Ian Cooper’s latest SPY stock pick highlights one of the biggest forces driving the market higher right now: artificial intelligence.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) continues to benefit from a powerful combination of earnings growth, Big Tech investment, AI infrastructure spending, and bullish momentum across the broader market. While traders should always remain disciplined and manage risk carefully, the long-term AI investment cycle continues to create a major tailwind for the S&P 500.
Recently, Goldman Sachs raised its year-end target for the S&P 500 to 8,000, up from its previous target of 7,600. The firm cited explosive growth in artificial intelligence, continued AI infrastructure spending, and accelerating corporate earnings as key reasons for the more bullish outlook.
Goldman also raised its 2026 earnings-per-share forecast for the S&P 500 to $340, pointing to the strength of corporate profits as a major driver of the market’s advance.
Earnings Growth Continues to Power the Market
According to Goldman Sachs, earnings growth has powered the entire S&P 500 return so far this year, and the firm expects that trend to continue in the coming months.
That is an important point for investors and traders.
When stocks rise only because valuations expand, the rally can become more vulnerable. But when earnings estimates rise alongside prices, the move can appear more fundamentally supported. Goldman noted that forward earnings estimates have increased faster than the S&P 500’s price gain, which has actually caused the market’s price-to-earnings multiple to decline.
In other words, the market has moved higher, but earnings expectations have improved even faster.
That is one reason the SPY remains one of the most important ETFs for traders to watch.
AI Infrastructure Is Becoming a Major Market Driver
A major part of this earnings growth story is tied directly to artificial intelligence.
Goldman Sachs expects roughly half of the S&P 500’s earnings growth to come from AI infrastructure investment alone. That is a powerful statement and shows just how important this theme has become to the broader market.
Big Tech companies are spending aggressively to secure their place in the AI economy.
Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, and other technology leaders are committing hundreds of billions of dollars to data centers, software, computing power, and AI development. These companies are not making small experimental investments. They are building the infrastructure that may power the next generation of software, automation, cloud computing, and digital services.
This is one reason the AI boom continues to attract investor attention.
Big Tech Spending Continues to Surge
Amazon is reportedly committing approximately $200 billion to capital expenditures, including a massive investment in Anthropic to build out compute infrastructure over the next decade.
Alphabet is expected to invest roughly $190 billion into AI data centers, software, and development.
Meta is also investing aggressively, with approximately $145 billion in AI-related capital expenditures.
This type of spending reinforces one of the strongest themes in the market today: the artificial intelligence buildout is still in its early stages.
Big Tech is racing to own and control the critical infrastructure behind AI. These data centers are quickly becoming the “AI factories” of the modern economy. The companies that control the computing power may also control some of the most important tools and platforms of the next decade.
Data Center Growth Is Exploding
The data center boom is another key reason Ian Cooper is watching SPY closely.
There are already thousands of operational data centers in the United States, and many more are planned or under construction. According to the numbers cited in this week’s update, the U.S. currently has about 4,000 operational data centers, with another 1,500 to 3,000 being planned or built.
The South alone has hundreds of planned data centers, while the Midwest, West, and Northeast are also seeing major expansion.
Globally, there are more than 10,000 data centers, and that number could continue rising as demand for computing power accelerates.
This matters because AI requires massive amounts of infrastructure. Training and running advanced AI models requires electricity, chips, servers, cooling systems, cloud infrastructure, and physical data center capacity.
That means the AI boom is not just a software story. It is also an infrastructure story.
The AI Market Could Still Be in the Early Innings
The global artificial intelligence market has already surpassed $230 billion, but many analysts believe the industry could grow into a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity over the next decade.
Forecasts now suggest AI could reach between $1.7 trillion and $3.5 trillion by the early 2030s, with more aggressive estimates pointing even higher by 2035.
While forecasts can vary widely, one thing is clear: corporate investment in AI is accelerating, and some of the world’s largest companies are making massive long-term commitments to this theme.
That creates a powerful backdrop for the broader market, especially for major indexes like the S&P 500 that are heavily influenced by large technology and growth companies.
Why SPY Remains a Key ETF to Watch
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF gives traders broad exposure to the S&P 500, including many of the companies leading the AI infrastructure buildout.
That makes SPY an important vehicle for traders who want to monitor the strength of the broader market. If earnings growth continues to improve, AI spending remains strong, and institutional money continues flowing into large-cap equities, SPY could remain a central focus for market participants.
However, traders should still be cautious.
Strong trends can continue, but they can also experience sharp pullbacks. AI enthusiasm, valuation concerns, interest rates, earnings expectations, and geopolitical headlines can all influence market direction.
That is why risk management remains essential.
Ian Cooper’s Takeaway
Ian Cooper’s SPY stock pick centers on the idea that the AI boom is still one of the strongest forces supporting the market.
Goldman Sachs’ higher S&P 500 target reflects growing confidence in earnings momentum, AI infrastructure investment, and the continued strength of corporate profits. At the same time, Big Tech’s massive data center spending shows that the AI race is far from over.
For traders, SPY remains one of the most important charts to watch.
If the AI infrastructure theme continues to expand and earnings growth keeps improving, the S&P 500 may still have room to move higher. But as always, disciplined traders should avoid chasing, monitor technical levels closely, and use proper risk management.
About Ian Cooper
Ian Cooper is an experienced trader who uses a combination of technical, fundamental, and news analysis to help individual investors identify market opportunities. His work focuses on momentum, catalysts, sector trends, and actionable trading ideas designed to help traders better navigate changing market conditions.
To learn more about Ian Cooper’s Premium Options Strategies, contact FFR Trading.