Europe’s Increasing Irrelevancy

October 7, 2025 • 2 minute, 3 second read

European Stocks Global Markets

Europe’s Increasing Irrelevancy

Tech stocks are running hot. But they’re not the only game in town.

A breakdown of the top 20 global players shows a lot of tech, yes – but also the big players in energy, pharmaceuticals, financial, and retailers:

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Following the market’s massive rally, tech takes the lead – as do U.S. stocks as a whole.
(Source: Companiesmarketcap.com)

What’s most fascinating is that you won’t find a European stock in the top 20.

Even the top 25. ASML, a chip manufacturer based in the Netherlands, clocks in at the #26 spot globally.

We’re not surprised. As much as we see international investing as a way to diversify out of the U.S. dollar and its continued weakening, Europe is in a worse place.

Their GDP has flatlined over the past 15 years, against a doubling in GDP for the U.S. and even bigger GDP gains in China.

While the U.S. leads the world in AI spending, and China leads in technology like drones, what does Europe lead the world in? Regulation.

They spend more time penalizing U.S. tech firms for regulatory violations than encouraging their own tech ecosystem.

Europe isn’t even trying to play the capitalist game anymore – and it shows.

U.S. stocks are the best game in town right now, but could still take a backseat to other countries in the years ahead as richly valued AI stocks take a breather. But don’t expect too many big changes in this list in the next year – or for any European stock to crack into the top 20 anytime soon.

~ Addison

P.S. Grey Swan Live! continues Thursday at 2 PM ET. This week’s guest is none other than George Gilder.

George once handed President Reagan the first microchip, and now he says today’s tech wave dwarfs the original $6.5 trillion tech revolution of the 1980s.

Eight exponential technologies — AI, quantum computing, robotics, self-driving cars, blockchain, chips, advanced biotech, and even space — are no longer advancing in isolation.

They’re colliding, compounding, and accelerating into what could be the single greatest wealth-building event of our lifetimes.

The pace is staggering.

That’s why in Grey Swan Live!, we’ll show you how to navigate this convergence — and how early positioning could define not just your portfolio, but your legacy.

It’s not too late. Join us, won’t you?

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

American Autonomy

October 28, 2025 • John Robb

America’s role in the world isn’t that of the world’s policeman (a temporary post-World War II role foisted upon the U.S. due to the Cold War) or as the destination of immigrants (for most of the 20th century, when we saw the most significant increases in individual incomes and quality of life, the U.S. didn’t accept many immigrants). Instead, the role the U.S. has played throughout its existence is as the world’s leader in the production, adoption, and socioeconomic integration of new technologies. We figured out how to do it successfully first, and the world followed.

American Autonomy

The Liquidity Illusion

October 28, 2025 • Addison Wiggin

AMD’s deal with OpenAI is another echo from 1999. OpenAI agreed to buy six gigawatts’ worth of AMD chips — products that don’t yet exist — in exchange for warrants on 160 million AMD shares, about 10% of the company. AMD stock jumped 24% overnight.

And then there’s Oracle’s $300 billion OpenAI contract — five times OpenAI’s annual revenue. Oracle’s stock soared 43% in a day, making Larry Ellison $100 billion richer.

The Liquidity Illusion

Gold’s Relative Strength

October 28, 2025 • Addison Wiggin

Relative strength, or RSI, provides investors with a quick glance as to how much the market likes or hates a given asset. The correction is a welcome event for hard asset investors.

With the metal back under $4,000, our thesis remains untouched.

In fact, the pullback – while sharp and severe – makes gold a less expensive insurance policy against geopolitical shocks and other Grey Swan events.

Gold’s Relative Strength

Networked Nationalism Rises

October 27, 2025 • John Robb

On the current trajectory, online and offline tribal warfare, with events that range from assassinations to riots to sabotage, is inevitable. Worse still, with both sides waging moral warfare (good versus evil), there is no middle ground, rendering compromise impossible.

To avoid this, the government could step in to crack down on illegal immigrants, serial criminality, and activist blue cells to slow the ramp in extrajudicial violence from the red tribe. This would reduce the chance we see a rapid escalation in tit for tat violence. However, to do this, it would need to designate many activist groups as terrorist entities and pursue them with the degree of vigor we saw with Islamic radicals after 9/11.

Networked Nationalism Rises