In 2026, Goldman Sachs Research projected global equities could return 11% over the next 12 months. The firm said strong earnings and global economic expansion would drive the gains.
(Ed. note: The 11% projection includes dividends and is measured in U.S. dollars.)
The report said diversification played a key role in 2025 and should remain important in 2026. “Diversification was a core theme for Goldman Sachs Research last year. Investors who diversified across regions in 2025 were rewarded for the first time in many years, and our analysts expect diversification to continue as a theme in 2026, extending across investment factors such as growth and value and across sectors. (Investment factors are asset traits like size, value, or momentum that tend to affect risk and returns.)”
The firm flagged intense market attention on AI and steady gains for AI-related stocks. “Overall, the market’s focus on AI “remains intense,” our analysts write. That does not mean, however, that there is an AI bubble. “The tech sector’s dominance of markets has not been triggered by the emergence of AI,” Oppenheimer writes. “It began after the financial crisis and has been supported by superior profit growth.”
The outlook was also summarized in a tweet from the firm.
