Schine: Banks are still well positioned heading into 2026
Speakers
Robert Schine
— CIO, Blanke Schein Wealth Management
Summary
Robert Schine, CIO at Blanke Schein Wealth Management, says banks are pausing after a strong run but remain well positioned for 2026. He expects technology to keep leading the market toward an S&P 500 target of 8000, with broader participation from other sectors helpful. He favors moving down the AI value stack and names Palantir and Amazon as AI-powered winners, citing Palantir's defense AI software and contract wins plus Amazon's AWS cloud growth.
- Bank earnings were generally positive but some stocks traded lower, which Schine views as a pause and level-setting.
- Schine remains positive on banks and financials into 2026.
- He expects technology to continue leading the market and sees the S&P 500 reaching 8000.
- He wants other sectors outside technology to contribute to earnings and market broadening.
- He prefers moving down the AI value stack toward software and cloud applications.
- Palantir is favored for its military AI software and $11 billion in government contracts.
- Amazon is favored for AWS cloud growth of 30% year over year.
- Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor are cited as evidence the AI boom remains strong, but not as standalone recommendations.
Ideas
Banks remain well positioned for 2026.
Banks were among the first sectors to broaden as 2025 closed and have paused to level-set as investors await Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley earnings. That pause is acceptable, and banks/financials remain well positioned for 2026 after a strong finish to the year.
Tech still leads the market in 2026.
Although he would like other S&P sectors to contribute to earnings momentum and broaden the market, technology remains the place to be and should continue to lead the rally and the market in 2026.
S&P 500 target is 8000.
The S&P 500 can reach 8000 this year, led by technology but supported by broader participation from other sectors; earnings season should show whether that broadening is occurring.
Palantir is best-in-class AI defense play.
Palantir is best-in-class with accelerating fundamentals. Its AI software integrates satellites, drones, and radar into one military system, making it a government/defense spending and AI play for 2026; it raised 2026 earnings projections and has won $11 billion in contracts.
AI boom strong; favor downstream software.
The AI boom remains strong, as evidenced by Taiwan Semiconductor's results feeding Nvidia, but he prefers moving down the AI value stack toward software and cloud applications for 2026 rather than staying only in the first-mover chip layer.
Amazon benefits from AWS cloud growth.
He likes Amazon as an AI-powered winner, pointing to AWS cloud growth of 30% year over year as a key driver alongside Palantir.
