Markets are churning furiously beneath a calm surface

Finance & economics | ButtonwoodMarkets are churning furiously beneath a calm surfaceAI is prompting investors to reassess every business model under the sunShareIllustration: Satoshi Kambayashi Feb 22nd 2026|4 min readINVESTORs WAKING from a stupor that began on New Year’s Eve might question whether they had missed anything. For all the recent geopolitical drama, the S&P 500 share index of big American firms sits almost exactly where it did at the end of 2025: just shy of a record high. Beneath the surface, however, the churn in America’s financial markets has been furious. A panic about what artificial intelligence will do to business models has prompted software firms’ stock prices to tumble: they are a third below a recent peak last year. On February 23rd IBM’s slumped by 13%, owing to vague worries about what AI means for the tech veteran. Already have an account?Log in Continue with a free trial Get full access to our independent journalism for free Free trial Or create a free account to unlock just this article Create account Explore moreShareReuse this contentThe Economist TodayHandpicked stories, in your inboxA daily newsletter with the best of our journalismSign upYes, I agree to receive exclusive content, offers and updates to products and services from The Economist Group. I can change these preferences at any time.More from Finance & economicsAmerica’s welfare state is more European than you think State-level policies are making up for stingy federal provisionA viral research note on AI gets its economics wrongToo much of a good thingThe AI productivity boom is not here (yet)Artificial intelligence is improving fast. Its effect on output, not so muchDonald Trump answers a Supreme Court rebuke with new tariff threatsThe immediate economic impact will be more uncertaintyThe EU is thrashing out a more muscular set of economic policies The bloc is done playing nicely Free exchangeDid America’s war on poverty fail?Deprivation has fallen dramatically—but not necessarily because of the welfare state