In the middle of the year, these expectations create new opportunities for investors.
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Hello reader.
As business author Peter Drucker noted, “The only thing we know about the future is that it will be different.”
I like to keep this in mind every January when I send out my annual letter Fry investment report “The problem of expectations.”
This statement remains true as we reach the start of Q3 and the back half of 2026… especially as we look back at all that has proven to be “different.”
Political tensions in the Middle East have escalated into an ongoing war between the United States, Israel, and Iran. This has led to significant fluctuations in oil prices, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) announcing a loss of nearly a billion barrels in the oil market.
There may have been other events on your bingo card, such as artificial intelligence continuing to dominate the market, and roads Software inventory From their feet.
Now that we’re halfway through the year, I want to focus on this Smart money About how three of my predictions hold up.
Some may surprise you, some there are still opportunities to join before the end of the year – and I’ll guide you step-by-step on how to get started.
Prediction #1: The 7 Great Stocks Will Lose Power
The cost of creating a competitive AI infrastructure is enormous and increasing, while the ultimate payoff is becoming less certain and immediate.
These dynamics do not directly threaten large-scale companies themselves – including Mag 7 members Alphabet Company (Google), Amazon.com Inc. (Amzn), Apple Inc. (Apple), Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), Meta Platforms Inc. (dead), And Nvidia (NVDA) – but they threaten their lofty evaluations.
I would expect investors to start asking harder questions, such as “Where is the increased free cash flow coming from and when will it arrive?” Or “What happens when everyone has data centers and fancy new AI models, but no one has the pricing power?”
It seemed that these matters were on their minds now.
Just yesterday, CNBC reported that $2.3 trillion was written off the value of Mag 7. Although the group peaked in mid-May, Roundhill Magnificent Sevens ETF (Cups)which tracks Barrier, is now roughly flat year-to-date.
Wall Street increasingly recognizes AI as a “cost center” rather than a strong growth driver – and this may continue, as Big Tech spending on AI is expected to rise 70%, to exceed $700 billion this year.
To be sure, the MAG 7 companies remain dominant, but their valuations clearly reflect this dominance. As that fades, the next question is: where does the capital go?
The answer is copper
This leads me to my next prediction…
Forecast No. 2: Copper price reaches $7.50
This is what I told my country Fry investment report Readers for Copper in January:
Copper prices are expected to reach at least $7.50 per pound sometime in 2026 – driven by structural supply constraints and accelerating electricity demand, artificial intelligence infrastructure, renewables, grid expansion, and industrial modernization.
Simply put, demand for copper is booming, relative to supply growth. Therefore, the widening deficit in the copper market is putting upward pressure on the copper price.
Six months ago, the price of copper was $5.70; Now it is $6.19. Obviously, this isn’t $7.50, but we’re only halfway through the year — and with the help of surging data center demand, the metal has reached record levels this year.
With AI being a big driver of demand for metals and energy, there is still a huge opportunity in the copper market to make some money without having to bet on a high-profile name in the AI space.
The evidence can be found on our copper mine website Fry investment report, Freeport-McMoRan Corporation (FCX)an increase of more than 20% since the beginning of the year. (And remember, Mag 7 barely moved during the same time period.)
However, this is the only metal I look to to hedge against the risky nature of the current AI market.
And here’s the other one…
Prediction #3: Gold will outperform Bitcoin
At the beginning of the year, I expected gold to outperform Bitcoin (Bitcoin-dollar) In 2026. Those predictions were correct, but not exactly in the way I expected. Both of these currency alternatives have lost value against the dollar this year, but Bitcoin has lost the most. The leading cryptocurrency is down a whopping 32% year to date, while gold is down just 7%.
After a strong advance at the beginning of the year, the yellow metal entered into a sharp correction that reduced its price by more than $1,000. But I expect it to recover during the second half of the year, as the Fed moves toward easier monetary policy.
Second half position
Two of my predictions are already “in the money.” The second – copper to $7.50 – is still in the “probable” category. But all three can continue to provide opportunities for forward-looking investors.
For example, Give up those mag 7 names Flying too close to the sun and welcoming companies that actually apply AI technologies could be far more beneficial.
With six months to go until 2026, the opportunity to get ahead of these trends – rather than chase them – remains open.
I built Fry investment report Exactly about these forecasts – and at the moment, I have multiple recommendations targeting Mag 7 break-up, copper supply crisis, and gold vs. Bitcoin setup.
For specific names and indices, Click here to learn more about joining Fry investment report.
It is considered,
Eric Fry
