Goldman Sachs strategists report that capital intensive stocks with tangible assets are outperforming as investors seek refuge from artificial intelligence disruption. Their basket of companies with physical assets has beaten capital-light peers by about 35% since early 2025, driven by what they call the "HALO effect" for heavy assets and low obsolescence.

European companies like ASML Holding, Safran SA, LVMH, and Airbus SE exemplify this trend, while asset-light names like Adyen NV and DSV AS lag. The strategists argue markets now reward infrastructure, networks, and engineering complexity—assets costly to replicate and less vulnerable to technological obsolescence. This shift comes as AI anxieties have triggered indiscriminate selloffs across sectors.

Goldman estimates the five hyperscalers—Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, and Oracle—will spend $1.5 trillion on AI infrastructure between 2023 and 2026, transforming them from capital-light to capital-intensive plays. Higher real yields and geopolitics favoring manufacturing support this rotation, with earnings momentum now favoring capital-intensive companies over their lighter counterparts.