Editor’s Note: What if you could build a six- or even seven-figure retirement nest egg with a single stock? Sounds crazy, but in 2016, former tech executive Jeff Brown picked Nvidia, before it skyrocketed high enough to turn $5,000 into an entire retirement nest egg of $1.89 million. He believes he found another “one-stock retirement” opportunity. Click here to see the details or read more below.

Dear Reader,

This strange golden tablet you see below…

Can produce intelligence up to 1,000 times FASTER than regular AI.

And I believe the little-known company behind this patented new AI technology…

Could be the only stock you need to retire.

It’s the same size Nvidia was 10 years ago…

Before shares skyrocketed 37,800%...

Which is enough to turn $5,000 into an entire retirement nest egg of $1,895,000.

And while I can’t guarantee gains this high...

Just think about it…

If you put that money in a CD that pays 4% a year…

You’d now be making more than $75,000 in passive income…

Year after year after year.

For most Americans, that would be enough to fund a retirement…

From just one stock.

Click here now and I’ll give you the details on what I call “Elon Musk’s One Stock Retirement Plan.”

We have so much to look forward to,
Jeff Brown,

Founder & CEO, Brownstone Research

P.S. If I could buy only one stock, this would be it… it might just be the perfect tech stock.

It’s a leader in an AI breakthrough that’s protected by 150 patents…

It’s a small company, unknown to most people… still in the initial phase of exponential growth…

Plus, it has a near-term catalyst that could send shares skyrocketing… starting November 11.

Wall Street began the week with a rally. By Thursday, Big Tech was under heavy pressure. Google parent Alphabet plunged 12.64%, its worst day on record. Amazon fell after its earnings report. Intel also sank in trading before Friday's opening bell.

Yet small stocks told a far different story. Through Thursday, the Russell 2000 had gained 3.0% for the week. The S&P 500 was up 1.27%, while the Nasdaq had gained just 0.88%.

The Fed also held rates at 3.75%–4.00%. New data showed that the U.S. economy grew 3.4% last quarter, but inflation reached 3.6%. The week left Wall Street with a clear test. Big Tech must show that its huge AI costs can lead to more profit and cash.

Week of October 26–30

Confirmed returns through Thursday's close:

Friday's early trading: Amazon fell about 7% before the bell. Intel dropped nearly 25%, while Nasdaq-100 futures lost about 2%. These were not final closing prices.

Three forces drove the week. Big Tech earnings raised new fears about AI spending. Microsoft posted strong results, but Google and Amazon faced sharp stock declines.

The Fed held rates steady as inflation stayed high. Strong growth gave officials less reason to cut borrowing costs. At the same time, buyers moved into smaller stocks and firms outside tech. The result was a sharp split. Big Tech lost ground, but many other stocks held up.

The week began with a strong rebound. On Monday, the S&P 500 rose 0.70%. The Nasdaq gained 0.82%, while the Dow added 146 points. Nvidia climbed about 2.4% as buyers returned to AI stocks after recent losses. The gains grew on Tuesday. The S&P 500 rose another 0.60%, while the Nasdaq jumped 1.18%.

Investors hoped that strong earnings could lift the market after weeks of heavy selling in tech. But the week's biggest tests were still ahead. The Fed was due to set rates. Google, Microsoft, and Amazon were set to report earnings. Those events would show whether the early rally had room to run.

The Fed kept rates at 3.75%–4.00% on Wednesday. The move was expected, but the vote drew close attention. 2 of the 12 voting officials wanted a 0.25-point rate hike. The Fed said the economy was still growing at a strong pace. But inflation remained too high.

That left Wall Street facing a tough mix. Strong growth can lift company profits, but high rates raise the cost of loans. Microsoft then gave investors good news. Sales rose 19% to $92.3 billion. Net profit reached $36.6 billion, while its Azure cloud business grew 48%. The results showed that firms were still spending heavily on AI and cloud tools. But Microsoft was only one part of the story.

Thursday brought the week's biggest shock. Alphabet plunged 12.64% after its earnings fell short of Wall Street's high hopes. Sales rose 25% to $127.6 billion. Its cloud business more than doubled in size. Yet investors focused on the cost of AI and weaker profit growth than expected.

Google's fall cut nearly 50 points from the S&P 500. The Nasdaq lost 1.38%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.30%. But most stocks rose. The Russell 2000 gained 1.01%. Eli Lilly climbed 6.63%, while Mastercard rose 4.16%. That split tells an important story. The largest tech stocks can pull the major indexes down even when most firms are gaining. Buyers were still active. They were just looking beyond Big Tech.

Amazon added to the pressure after Thursday's close. Sales rose 12% to $201.9 billion. Its cloud business grew 39.3%, while operating income reached a record $28.1 billion. But cash flow raised doubts.

Amazon reported negative free cash flow of $42.4 billion over the past 12 months. A year earlier, it had generated positive free cash flow of $14.8 billion. Much of the change came from heavy spending on AI and data centers.

Amazon's shares fell about 7% before Friday's open. Intel also came under pressure after warning of weak demand for personal computers and higher costs. Its shares fell nearly 25% in early trading.

The problem was not that every tech firm had stopped growing. It was that growth was costing more, and investors wanted to know when that spending would pay off.

New data showed that the U.S. economy remained strong. GDP grew at a 3.4% yearly rate in the third quarter, up from 2.2% in the prior quarter. Consumer spending helped drive the gain. But inflation rose to 3.6% in September, up from 3.4% in August.

Core inflation, which leaves out food and energy, held at 3.1%. Both were above the Fed's 2% goal. That makes rate cuts harder to justify.

High rates can raise costs for firms that need loans. They can also hurt home sales and leave families with less cash to spend. For now, the economy is still growing. But prices remain a problem.

Oil moved sharply during the week. Brent crude traded above $115 a barrel as fighting in the Middle East raised fresh fears over supply.

Prices then fell on Thursday. Brent dropped 3.25% to about $111.57. The decline gave buyers some relief, but oil remained expensive. High fuel costs can raise prices for airlines, truckers, and stores. Some of those costs may reach shoppers.

That matters for the Fed. If oil stays high, inflation may take longer to slow. A lasting drop would help ease the strain.

This week showed a major change in the stock market. For much of the AI boom, fast sales growth was enough to lift tech shares. Now Wall Street wants more. Google and Amazon posted strong sales. Yet their stocks fell as investors questioned the cost of AI. Microsoft showed that strong growth can still help win over buyers. But the wider tech market faced a much harder test.

At the same time, smaller stocks gained ground. Through Thursday, the Russell 2000 had risen 3.0% for the week, well ahead of the Nasdaq's 0.88% gain. That showed that investors had not given up on stocks. Many were buying firms outside Big Tech. The Fed adds another risk.

Growth is strong, but inflation at 3.6% leaves little room for lower rates. That could keep loan costs high and put more strain on firms that need cash for new projects. The week's biggest lesson is simple: Strong sales are no longer enough. Wall Street wants proof that growth can turn into cash.

Google crashed. Amazon fell. Small stocks fought back. The next test is whether those smaller firms can keep gaining if the biggest tech stocks stay under pressure. Wall Street still wants growth. But investors are becoming far more careful about what they pay for it.