Why Optimism Could Be the Most Profitable Strategy of 2026

Editor’s Note: One of the hardest things to do as an investor is stay constructive when markets feel noisy, crowded, or overdue for a pullback. The instinct to brace for what might go wrong is natural. But over time, I’ve learned that the biggest opportunities usually don’t appear when optimism is obvious — they appear when confidence is quietly rebuilding beneath the surface.

That’s why I wanted to share today’s piece from my friend and colleague Louis Navellier. Louis argues that while headlines continue to fixate on risks, several important things are going right in the market. More importantly, he explains why those changes tend to matter before they’re widely recognized.

Louis also introduces a concept he calls an “AI Dislocation.” Not a crash, but a transition. A moment when the market moves past the obvious, crowded AI winners of the first phase and begins rewarding a new group of companies positioned for what comes next. Louis recently recorded a special AI Dislocation broadcast where he walks through this shift in detail and explains how he’s positioning ahead of it. You can learn more here.

Now, I’ll turn it over to Louis.

If you’re fundamentally pessimistic about the future, stocks are probably not for you.

Investing in stocks is fundamentally an optimistic act. 

You invest your hard-earned money in a stock you believe will experience growth.

Pessimism often feels smart – and during uncertain times, it feels comfortable. 

But in markets, pessimism is frequently just poor timing wearing a sensible disguise.

Optimism, by contrast, is harder work. It requires separating signal from noise. It requires acknowledging risks without becoming paralyzed by them. And it requires the discipline to recognize when conditions are quietly improving – even when headlines say otherwise.

That’s the kind of optimism successful investors rely on. Not blind faith. Not rose-colored glasses. But evidence-based confidence rooted in fundamentals.

When I look at the early days of 2026, I see several important things going right – in the economy, in corporate earnings, and in the parts of the market that tend to lead during periods of sustained growth.

Of course, that doesn’t mean everything is perfect. It never is. In fact, I see some real dislocations ahead in this market, and ignoring them would be a mistake. I’ll briefly talk about those risks in just a moment before I elaborate on them in a future piece.

But before focusing on what could go wrong, in today’s Market 360, we’ll do the harder work first – identifying what’s already going right… and understanding why that matters to your investing success in the rest of the year. 

What’s Going Right: Economic Growth Is Accelerating In the AI Era

If you want proof that this optimism isn’t theoretical, start with economic growth.

The U.S. economy may not be firing on every cylinder yet. Housing and manufacturing are still lagging. But taken as a whole, growth is clearly accelerating.

The Commerce Department recently revised its third-quarter GDP estimate higher, to a 4.4% annual pace. That followed 3.8% growth in the second quarter. Taken together, the U.S. economy just posted its strongest back-to-back quarters of growth since 2021.

That didn’t happen by accident.

Consumer spending grew at a 3.5% annual rate. Corporate activity remained resilient even as interest rates stayed elevated. In other words, the economy absorbed tighter financial conditions and kept moving forward.

The trade deficit surged in November. Exports declined, imports jumped, and the monthly trade gap widened sharply. As a result, the Atlanta Fed revised its fourth-quarter GDP estimate lower, though it still expects growth north of 4%.

Now, trade data has been distorted by shifting tariff policies, and there are still some structural problems in the economy that need to be addressed. 

But make no mistake, folks, the broader growth trend remains intact.

Tax cuts, strong consumer demand, the ongoing AI data-center buildout, improving existing home sales, and an estimated $20 trillion of onshoring activity underway in the U.S. are powerful tailwinds. Together, they form the foundation for faster, more durable growth than most investors are prepared for.

My (Revised) GDP Prediction

Back in late 2024, I told my followers that the U.S. economy could reach a 4% annual growth pace in 2025 and accelerate further to hit 5% – at least temporarily – in 2026. (I reiterated that prediction in early January 2025, here.)

That may have sounded aggressive at the time. But based on current momentum, my earlier forecast may prove conservative.

In fact, I think we could hit 6% annualized GDP growth at some point in 2026 – possibly in the second half of the year.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be volatility. And the market is always full of distractions. 

But the bottom line is that the U.S. economy is growing faster than most of the developed world. Corporate earnings are responding accordingly. And historically, that combination has favored investors who stay focused on fundamentals instead of headlines.