--- title: "Morgan Stanley firmly bullish on U.S. stocks: Strong earnings support bull market, S&P 500 expected to rise another 16% to 7,800 points next year" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/266174788.md" description: "Morgan Stanley's Chief U.S. Equity Strategist Michael Wilson predicts that the S&P 500 will rise 16% over the next year, supported by strong corporate earnings, trading around 7,800 points by the end of 2026. He believes that corporate pricing power, improved AI efficiency, relaxed tax and regulatory policies, and stable interest rates are supporting factors, but warns that Federal Reserve policies may pose short-term risks" datetime: "2025-11-17T11:02:02.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/266174788.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/266174788.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/266174788.md) --- > Supported Languages: [简体中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/266174788.md) | [繁體中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/266174788.md) # Morgan Stanley firmly bullish on U.S. stocks: Strong earnings support bull market, S&P 500 expected to rise another 16% to 7,800 points next year According to the Zhitong Finance APP, Morgan Stanley's Chief U.S. Equity Strategist Michael Wilson has issued one of the most bullish voices on U.S. stocks. He predicts that, supported by strong corporate earnings, the S&P 500 index will rise by 16% over the next year. Michael Wilson expects that by the end of 2026, the S&P 500 index will trade around 7,800 points. This target is among the highest levels among Wall Street strategists and also means that the index will achieve double-digit growth for the fourth consecutive year. Data shows that the S&P 500 index has surged 14% so far this year, following over 20% gains in the previous two years. In a report, Michael Wilson stated, "We are in a new bull market and earnings cycle, especially for many previously lagging sectors in the index." The strategist expects that the earnings per share of S&P 500 constituent companies will grow by 17% and 12% over the next two years, respectively. He mentioned that stronger pricing power, efficiency gains from artificial intelligence, loose tax and regulatory policies, and stable interest rates are all supporting factors. ![11.png](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://img.zhitongcaijing.com/image/20251117/1763376859824135.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg) At the same time, Michael Wilson also warned that if the Federal Reserve maintains a more hawkish stance than expected, it could bring short-term risks. He added that, in the long term, an "overheated" economy could reignite inflation. It is worth mentioning that Michael Wilson is one of the few forecasters who maintained a bullish outlook after U.S. President Trump implemented widespread tariffs in April this year, which led to a sharp decline in U.S. stocks. His judgment was ultimately proven correct—as the trade war eased, the S&P 500 index rebounded to record highs. In a widely watched investor survey this year, this strategist was rated as the second-best portfolio strategist, second only to Michael Kantrowitz, Chief Investment Strategist at investment bank Piper Sandler. As a turbulent year approaches its end, U.S. stocks are nearing historical highs, driven by corporate third-quarter earnings that far exceeded expectations. Despite market skepticism regarding artificial intelligence trading and high valuations, as well as risks from the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, investors remain confident in economic growth. Recently, Dan Ives, Head of Technology Research at Wedbush Securities, described the current market's nervousness about artificial intelligence trading as "short-sighted behavior" and asserted that the bull market for tech stocks— the main force driving U.S. stock gains over the past two years—will last at least another two years. This tech bull pointed out the strong demand for semiconductor ETFs, emphasizing that "since June, we have observed that related demand has increased by about 30%." He defined the current environment as a "capital expenditure supercycle," believing it to be an early stage of technological transformation, and stated that investors are currently only in the "second and third stages" of the AI revolution. He also defended the massive capital expenditures of large tech companies, explaining that "for every dollar these companies invest in capital expenditures, they will ultimately receive $8 to $10 in returns over the next few years." Jeff Krumpelman, Chief Investment Strategist and Head of Equities at Mariner Wealth Advisors, also believes that the recent volatility in tech stocks is more akin to profit-taking and a pause rather than a substantive shift in artificial intelligence or earnings fundamentals. This strategist emphasizes that early-stage AI applications remain a powerful theme that will last for years, and the current volatility should not be compared to the period of the internet bubble burst, stating, "This is a real trend. Artificial intelligence is still in its early stages, and the prospects are genuinely promising, far from a repeat of the internet bubble of 2000." However, there are still cautious voices on Wall Street. Peter Oppenheimer, a Goldman Sachs strategist who accurately predicted that U.S. stocks would underperform other regional markets this year, expects that U.S. stocks will continue to lag behind other major global markets over the next decade. The strategist forecasts that the annualized return of the S&P 500 index will reach 6.5% over the next ten years, making it the weakest performer among all regions; emerging markets are expected to be the strongest, with an annualized return of 10.9% ### Related Stocks - [S&P 500 (.SPX.US)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/.SPX.US.md) - [Morgan Stanley (MS.US)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MS.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [08:03 ETCensys Raises $70 Million in Strategic Funding to Expand Its Internet Intelligence Platform](https://longbridge.com/en/news/281182734.md) - [E*TRADE Is in Talks With SpaceX to Take the Lead in Its Upcoming IPO](https://longbridge.com/en/news/281710037.md) - [Cattle Look to Wednesday After Tuesday Rally](https://longbridge.com/en/news/281369105.md) - [Is the Trump bull market in its final act? History offers a decisive answer.](https://longbridge.com/en/news/281709945.md) - [Optimistic on HD? 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