Peter Schiff: Most Stocks Are in Bear-Market Territory as AI Lifts S&P 500

According to Peter Schiff, 479 US-listed stocks touched 52-week lows while only 60 reached new highs, an eight-to-one gap. The economist, who favors gold, argues that most stocks are in bear-market territory.

President Donald Trump, in Schiff's view, is claiming credit for a market that is roaring. The S&P 500 has delivered a gain of about 14% in 2026, according to Goldman Sachs, which raises the question of who is actually behind that performance.

Can the Figures Justify Schiff's Bear-Market Claim?

Ben Snider, a strategist at Goldman Sachs, wrote in a September note that the typical S&P 500 member sits 16% under its 52-week peak.

AI stocks, according to the bank, are the reason the index is staying aloft. The market's breadth — the extent to which gains are spread across stocks — is at its thinnest since the dot-com bubble.

Today in the broader U.S. stock market, 479 stocks made 52-week lows while only 60 made 52-week highs. That's eight stocks hitting new lows for every one hitting a new high. Trump likes to take credit for a booming stock market. But most stocks are actually in bear markets.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) October 14, 2026

Earnings are similarly top-heavy. Liz Ann Sonders, the Schwab Center for Financial Research's chief investment strategist, highlighted in August how narrowly based Wall Street's growth has become. She added that Nvidia and Micron, the memory-chip maker, will account for a third of S&P 500 earnings growth in 2026.

That said, a 52-week low does not equal a 20% drop, which is the customary definition of a bear market. Since the median S&P 500 company is 16% off its high, fewer than half of the index's constituents are beyond that mark. Schiff's figure tracks the number of new lows among US equities, not how far prices have fallen.

What Would an AI-Leader Slip Mean for the Market?

Goldman, though, points to a different possibility. Should economic uncertainty ease, Snider wrote, the stocks that have lagged could close the gap.

Interest rates complicate that scenario. September's US inflation came in at 3.7%, above the 3.6% forecast, increasing the odds of another rate increase by the Federal Reserve. The Fed's next meeting is set for October 27 and 28.

Goldman likewise said the S&P 500's forward earnings multiple fell from 22 times to 19 times, with higher rates and doubts about AI profits behind that decline. The multiple reflects what investors pay for each dollar of projected earnings.

This divide is significant for index investors. An index fund weighted by market capitalization hands the heaviest weight to its largest companies. So it is tilted toward AI names, even as the average stock in the fund remains below its high.

How the index and the typical stock ultimately converge will depend on whether the stragglers advance or the leaders fall.