I asked ChatGPT whether the artificial-intelligence trade is a house of cards, and it said while parts of the AI boom look increasingly fragile the entire investment story is not.

Well it would say that, wouldn’t it? AI stocks fell sharply Thursday following a report that OpenAI’s revenue may be $20 billion lower than expected.

Wall Street has cast doubt on the discrepancy, enabling tech stocks to rebound Friday—helped by falling oil prices. But the panic underscores just how exposed the entire AI trade is to OpenAI, Anthropic and others. Imagine what it’ll be like when they actually go public.

Whatever happens there will still be winners and losers—SpaceX looks like the former, while AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon may fall into the latter category.

Inflation may create just as many losers in the months ahead. Delta Air Lines cut its guidance as fuel costs have started to get ridiculous. Apple may also be running into trouble after hiking iPhone 18 Pro prices.

This stock market rally isn’t a house of cards, but the foundations are starting to look a little shaky.

You can subscribe to the Barron’s Daily newsletter here.

We want to hear from you! Send us your feedback at thebarronsdaily@barrons.com