Goldman Sachs CEO: In Our Era, Greed Far Outweighs Fear, and Capital Is Readily Available

Wall Street is immersed in a rare wave of optimism. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon stated bluntly that "greed far outweighs fear" in the current financial market, with investors turning a blind eye to risks such as high valuations, high oil prices, and rising inflation, continuously pushing stock prices to ATH (All-Time High).

Solomon made these remarks on Tuesday at the New York Economic Club, stating that as long as global optimism persists, "there is ample liquidity within the system," and the market is fully capable of absorbing the upcoming historic largest-scale IPOs from tech giants like SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic. He emphasized that it is precisely because capital is readily available that companies with financing needs are flocking to the market.

This stance reflects the overall bullish atmosphere on Wall Street. The S&P 500 hit closing ATH (All-Time High) on half of the trading days last month, breaking records a total of 11 times. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ Composite Index has surged 30% since late March, and the S&P 500 recorded its longest streak of weekly gains since December 2023 last week.

Greed Overpowers Fear as Market Sentiment Reaches a Tipping Point

Solomon admitted in his speech that these words would inevitably be widely quoted, but he believed they were a true reflection of the current market. "We are indeed in a moment where greed far outweighs fear," he said. "This is exactly why those who need capital are coming to the market—because the capital is there."

He also issued a warning, stating that market sentiment "can quickly turn into fear," cautioning investors not to take the current optimistic atmosphere for granted.

Solomon remains optimistic about artificial intelligence and the macro economy overall. He predicts that over the next decade, as AI technology continues to advance, the United States will have "a highly productive economy" and achieve low unemployment.

Alphabet's Largest-Ever Equity Financing Becomes a Litmus Test for Market Appetite

Solomon cited the calm market reaction after Alphabet announced an $80 billion equity financing as evidence of the current market's strong capacity to absorb large-scale fundraising. Following the announcement, Alphabet's stock price fell by only about 2% on the day.

"This is the largest equity transaction in history, the largest follow-on equity offering, and the stock performance was quite robust," Solomon said. "This is the first real data point for bringing a transaction of this magnitude to the market, which is encouraging."

He believes that this case provides an important reference for the upcoming wave of IPOs by tech giants, indicating that the market has the capacity to digest ultra-large-scale financing.

AI Investment Boom Drives Broad Surge in Tech Stocks

The wave of AI investment is the core driver of this market rally. Memory manufacturer Sandisk has led the market with a cumulative gain of approximately 630% year-to-date; semiconductor manufacturer Micron, server vendor Dell, and chipmaker Intel saw gains of 265%, 250%, and 191%, respectively, during the same period.

The 30% rise in the NASDAQ Composite Index since late March was mainly driven by semiconductor and storage companies, while software stocks also rebounded strongly from the sell-off earlier in the year.

Lisa Shalett, Chief Investment Officer at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, wrote in a research note this week: "The 5% correction in the S&P 500 in the first quarter now seems like a distant memory."

IPO Feast Imminent as Goldman Sachs Bets on the Largest Listing Wave in History

When asked in his speech whether the market could absorb the upcoming ultra-large-scale IPOs from tech companies like SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic, Solomon stated that these listings would become "the largest IPOs in history," and Goldman Sachs hopes to play a significant role in them.

In his view, the successful execution of the Alphabet financing case provided preliminary validation for the feasibility of this IPO feast. However, he also implicitly hinted that everything depends on "the world continuing to remain this optimistic"—a condition that is not without its variables.