Cash Held by Households Equity inflows are drawing support from the large cash buffers households built up during the pandemic, with a significant pool of savings still sitting on the sidelines. Image: Deutsche Bank Asset Allocation
Hyperscaler Year/Year Cash Spending Growth Hyperscalers are ramping up AI spending, leaving less capacity for buybacks and dividends. The trade-off is weaker near-term payouts in exchange for longer-term upside. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
YoY Growth in S&P 500 Cash Use S&P 500 companies are shifting cash to capex, led by AI, while buybacks stall. The result may be weaker EPS support and a thinner cushion for stock prices. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
Performance vs. S&P 500 by Uses of Cash U.S. companies that return the most cash to shareholders through dividends and buybacks have outperformed the S&P 500 since 1992. The outperformance usually reflects stronger fundamentals and disciplined capital allocation. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
Cash Allocation by Non-Bank Investors Globally Non‑bank global investors are rotating out of stocks and bonds and into cash as the Middle East conflict‑related energy shock raises inflation fears and the risk of higher interest rates. Image: J.P. Morgan
Hyperscalers Realized Year/Year Growth – Earnings vs. Free Cash Flow While hyperscalers are still delivering steady earnings, their free cash flow growth has sharply cooled, and that gap could prove costly, since stock performance has often mirrored free cash flow trends closely. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
Cash to Total Assets S&P 500 and S&P 500 Ex-Financials The corporate cash cushion is thinning. S&P 500 firms have slashed their reserves from pandemic peaks, redirecting capital toward AI infrastructure, growth projects, and buybacks in a world where cash no longer comes cheap. Image: J.P. Morgan Equity Strategy and Global Quantitative Research
Percentage of Time 60/40 Returns Were Positive or Outperformed Cash While cash remains an important component of financial stability, excessive cash holdings can hinder long-term wealth growth due to opportunity costs and inflation erosion. Image: J.P. Morgan Asset Management
U.S. High-Yield Spreads vs. Corporate Cash Flow as % of Debt (Leading Indicator) Rising AI infrastructure spending and swelling debt are draining liquidity, setting the stage for weaker cash-flow-to-debt ratios in 2026 and wider credit spreads across the sector. Image: Bloomberg
S&P 500 Intraday Returns – NY Cash Trading Hours vs. Overnight Trading U.S.-daytime volatility’s resurgence reflects renewed market focus on American macro developments, with global investors avoiding illiquid overnight hours—a behavior typically seen after major geopolitical or policy events. Image: Deutsche Bank Asset Allocation
U.S. Households’ Allocation to Equity, Bond and Cash Americans have never been so invested—literally—in the market, with household equity allocations at all-time highs, a boom shadowed by warnings of how sentiment can sour overnight. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research