![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2297777279-e1792660627256.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Good morning.<\/strong> For years, investors in both public and private markets have had one answer to almost every question: AI. About two-thirds of S&P 500 returns since 2024 have come from 42 AI stocks and almost all of the venture dollars this year are flowing into AI, with some firms nearing trillion-dollar valuations. The consensus may be starting to crack amid worries about valuations, financing, infrastructure costs, and the speed of adoption. In speaking with investors at Alpha Partners\u2019 AlphaMarket 2026 conference yesterday, I heard themes that reinforce what business leaders are also telling me.<\/p>\n The short-term risks are real. <\/strong>Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld used to talk about the known knowns, the known unknowns and the unknown unknowns. The first category is what we know to be true: from America\u2019s aging workforce and rising debt to the transformative potential of AI. The last includes those black-swan events that come out of left field and test a company\u2019s resilience, from war to pandemics. But the middle category is where investors play the odds when it comes to risks. They know that the AI boom is being financed on borrowed money, with circular financing deals that only add to the fog. They know the buildout is expensive and could take decades to pay off; that wild swings in revenue estimates and reports of rogue AI are red flags. And companies like CoreWeave can\u2019t rack up $52 billion in liabilities without a clear path to pay it back. A good long-term bet can be derailed by the reality of right now. As one fund manager put it: \u201cThe costs of AI will come down and adoption will go up. We just don\u2019t know when.\u201d<\/p>\n Public and private markets are different.<\/strong> Private investors can sometimes trade their shares, but the market is less liquid, with the payoff coming when a company is sold, taken public, or raises a new round of funding. The wait times for those exits are getting longer, from the 33,575 unsold PE-backed firms that PitchBook reported as of June 30\u2014more than double a decade earlier\u2014to VC funding rounds that now stretch to Series G. (Bring on H, I and J!) The best deals go to a few firms, with others given a sliver at frothy valuations or locked out until an IPO. And investor panic plays out differently. As Forge Global CEO Kelly Rodrigues recently told me, the falling prices and other fears that spur public-market trading tend to slow activity in his secondary marketplace as \u201csellers don\u2019t want to mark down assets and buyers wait for discounts.\u201d<\/p>\n Consumer sentiment matters.<\/strong> The American consumer, who accounts for about 70% of GDP, continues to buy stuff, but many are stressed by energy prices, wage stagnation, rising interest rates, and an affordability crisis in everything from health care to housing. Most Americans don\u2019t want more data centers and think AI is developing too fast. They\u2019re worried about their jobs, don\u2019t trust AI leaders, and think the playing field is unfair. And they\u2019re about to vote in the midterms.<\/p>\n Anthropic is the test. <\/strong>The Anthropic IPO could be a barometer for sentiment across public and private markets. Anthropic has set up a public benefit fund for 5% of the shares and just hired a Harvard astrophysicist to the trust that controls its board. CEO Dario Amodei has to convince the public that his company is a good buy and he\u2019s a good guy. A tepid debut wouldn\u2019t just hurt Anthropic and its backers, it could set back other AI companies hoping to raise capital.<\/p>\n Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com<\/em><\/p>\n Researchers race to fix major security flaws found with AI<\/b><\/p>\n Researchers using AI discovered two critical flaws in PHP, software used across much of the web, prompting an emergency patch as attackers began trying to exploit them. <\/span>Cybersecurity experts told <\/span>Fortune<\/span><\/i> that unpatched systems could let hackers run code remotely, which puts websites and sensitive data at risk.<\/span><\/p>\n Meta\u2019s revenue rises, but AI spending pushes cash flow below zero<\/b><\/p>\n Meta\u2019s quarterly revenue <\/span>rose<\/span> 26% to $64.6 billion, beating Wall Street expectations, though legal settlements weighed on operating profit. Shares rose as much as 5% after hours as investors welcomed early adoption of its Muse AI assistant and plans from the company to start generating revenue from it.<\/span><\/p>\n A SpaceX-Tesla merger could cost shareholders<\/b><\/p>\n Investors have welcomed a possible SpaceX-Tesla merger, but <\/span>Fortune<\/span><\/i> analysis <\/span>argues<\/span> that buying Tesla would give SpaceX little additional profit while straining its cash needs. Assuming a 30% takeover premium, SpaceX would pay nearly $2 trillion in stock, leaving Tesla\u2019s shareholders with almost half the combined company.<\/span><\/p>\n S&P 500<\/b> futures are down 1.10% this morning. The last session closed up 0.58%. <\/span>The<\/b> STOXX Europe 600<\/b> was down 1.09% in early trading. <\/span>The U.K.\u2019s FTSE 100<\/b> was down 0.60% in early trading.<\/span> Japan\u2019s Nikkei 225<\/b> was down 2.65%. <\/span>South Korea\u2019s KOSPI <\/b>was down 3.52%. <\/span>China\u2019s CSI 300 <\/b>was down 1.84%.<\/span> Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng <\/b>was down 3.03%. <\/span>India\u2019s NIFTY 50 <\/b>was down 0.68%. <\/span>Bitcoin<\/b> is down at $82k.<\/span><\/p>\n Zuckerberg told Meta directors he might leave California, where he could lose billions to a wealth tax. Meta answered with a new class of stock<\/span> by Amanda Gerut<\/span><\/p>\n Amazon abandons $427 million GW campus data center plan and pledges land donations worth $65 million instead<\/span> by Joshua Hong<\/span><\/p>\n GM simulated 300,000 EV battery designs\u2014using 34,000 years of computer time\u2014before building a single cell. Now comes the physical part<\/span> by Nick Lichtenberg<\/span><\/p>\n \u2018You\u2019re no longer an influencer \u2026 you\u2019re a cofounder\u2019: MrBeast\u2019s business resembles a Fortune 500 holding company, investor Steven Bartlett says<\/span> by Sasha Rogelberg<\/span><\/p>\n America\u2019s national debt plan is \u2018clearly not in order,\u2019 says Ken Griffin. He believes part of the problem is Europeans who \u2018don\u2019t want to go to work\u2019<\/span> by Eleanor Pringle<\/span><\/p>\n CEO Daily is curated and edited by Joseph Abrams, Jason Ma, Claire Zillman, and Lee Clifford.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n #Investors #betting #doubts #piling<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Good morning. For years, inves… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2394,1555,9510,92,9977],"class_list":["post-7295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance-news","tag-betting","tag-ceo-daily","tag-doubts","tag-investors","tag-piling"],"yoast_head":"\n\nTop leadership news<\/h3>\n
The markets<\/h3>\n
Around the watercooler<\/h3>\n