With most major US companies, led by Nvidia, announcing their Q1 2026 earnings results, the contours of a new phase in the markets are becoming clearer. Despite the anxiety that gripped investors in recent months due to interest rates, inflation, and the war in the Strait of Hormuz, this earnings season has been much stronger than expected. But behind this strength, one factor has been driving almost everything: artificial intelligence.

Markets are no longer just looking at traditional growth rates or quarterly profits, but are trying to answer a much bigger question: Which companies will succeed in building the new artificial intelligence economy? And which companies might be destroyed by it? This is why the report focused particularly on the software sector, which has effectively become the “ground zero” for the coming transformation, where the disconnect between the actual performance of companies and the panic or enthusiasm reflected in stock prices is clear.

This week saw a continued rise in US Treasury yields as oil prices climbed back above $100 a barrel, putting renewed pressure on growth sectors and interest-sensitive stocks. The yield on the benchmark 30-year US Treasury note rose to 5.2%, its highest level since 2007, while yields in Germany, Japan, and the UK also reached multi-year highs.

This surge reflects not only short-term concerns about inflation, but also growing anxiety about the long-term future of US debt itself. Markets are increasingly seeing the US as facing a difficult combination of high inflation, high interest rates for an extended period, and a massive debt burden requiring continuous financing.

For investors, this means further tightening of financial conditions and direct pressure on stocks whose valuations are based on long-term growth, particularly technology companies and high-growth stocks. Rising energy prices also exacerbate the situation for consumer and inflation-sensitive sectors, as costs increase while consumers become more cautious with their spending.

One of the biggest surprises of the week was SpaceX’s announcement that it was finally moving toward its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO). The offering is estimated to raise up to $75 billion, at a valuation approaching $2 trillion, potentially making it one of the largest IPOs in history.

But the report also revealed a less rosy side. Investors were surprised by the scale of the losses the company projected for 2025 and 2026. While Starlink has become profitable, these profits are still insufficient to cover the enormous expenditure on the rest of the company’s activities, including xAI investments. Building rockets, developing AI infrastructure, and constructing data centers all require massive amounts of capital.

The filing also showed that Elon Musk will retain 85.1% of the voting power within the company, meaning that effective control will remain almost entirely in his hands even after the listing.

The report suggests that this IPO could represent a pivotal moment for US markets, as the entry of a company of this size could prompt index funds to pour massive amounts of money into the tech giant, further concentrating the market around a very limited number of large companies. At the same time, it anticipates that individual investors will be a key part of the shareholder base, as was the case with Musk’s previous companies.

In a significant development within the digital entertainment sector, Spotify announced a new agreement with Universal Music Group that will allow subscribers to create AI-generated remixes and songs based on licensed music from participating artists. The new feature will be launched as a paid add-on, with revenue shared between Spotify, the artists, and the songwriters.

The report argues that this move represents a significant example of how artificial intelligence can create entirely new revenue streams for digital streaming platforms. Instead of AI being merely a threat to the music industry, some companies are now attempting to leverage it as a new product in its own right.

Spotify’s vast music library also gives it a significant competitive advantage in this field, as the quality and diversity of its content become crucial elements in training and delivering AI-powered music services. Conversely, major record labels like Universal gain a new revenue stream from user-generated content created using AI tools.