NEW YORK, January 8, 2026 – Despite navigating a relentless barrage of economic shocks, investors may be poised for a surprisingly bullish 2026, according to Fundstrat Global Advisors’ head of research Tom Lee. He argues that the very trauma of recent crises has created a “coiled spring” effect, suppressing sentiment and setting the stage for gains.
The Third Epoch of Labour Shortage
A crucial element in Lee’s 2026 forecast is the technology sector, fueled by a significant demographic shift. he contends that the U.S. is experiencing a long-term labor shortage. “We entered the third epoch,or era of labor shortage,which started in 2018 and it’s going to last to 2035,” he predicted,driving increased technology spending to compensate for the dwindling workforce.
He drew a parallel between the current AI boom and the introduction of flash-frozen foods in the 1920s. Fundstrat research suggests that flash-freezing reduced farm labor from 40% of the workforce to just 2%, while concurrently lowering food costs.similarly, Lee believes AI will boost efficiency rather than cause widespread economic ruin.
“Let’s say there was a CNBC in 1920 and these economists where saying, ‘frozen food, if it comes along and it’s going to wipe out 95% of all farmers, this is going to wipe out the U.S. economy. The U.S. economy can’t survive frozen food,'” Lee noted, illustrating his point about current anxieties surrounding AI-driven job displacement. “Rather it freed up time, right? And it created, it allowed peopel to be repurposed, and it created a completely new labor force.”
addressing concerns about an AI bubble, Lee compared it to the dot-com era.He pointed out that an investor who purchased a basket of internet stocks in 1999 and held them to the present day would have outperformed the S&P 500, despite the collapse of many individual companies. He estimates that while 90% of AI stocks may underperform expectations, the sector as a whole is highly likely to outperform the broader market.
When asked about his reputation as a “permabull,” Lee stated he first received the label in 2009, and history has validated his optimistic stance. “here’s what’s interesting 16 years later … the optimists have won.”
Lee concluded that betting on resilience remains the smart play,and that the U.S. market demonstrates that strength heading into 2026. “America, as long as it’s a place of innovation-and we are, because we’re at the center of AI-I think it’s pretty bullish,” he said, while acknowledging the potential downside: “there’s a chance that this AI is a disaster for labor markets, and if it is, the U.S. will be the least scathed but everyone’s going to go down.”
