- In today’s CEO Daily: Diane Brady reports on what’s next for the Magnificent 7.
- The big story: Fed Day fallout.
- The markets: Mixed, with U.S. Stocks poised to open lower.
- Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Coins2Day.
Good morning. What are the expectations of corporate executives for the upcoming year concerning the Magnificent 7? They are acutely aware of how Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla have been responsible for over fifty percent of the S&P 500's advancements lately, establishing a challenging benchmark for all others to surpass. However, circumstances evolve: At one moment, Alphabet may appear to be lagging in the artificial intelligence race, and then Google's recent Gemini release sparked a “Code Red” from OpenAI's Sam Altman.
TL;DR
- Executives expect mixed performance from Magnificent 7 in 2026, with Alphabet, Microsoft, Nvidia leading.
- Amazon sparks debate; Meta, Apple, Tesla face challenges and negativity from executives.
- Fed cut rates, but job data concerns and AI impact on labor costs arise.
- Oracle's AI spending and earnings miss raise worries; Google DeepMind partners with UK government.
Earlier this week, during a conversation with Former Cisco CEO John Chambers regarding his tech predictions for the coming year, our talk shifted to his perspective on the Magnificent 7. Having transformed Cisco from a router producer into the globe's most highly valued firm in March 2000—and subsequently fostered a new wave of unicorns via JC2 Ventures—Chambers possesses a keen understanding of market transformations.
He anticipates 2026 will mark a period of differing performance among the Magnificent 7. “Two or three do real well, two or three do not do well at all and you have one or two in the middle,” he informed me. “If I were betting on momentum today, I would bet Google (Alphabet), Microsoft and Nvidia. By the way, Google would not have made that list a year ago.”
I then inquired with about twenty-four executives at the Coins2Day Brainstorm AI gathering and the Coins2Day CEO Initiative supper in San Francisco regarding their opinions on the Mag 7. Alphabet also emerged as the victor. The main driver of excitement is Gemini 3, their most recent AI offering. However, as one chief executive advised: “I’m more confident about the health of the business than the health of the stock.”
Microsoft and Nvidia were equally strong contenders for the second spot among the executives I surveyed. One Coins2Day 100 executive noted that Microsoft possesses “deep relationships in the enterprise and something tangible to offer in AI,”, whereas a leader in enterprise technology highlighted its difficulties with Copilot, especially regarding Nvidia, an AI founder commented, "“I’d rather be in Jensen’s seat than anywhere else,”."
The firm that sparked the most discussion was Amazon. Certain individuals placed it at the forefront as a promising investment for the upcoming year, asserting its progress against AI competitors; conversely, others positioned it last, contending that it's “not attracting top talent.” Numerous expressed indifference for various reasons, including concerns about an economic downturn and the agreement between Netflix and Warner Bros. Meta likewise received varied outlooks, as one business owner informed me “you can’t win with low morale.”
Apple and Tesla drew the greatest negativity. Numerous executives highlighted the exit of crucial figures at Apple, coupled with its established product range and absence of clear direction in AI. The word cloud associated with Tesla featured “China,” “distracted,” “policy risk,” “consumers,” and “Elon Musk.” One participant at the dinner remarked: “Go test drive a BYD.”
Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at [email protected]
Top news
The Fed's jobs data fears
As expected, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday, despite the biggest revolt among policy makers since 2019. In explaining the cut, Chair Jerome Powell suggested that federal jobs data could be inaccurateInstead of creating 40,000 positions monthly from April onward, the United States might be experiencing a deficit of 20,000 jobs each month. The statistical framework referred to as the birth-death model by The Bureau of Labor Statistics often inflates employment figures; the department is undertaking revisions in February, which could lead to more precise data.
What Powell should focus on
Meanwhile, Fed Chair Jerome Powell “risks the Fed’s inflation-fighting credibility” if he keeps attributing the hiring slowdown mainly to weak demand instead of AI,” according to a new analysis shared with Coins2Day by KPMG Chief Economist Diane SwonkSwonk contends that reducing interest rates won't address falling labor costs if artificial intelligence and immigration are identified as the actual causes.
Oracle’s reality check
The Fed decision had boosted markets Wednesday, but Oracle’s disappointing earnings served as a reality check, sparking renewed worries regarding AI expenditure. The major cloud provider announced its capital expenditures will reach $50 billion in the upcoming year, an increase of $15 billion from earlier projections, yet it failed to meet analyst expectations for cloud revenue and income from its infrastructure division.
DeepMind x U.K.
Google DeepMind, an AI lab, is partnering with the U.K. Government to achieve breakthroughs in in the fields of materials science and sustainable energy, encompassing nuclear fusion, and to examine the societal consequences of AI, alongside methods for enhancing AI's decision-making transparency and security. As part of this partnership, DeepMind plans to inaugurate its inaugural automated research facility in the U.K. During 2026.
Circle CEO praises Trump for embracing crypto
In this week’sepisode of Leadership NextCircle CEO Jeremy Allaire attributes the Trump administration's actions with establishing a “innovation-forward, technology-forward, entrepreneur-forward environment.” Allaire, who previously collected baseball cards as a child, transitioned from an isolated figure in Washington to orchestrating one of the year's most impactful initial public offerings.
Disney nominates former Apple COO to board
Disney nominated Jeff Williams, the former Apple COO who retired last month after 27 years with the company, to its board of directors. In a press release, Disney praised Williams’ “williams brings a distinctive background in technology, worldwide operations, and product development to the table. He is slated to run for a position at Disney's 2026 yearly shareholder gathering.
The markets
S&P 500 futures were down 0.57% this morning. The last session closed up 0.67%. STOXX Europe 600 was up 0.11% in early trading. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 0.06% in early trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 0.9%. China’s CSI 300 was down 0.86%. The South Korea KOSPI was down 0.59%. India’s NIFTY 50 is up 0.55%. Bitcoin is down at $90K.
Around the watercooler
CEO Daily is compiled and edited by Joey Abrams, Claire Zillman and Lee Clifford.
