Dan Ives says tech rout is 'golden buying opportunity' just like during Covid, tariff sell-off
CNBC · Liz Napolitano ·
Technology stocks are sinking after Democrats regained control of Congress earlier this week, creating buying opportunities in the market, per analyst Dan Ives.
Technology stocks plummeted following the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, spooking some investors. But the sell-off offers a prime opportunity to scoop up stocks linked to the booming artificial intelligence trade, according to analyst Dan Ives. "The massive tech sell-off yesterday on fears around the Blue Wave delaying and disrupting the AI data center build out in the US was at a magnitude actually treating tech stocks and especially semis like this mid-term Democratic win will actually end the AI buildout in the US ... and it will not," the Yorkville Ives & Co. partner and senior managing director said Friday in a note to clients. "We would characterize this sell-off level and magnitude with the tech sell-offs we saw in March 2020 during Covid and the April 2025 Liberation Day sell-off … which were golden buying opportunities to own the tech winners and this one is the same." The Nasdaq Composite plunged 5.5% into correction territory on Thursday amid a broader stock market rout. That marked its worst single day performance since April 4, 2025, when the tech-heavy index fell 5.82% following U.S. President Donald Trump's unveiling of his tariffs policy. The sell-off came after Democrats regained control of both chambers of Congress following the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday. The Democratic party has generally taken on a more adversarial relationship with BigTech than its right-wing counterpart. Several prominent Democratic victors, including Ohio Governor-elect Amy Acton and Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El‑Sayed, took strong stances against data centers in their winning campaigns. However, the Democrats' sweep is unlikely to derail the AI buildout that many tech stocks and their investors are counting on, Ives said. "The Blue Wave causes Big Tech capex growth to peak in 2027 vs … 2028 or 2029 but it does not cancel Christmas and the AI Revolution will continue to happen, just at a slower rate," the analyst wrote. Ives added that overall capital expenditures linked to the AI trade should still fall in the range of $3 trillion to $4 trillion over the next few years. And Big Tech companies are poised to allocate more than $1 trillion to AI in 2027 alone, he said. "Current data centers with permits and construction underway are not being stopped and this includes Texas which means that the vast majority of planned data centers for the next 18 months will still get built," Ives wrote.