Wall Street 's "favorite band" of recent years is beginning to show signs of breaking up. All because of artificial intelligence (AI) .
After years of dominating the markets, with superior performance and astronomical market values, the "Magnificent Seven" began to exhibit divergent behaviors in 2025, in the face of high investments in AI and doubts about the ability of all of them to deliver results.
A survey by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) shows that, of the group, only Alphabet and Nvidia outperformed the S&P 500 in 2025 – increases of 65.6% and 35.6% compared to an advance of 17.5%, respectively.
The expectation is that the companies in the group – which also includes Microsoft , Meta , Apple , Amazon , and Tesla – will continue to have mixed performances in 2026, with managers pointing out that they are no longer synonymous with guaranteed success in the stock market.
Initially grouped together as the world's largest technology companies, the members of the Magnificent Seven see AI causing a split, given the different approaches and stages of development of the technology.
Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta are investing hundreds of billions of dollars to train new AI models, build data centers , and expand cloud computing capacity, with varying results . Nvidia continues to dominate the market for chips needed for the most advanced models.
Apple, on the other hand, fell behind. The company's shares closed 2025 with a 12.5% increase, below the S&P 500, amid criticism for investing less and losing ground to competitors in AI initiatives.
The difference in performance also reflects the evolution of AI trading since the beginning of the frenzy. Amid doubts about investment returns, institutional investors began to adopt different strategies.
Some are betting on the benefits of AI in areas such as healthcare ; others prefer microprocessor manufacturers or energy companies, a segment that is expected to grow with the demand from data centers.
The same applies to retail. Until now "loyal" to the Magnificent Seven, individual investors accounted for a smaller share of investments in these companies in 2025 than in 2023 and 2024, according to a survey by Vanda Research cited by the WSJ .
This shift weighed on Tesla's stock, a favorite among this demographic. The average daily trading volume of the automaker's shares from small investors fell 43% in 2025 compared to the peak recorded two years earlier.
Even though AI could lead the Magnificent Seven to pursue a "solo career," their weight remains significant. Together, they represent about 36% of the S&P 500, according to Dow Jones Market Data cited by the WSJ .
