Evercore founder and senior chairman Roger Altman said current economic headwinds are not enough to destabilize the U.S. equity market.
This assessment comes as investors weigh the impact of geopolitical instability and massive corporate spending against strong corporate earnings. Altman's perspective suggests that the underlying fundamentals of the American economy can absorb significant external shocks without triggering a systemic collapse.
Speaking during an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” program, Altman said the market is resilient. He identified the Iran-Russia war, high energy prices, and large capital expenditures related to artificial intelligence as the primary headwinds facing the market [1, 2]. Despite these pressures, he said the equity market remains stable [1, 2].
Altman pointed to corporate performance as a primary driver of this resilience. He said 86 percent of S&P 500 companies beat consensus earnings estimates [2]. According to Altman, the most recent quarter for S&P 500 earnings was the strongest quarter in five years [2].
The combination of high energy costs and the financial demands of AI integration has created a complex environment for many firms. However, the level of earnings success across the largest U.S. companies indicates a capacity to maintain profitability despite these costs [2]. Altman said these factors, while challenging, do not reach the threshold required to destabilize the broader market [1, 2].
“The U.S. equity market remains resilient.”
The insistence on market resilience by a senior financial figure like Altman highlights a divergence between geopolitical volatility and corporate profitability. By anchoring his argument in S&P 500 earnings data, Altman suggests that the actual cash flow of the largest U.S. companies is currently more influential than the perceived risks of war or energy spikes, signaling a 'fundamentals-first' approach to market valuation.
