So JPMorgan just dropped their 2026 investment playbook, and honestly? It’s like they read the room and said “let’s bet on everything that’s working AND everything that’s been beaten up.” Classic Wall Street move, but hear me out—it actually makes sense.
The big brains at JPM are feeling pretty good about stocks heading into next year, despite November being about as fun as a root canal for most portfolios. Their secret sauce? A “barbell strategy”—which sounds fancy but basically means putting money on both ends of the risk spectrum. Think of it as financial hedging your bets, but with more PowerPoint presentations.
The “Obviously” Play: AI Stocks
Surprise, surprise—they still love AI stocks. I know, I know, we’ve all heard this song before. But here’s the thing: the Magnificent Seven (that’s Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Tesla, Meta, and Nvidia for those keeping score at home) are still up 24% this year despite everyone having AI fatigue.
JPMorgan’s logic? These companies aren’t just riding a hype wave—they’re actually making money from this stuff. Revolutionary concept, right?
The “Comeback Kid” Play: Cyclical Stocks
Here’s where it gets interesting. While everyone’s been obsessing over ChatGPT, JPMorgan wants you to remember that boring old economy stuff still matters. They’re bullish on cyclical stocks—the ones that do well when the economy is humming along.
We’re talking banks (because someone has to lend money), materials companies (someone’s gotta build stuff), energy stocks (the lights aren’t turning themselves on), and consumer-facing businesses like retailers and airlines. Basically, all the companies that benefit when people actually go out and spend money instead of just talking to their phones.
The “Look Beyond Your Backyard” Play: International Stocks
Plot twist: JPMorgan thinks there’s life beyond American stocks. Shocking, I know. They’re eyeing opportunities in China (apparently it’s having an “early stage recovery”—finance speak for “maybe things won’t be terrible forever”), Europe, Japan, and India.
Their international shopping list includes banks, healthcare, mining, luxury goods, and renewable energy. It’s like a diversification greatest hits album.
Why This Actually Makes Sense
Look, JPMorgan isn’t just throwing darts at a board here. The U.S. economy is still chugging along (consumers aren’t drowning in debt, companies are beating earnings expectations), and those scary tariff threats from earlier this year turned out to be more bark than bite.
Plus, the whole world seems to be getting its act together economically, which is nice for a change.
The barbell approach is smart because it lets you chase the high-flying AI stocks while having some boring, reliable cyclicals as backup. It’s like wearing both a helmet and knee pads while riding a bike—maybe overkill, but you’ll thank yourself later.
Bottom line: JPMorgan’s betting that 2026 will reward both the obvious winners and the overlooked comeback stories. Not the worst strategy we’ve heard from Wall Street lately.