Andrew Zatlin: Time for an AI Pause?

Nvidia’s earnings report last night measured a new headwind blowing up against the big AI stocks.

Don’t panic.

At least, not yet.

Yes, growth is slowing down. What can you expect when you have 50% growth happening year over year over year?

At some point in time that stops.

We’re seeing the first signs of that with Nvidia reporting a slowdown in AI server revenues – but that’s hardly reflected in the market price yet.

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Nvidia’s market cap is already more than that of all UK stocks, and is now closing in on the market cap of all of Japan!

However, when everything has already priced this massive, massive growth rate and it needs to be readjusted, you got revaluations.

That’s normal. To be expected.

That’s also why big tech companies can post great growth numbers, even as they’re moving to reduce their employee headcount.

And that’s kind of where we are right now in the AI world, whether it’s Nvidia or Palantir.

Think of it as a highway. The highways have been built and they’re continuing to be built, but the bulk of it is out there. Now. It’s all the businesses at the off-ramps. It’s all the shopping centers, all the movie theaters, all the things that superhighway enables all those services. That’s where we are right now.

All of these secondary businesses are going to grow.

Not a moment of panic, but you should beware the AI trend, as Sam Altman noted, it’s bubbly.

From the hardware perspective, we’re more on the down slope of growth, heading more towards the 20%, 25%, and away from the 40%, 50% levels. And that means some new pricing reevaluations.

An AI pullback will trigger associated pullbacks in the coming weeks.

But we’ve got the rate cut potential impact further out, which should cause AI stocks to trend even higher going into the end of the year.

~ Andrew Zatlin

P.S. from Addison: That insight from Andrew Zatlin is just a small appetizer for the main event: our discussion on Grey Swan Live! shortly.

We’ll cover how Andrew views the labor market, why he’s been more accurate than other forecasters – garnering the #1 ranking on Bloomberg – and look at how his views fit in with many of the potential Grey Swan events we see occurring in the months ahead – including the possibility of a “most terrifying bull market.”

It’s another Grey Swan Live! you won’t want to miss – all part of the incredible value our members enjoy week after week.

If you’re not a member, click here to join now and get access to every Grey Swan Live! (including a recording of today’s Zoom), Special Reports and more.

P.P.S. We’re also hosting a free live tax seminar on how to keep more of your gains with IRS-compliant strategies tomorrow, August 29, at 1 p.m. ET. Registration is free and easy — reserve your spot here.

If you have any questions for us about the market, send them our way now to: Addison@GreySwanFraternity.com.

Nvidia’s earnings report last night measured a new headwind blowing up against the big AI stocks.

Don’t panic.

At least, not yet.

Yes, growth is slowing down. What can you expect when you have 50% growth happening year over year over year?

At some point in time that stops.

We’re seeing the first signs of that with Nvidia reporting a slowdown in AI server revenues – but that’s hardly reflected in the market price yet.

Turn Your Images On

Nvidia’s market cap is already more than that of all UK stocks, and is now closing in on the market cap of all of Japan!

However, when everything has already priced this massive, massive growth rate and it needs to be readjusted, you got revaluations.

That’s normal. To be expected.

That’s also why big tech companies can post great growth numbers, even as they’re moving to reduce their employee headcount.

And that’s kind of where we are right now in the AI world, whether it’s Nvidia or Palantir.

All of these secondary businesses are going to grow.

Not a moment of panic, but you should beware the AI trend, as Sam Altman noted, it’s bubbly.

From the hardware perspective, we’re more on the down slope of growth, heading more towards the 20%, 25%, and away from the 40%, 50% levels. And that means some new pricing reevaluations.

An AI pullback will trigger associated pullbacks in the coming weeks.

But we’ve got the rate cut potential impact further out, which should cause AI stocks to trend even higher going into the end of the year.

~ Andrew Zatlin

P.S. from Addison: That insight from Andrew Zatlin is just a small appetizer for the main event: our discussion on Grey Swan Live! shortly.

It’s another Grey Swan Live! you won’t want to miss – all part of the incredible value our members enjoy week after week.

If you’re not a member, click here to join now and get access to every Grey Swan Live! (including a recording of today’s Zoom), Special Reports and more.

If you have any questions for us about the market, send them our way now to: Addison@GreySwanFraternity.com.

With U.S. stocks trading at about 24 times forward earnings, plans for capital growth have to go off without a hitch. Given the billions of dollars in commitments by AI companies, financing to the hilt on debt, the most realistic outcome is a hitch.

On a valuation basis, global markets will likely show better returns than U.S. stocks in 2026.

America leads the world in innovation. A U.S. tech stock will naturally fetch a higher price than, say, a German brewery. But value matters, too.

As copper flowed into the United States, LME inventories thinned and backwardation steepened. Higher U.S. pricing, tariff protection, and lower political risk made American warehouses the most attractive destination for metal. Each new shipment strengthened the spread.

The arbitrage, once triggered, became self-reinforcing. Traders were not participating in theory; they were responding to the physical incentives in front of them.

The United States had quietly become the marginal buyer of the world’s most important industrial metal. China, long the gravitational center of global copper demand, found itself on the outside.

Under the frost-crusted shrubs, the bears are sniffing around for scraps of bloody meat.

They smell the subtle rot of credit stress, central-bank desperation, and debt that’s beginning to steam in the cold. They’re not charging — not yet. But they’re present. Watching. Testing the doors.

Retail investors, last in line, await the Fed’s final announcement of the year on Wednesday. Then the central planners of the world get their turn: the Bank of England, Bank of Japan, and the European Central Bank.

Treasuries just suffered their worst week since June. And in Japan — the quiet godfather of global liquidity — something fundamental is breaking.

Silver continues its blistering ascent. Gold and bitcoin have settled in at $4,200 and $92,000, respectively.

It’s absurd, really, for any politician to be talking about “affordability.”

The data is clear. If higher prices are your goal, let the government “fix” them.

Mandates, paperwork, and busybodies telling you what you can and can’t do – it’s not a surprise why costs add up.

In contrast, if you want lower prices, do nothing– zilch. Let the market work.