Josh Brown, CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, says the story of the stock market in 2025 will be the market’s ability to move forward even as big technology companies stall. Brown said warnings that the entire market would suffer if big technology and artificial intelligence companies stalled never materialized. Instead, investors rotated from struggling stocks to strong stocks outside the sector, he said. “They’ve been warning us over and over again, day in and day out, ‘Wait a minute, once this whole AI thing collapses, once this tech bubble bursts, or if Apple stumbles, Meta stumbles, Microsoft stumbles, we’re going to be in big trouble. The whole market is going to collapse,” Brown said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Halftime Report.” “It was the opposite. Some of the biggest stocks on the planet had a terrible year compared to the rest of the market,” he added. “As their market capitalizations bleed like wounded animals, we found other places to go.” All of the tech stocks that have soared this year, such as Palantir and Broadcom, as well as big-name companies such as Salesforce, are also facing difficulties, Brown said. Palantir and Broadcom soared more than 140% and 50%, respectively, in 2025, while Salesforce fell about 20%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index has risen more than 21% since the beginning of the year, outpacing the S&P 500’s overall gain of more than 17% since the beginning of the year. “There have been dozens of times where we’ve closed at all-time highs, including large-cap stocks that have had pretty big drawdowns,” Brown said. Outside of tech, traders are shifting exposure to banks, health care companies and gold mining companies. What made 2025 unique, Brown said, was that investors didn’t have to be overweight in AI stocks to ride the market rally. “That’s the great thing about this year for investors,” Brown said. Disclosure: All opinions expressed by CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, its parent or affiliate companies, and may have been previously disseminated on television, radio, the Internet, or another medium. The above content is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, or legal advice or a recommendation to purchase securities or other financial assets. The content is of a general nature and does not reflect personal opinions. Special personal circumstances. The above may not be appropriate for your particular situation. Please consider the risks associated with investing before making any financial decisions. The examples of analysis contained in this article are illustrative only and represent the views and opinions of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Ritholtz Wealth Management, LLC. Wealth Management and may maintain a secure position in the securities discussed. The assumptions made within the analysis do not reflect Ritholz Wealth Management’s position up to the end of the disclosure or our disclosure. Click here for full disclaimer.
