"Big Short" Steve Eisman supports Apple, calling it crucial in the development of artificial intelligence

According to the Zhitong Finance and Economics APP, Steve Eisman, the prototype of "The Big Short", has stated that he once identified Apple (AAPL.US) as a "hidden" participant in artificial intelligence, and now he believes that Apple remains crucial in the ongoing development of artificial intelligence. Eisman admitted that Apple is no longer a "secret" participant in artificial intelligence. The company's stock surged nearly 9% this week, starting from the global developer conference held by the company on Monday, where Apple introduced a series of Apple Intelligence products. On Wednesday, Apple's stock price briefly surpassed Microsoft (MSFT.US), becoming the world's most valuable company. Eisman said, "If artificial intelligence is not limited to the cloud, people will use it on their phones." This means that consumers will upgrade their iPhones and other devices during product update cycles, and the scale of these updates is yet to be determined. At the same time, he mentioned that his team is researching other potential "downstream" winners. Eisman said, "I won't tell you what those companies are because I haven't bought them yet. But that's what we are currently studying." The rebound driven by artificial intelligence has helped boost the stock market in 2024, although some investors are uneasy about the rise dominated by tech stocks. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes hit record highs on Wednesday, rising nearly 14% and 18% respectively year-to-date. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has lagged behind, rising less than 2% during the same period. Eisman made huge profits by shorting the U.S. real estate market on the eve of the 2008 financial crisis, becoming a Wall Street legend. In the popular movie "The Big Short" adapted from Michael Lewis's book of the same name in 2015, the character played by Steve Carell made him famous. This history may lead investors to associate Eisman with pessimism, but he holds an optimistic view of the market and the economy in 2024. In an interview on Thursday, Eisman confirmed his bullish stance on the overall market. "What I want to say is, in bad times, people focus on credit quality and balance sheets, while in good times, people focus on stories. We are in the era of stories." Furthermore, he mentioned that there are two extremely important pillars in today's market, namely artificial intelligence and infrastructure. He said that these are factors driving economic development, and economists who predicted that the Federal Reserve's rate hikes of over 500 basis points since March 2022 would lead to an economic downturn have been proven wrong. "I think the only conclusion that can be drawn is that the U.S. economy is more vibrant than ever before."