What's Next For Markets

In this Super Bowl Sunday episode, Michael and Stephen break down a volatile week in the markets that felt far worse than the major indices suggested. While mega-cap tech, software, and crypto saw sharp swings, the broader market quietly showed signs of strength, with value stocks and equal-weight indices hitting new highs.
Michael shares insights from a week of client meetings on the road and explains why the recent turbulence looks more like a healthy rotation than the start of a broader downturn. The conversation explores the shift away from crowded momentum trades and toward cyclical sectors, improving earnings trends in small- and mid-cap stocks, and why softer employment data may actually support the current economic expansion.
They also revisit the HOPE framework—Housing, Orders, Profits, and Employment—to highlight the macro signals pointing to a potential soft landing and broader market participation in 2026. The episode wraps with a discussion on valuations, expectations, and what investors should watch as leadership continues to evolve beneath the surface of the market.

For full disclosure information visit: http://www.pipersandler.com/researchdisclosures

In this episode, Piper Sandler Senior Analyst Crispin Love, discusses the current trends, misconceptions, and outlook in the mortgage finance space. He explains how mortgage rates have fluctuated from 7% to 6% recently and the impact on mortgage originations and refinancing volumes. Crispin highlights the significance of the rate of change in mortgage rates over their absolute levels and examines the factors influencing purchase and refinance activity. The conversation covers key data sources such as Fannie Mae and the Mortgage Bankers Association for tracking mortgage activity. Further, Crispin delves into how companies have adapted to lower profit margins in a challenging environment and the advancements in AI tools being used. The discussion also touches on home equity loans (HELOCs) and closed-end seconds and how they have become more popular as people remain locked into their homes. The episode concludes with insights into the political backdrop, including recent policies from the Trump administration aimed at stimulating housing activity and addressing affordability, and Crispin’s outlook on the industry for 2026, along with some of his favorite stock picks.

For full disclosure information visit: http://www.pipersandler.com/researchdisclosures

In this episode we talk with Jan Stuart, Global Energy Economist at Piper Sandler. We discuss the current state of the oil market, the potential tailwinds from economic growth, and how a shift in demand could impact the energy space by 2026. Jan highlights the importance of oil for the economy, predicting that demand won't decline significantly until the next decade. The episode delves into the geopolitical risks that could impact oil supply, including situations in Venezuela, Russia, and Iran. Jan also talks about the strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) and its role in stabilizing oil prices. We wrap up by discussing where investors are currently allocating their funds in the energy sector and the growing interest in American and Canadian oil companies, integrated oil companies, and refiners.

In this episode, Michael discusses the team’s annual market outlook for 2026. The conversation explores key economic trends, policy developments, and the potential for broader market participation. Topics include the implications of Trump’s affordability measures, the impact of interest rates and oil prices, and specific investment opportunities for the year ahead. Michael shares a bullish view on cyclical sectors such as transportation, manufacturing, and housing-related industries, while also highlighting risks tied to economic overheating and rising interest rates.

For full disclosure information visit: http://www.pipersandler.com/researchdisclosures

This week, we’re doing something a little different.
Instead of a traditional guest conversation, we fed our full 2025 Year-End Market Review into Google’s NotebookLM and asked it to generate a five-minute discussion summarizing the year in markets.
The result is an AI-generated conversation that distills a year’s worth of research, charts, and frameworks into a concise narrative — highlighting what actually drove markets in 2025, where consensus got it right, where it didn’t, and what themes may matter most going forward.
This episode is an experiment at the intersection of markets, research, and artificial intelligence — using AI not for prediction, but for synthesis and storytelling.
Topics include:
The dominant macro and market themes of 2025
Growth, inflation, and the evolving policy backdrop
Earnings, margins, and what truly drove equity returns
How AI interprets a full year of market research
What may — and may not — matter for markets in 2026
Think of this episode as a five-minute AI-generated debrief on the year that was — and a new way to consume market research.
About the Podcast
What’s Next for Markets? explores the key macro, market, and policy forces shaping the investment landscape — featuring conversations with leading strategists, investors, and policymakers, along with occasional experiments like this one.