Growth Stocks Flash Bullish 'Golden Cross' On AI Spending Spree: Expert Reveals Next Wave Of Winners Beyond Chipmakers

North America
Source: Benzinga.comPublished: 08/18/2025, 04:52:01 EDT
Artificial Intelligence
IT Services
Growth Stocks
Capital Expenditure
Technical Analysis
Growth Stocks Flash Bullish 'Golden Cross' On AI Spending Spree: Expert Reveals Next Wave Of Winners Beyond Chipmakers

News Summary

Growth stocks are significantly outperforming value counterparts, flashing a bullish technical “golden cross” amid the ongoing Artificial Intelligence (AI) spending spree. Adam Turnquist, Chief Technical Strategist for LPL Financial, notes that growth’s “notable comeback” is due to an “unwavering commitment to AI capital expenditures,” with the bullish crossover between the 50-day and 200-day moving averages confirming a breakout from a yearlong consolidation and pointing to a durable uptrend. Bruce Keith, Co-founder of InvestorAi, suggests that as the AI boom progresses, the focus should shift from semiconductor companies to firms facilitating AI adoption. He predicts IT services and consulting firms will perform well in the short term (next 5 years) as they are crucial for businesses integrating new AI technologies. Beyond that horizon, firms successfully productizing their offerings will emerge as winners. The article lists several U.S.-listed large-cap IT services and consulting firms, including Accenture, IBM, Cognizant, Gartner, EPAM Systems, and DXC Technology, along with their year-to-date and one-year performance.

Background

In 2025, the U.S. stock market continues to evolve, driven by a surge in Artificial Intelligence (AI) investments. Massive capital expenditure on AI by tech giants has led to growth stocks significantly outperforming their value counterparts. This trend is particularly evident in the Russell 1000 Growth (RLG) versus Value (RLV) ratio chart, which has broken out to new highs. Meanwhile, the incumbent U.S. administration under President Donald J. Trump may indirectly influence market sentiment and specific tech sector investments, though not directly mentioned in this article. Market analysts are now keenly watching for the next wave of beneficiaries from this AI spending spree.

In-Depth AI Insights

Is the 'golden cross' merely a symptom of AI euphoria rather than a reliable signal for a sustained bull market? - While technical indicators like the 'golden cross' can confirm short-term trends, their long-term validity depends on underlying fundamentals. The current AI-driven 'golden cross' might reflect over-optimistic market pricing of AI's transformative potential, rather than solely robust growth. Investors should be wary that if AI capital expenditure growth slows or enterprise AI adoption falls short of expectations, this 'bullish' technical signal could quickly reverse, especially given some IT services firms' current underperformance which seems disconnected from the expected AI beneficiary logic. What are the core risks and opportunities facing IT services and consulting firms in the AI wave? - Opportunities: As critical facilitators of AI integration and implementation, these firms stand to benefit short-term from immense enterprise demand for AI solutions. They can offer bespoke services to help clients navigate the complexities of AI deployment, securing substantial consulting and project revenues. - Risks: In the long term, as AI tools and platforms become increasingly standardized and productized, clients may prefer to directly purchase mature AI products rather than rely on expensive custom services. This forces IT services firms to pivot from service providers to product developers, a costly and uncertain transformation. Firms failing to effectively productize may face margin compression and market share erosion. What are the deeper implications of surging AI capital expenditure for the broader market, especially traditional value stocks? - Concentrated AI capital expenditure among a few tech giants could exacerbate market bifurcation, leading to further capital flows into growth tech stocks while traditional value stocks may face outflows. This concentrated investment pattern risks inflating tech stock valuations, increasing overall market volatility. Furthermore, if AI investments do not broadly translate into productivity gains or effective economic growth, it could lead to capital misallocation, ultimately harming overall economic health and creating downward pressure on value stocks and the wider market.