JPMorgan strategist says the AI trade's earnings strength has been justified so far

6:02 AM · July 17, 2026

Hugh Gimber, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, told CNBC that the earnings strength investors have seen from AI related companies to date has been justified, pushing back on growing worries that the AI trade has run ahead of the underlying business fundamentals. At the same time, Gimber said he favors a more diversified approach to investing in the theme going forward, one that includes Chinese technology firms rather than concentrating exposure only in the small handful of US companies that have driven the rally so far. His comments come during a week in which strong bank earnings, including a jump in equities trading revenue tied partly to AI linked capital flows, have been weighed against renewed doubts following TSMC's cautious market reaction and a broader chip stock selloff. Gimber's framing, that the fundamentals so far justify the rally but the next stage of the trade may reward a wider set of companies and countries than the first stage did, reflects a broader shift among market strategists away from treating the AI trade as a single, narrow basket of US mega cap stocks and toward viewing it as a more geographically and sectorally diverse theme.