company’s growth outlook disappointed investors.

The company lowered its gross merchandise value guidance—which measures the value of products sold through its platform—to $150 billion at the midpoint. The reduction came amid spending weakness in Germany, Klarna’s largest market by volume.

Evidently, Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski believes the stock has fallen too far. He bought almost $10 million worth of Klarna shares at $14.37 several days after the report, a price near the stock’s recent levels. This purchase was also relatively small, increasing Siemiatkowski’s position by around 2.8% and providing another moderately bullish indicator.

CoStar CEO Adds to Large Position as Shares Fall More Than 50%

Real estate analytics and marketplace platform provider CoStar Group (NASDAQ: CSGP) has also seen its share price take a significant hit in 2026. The stock is down approximately 50% for the year, reflecting the company’s slowing growth rate. After accelerating to its highest YOY growth rate in 10 years during the fourth quarter of 2025, the metric has since moved in the opposite direction.

CoStar recently cut its guidance and now expects to generate full-year revenue growth of 15% YOY, compared with its previous midpoint guidance of 17% YOY.

However, management says that slowing its growth rate is a deliberate decision as the company pursues more profitable growth. In this respect, CoStar has been successful, with adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) more than doubling last quarter.

This disconnect between the company’s strategy and the market’s appetite for growth may explain why insiders are buying. In the second quarter and so far in the third quarter, CoStar has seen approximately $2.5 million in insider purchases. Notably, CEO Andrew Florance recently bought 83,000 shares at $29.89, about 5% below the stock’s latest levels. However, the purchase was very small relative to Florance’s total holdings of around 1.8 million shares. Overall, these factors provide a mildly positive signal for the stock.

Analysts See Significant Upside in Alibaba

Among this group, Wall Street analysts continue to show a high degree of confidence in Alibaba’s outlook. With shares down more than 20% in 2026, the MarketBeat consensus price target near $189 implies a rebound of more than 60%.

For Alibaba, a key metric to watch will be whether the company can improve its adjusted EBITDA margin over time. Last quarter, the figure fell to 10% from 16% a year earlier. A rebound would indicate that the company’s investments are beginning to translate meaningfully into greater operating profitability.