US equities are showing one of the sharpest bull-bear splits of the year, according to research published this week.
On the bullish side, some analysts tie fresh S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 highs to strong earnings from names like Palantir and Caterpillar, plus optimism around a Hormuz de-escalation. One camp argues hyperscaler results are broadening the AI trade into the real economy, and sees US high-quality and small-cap names well-positioned into recovery.
A contrarian thread of recent research is actively short both indexes, pointing to thin commercial participation, heavy retail leverage, and weakness in bellwethers. A more strategic bearish view warns of a possible "lost decade" and a drawdown exceeding 50% as credit and equity bubbles unwind.
Single-name disputes are just as stark. Palantir is the clearest fight — bulls anchor to 93% revenue growth and raised guidance; bears call it a peaked momentum trade. AMD draws broadly bullish views on AI chip demand. Meta is flagged bearish on ballooning CapEx, while Microsoft gets the opposite read on Azure.