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Did you read yesterday’s edition?
Bitcoin ( ▼ 13.05% ) was wobbling.
Today… it slipped after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made it clear the government isn’t riding to the rescue — and crypto took the hint.

While everyone was staring at crypto, something slower — and arguably more important — was happening in the biggest stocks on Earth.

So let’s put Bitcoin on pause for 60 seconds.

Because today’s story isn’t about tokens.

It’s about the “Magnificent Seven.”

For years, “own the Mag 7” was the easiest trade in markets. It worked so well it stopped feeling like a trade at all.

Now it feels… different.

And that’s usually how bigger shifts begin.

Markets have a funny habit. They reward the obvious trade… right up until it becomes too obvious.

For years, “own the Magnificent Seven” was the default setting.

And why not?
Their combined market cap hit $21.5 trillion — bigger than the GDP of every country on Earth except the U.S.

But lately, the “Magnificent” part has started to feel… optional.

Last year, five of the seven — Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and Tesla — trailed the S&P 500.

source: Reuters

And that underperformance has carried into 2026, even though their index weight is still doing the heavy lifting.

So what changed?

For years, the Mag 7 had the perfect combo:
cash flow rising + growth narrative intact.

Now that combo is breaking.

Gina Martin Adams (HB Wealth) points to the key shift:

• Cash flow peaked in 2024

• Then it started slipping in 2025

At the same time, spending sped up. These companies are writing bigger checks at the exact moment the cash coming in is no longer accelerating.

And the biggest checks have one label on them:

AI.

Last year, the Magnificent Seven spent an estimated $320B chasing it — buying chips, building data centers, upgrading infrastructure, and picking up AI startups.

So the setup investors are staring at is simple:

• High spending today

• Payoff later

• And cash flow isn’t getting stronger in the meantime

That’s why the stocks feel heavier.
Because the market is asking a more annoying question:

When does this start showing up in results?

1 Amazon is a clean example of the new math

Amazon tells the story better than any chart.

In 2025, the stock gained 4% — the weakest in the Mag 7, and about 13% behind the S&P 500.

Not a disaster. Not a win either.

What matters is what was happening offstage.

Through the first three quarters of 2025, Amazon’s CapEx hit $89.9B, as CFO Brian Olsavsky put it, to “support demand for AI and core services.”

Then came Q4.

Amazon ( ▼ 4.42% ) just reported earnings — and the stock slid.

→ EPS came in at $1.95 vs. $1.97 expected.
→ Sales beat at $213.4B vs. $211.4B expected.

But guidance is what spooked the market.

❗ For Q1, Amazon sees:

• Sales of $173.5B–$178.5B (Street was at $175.6B)

• Operating income of $16.5B–$21.5B — below consensus at $22.18B

In short: Big spend today. Unclear payoff tomorrow.

That’s the new math investors are working through — not just for Amazon, but for the whole group.

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2 The question isn’t AI hype — it’s AI adoption

Gina Martin Adams makes a simple distinction:

It’s not enough for companies to “try” AI.
It needs to become a must-have, deeply embedded into processes, driving margin expansion and productivity growth.

Right now, full adoption is slower, for boring reasons that still win:

• ROI uncertainty

• messy legacy systems

• skilled labor shortages

• decisions that touch engineering, legal, security, compliance, and finance

In other words: the tech moves fast. Organizations don’t.

So while the Mag 7 build, the other 493 stocks in the S&P 500 get a shot at being the better growth story.

And investors are noticing.

3 Why Experts Say That’s “Healthy”

Zoom out.

Tech is the worst S&P 500 sector this year (down ~5%).
Energy and consumer staples are up double digits.

That flip is the whole story.

Stephen Parker at JPMorgan calls it “very healthy” because the market is finally broadening — less “Mag 7 or bust,” more everything else.

Bank of America flow data supports it: In the past month, BofA clients funneled more into consumer staples than any four-week stretch since 2008. And they’ve been net sellers of tech four of the past five weeks.