How Goldman Sachs sees the next year playing out for stocks

A new year is around the corner, and Goldman Sachs expects the stock market to stay strong. Chief U.S. equity strategist Ben Snider set his 2026 target for the S & P 500 at 7,600, or a shade more than 10% above where the benchmark closed Thursday. Artificial intelligence will drive productivity next year, boosting S & P 500 corporate earnings, he said. "The process of AI adoption remains early, but large companies report more progress so far than smaller firms," said Snider, adding that he expects S & P 500 earnings per share to rise 12% in 2026, to $305. Most of that growth will come from just six Big Tech stocks, he said. Nvidia , Apple , Microsoft , Alphabet , Broadcom and Meta Platforms should account for roughly 46% of the entire expansion in S & P 500 earnings per share, he said. AI