BUZZ Investing: Macro Recalibration and Valuation Discipline Shape Performance

Key Takeaways

• Markets moved into a more cautious and selective phase, with investors emphasizing valuation discipline, earnings durability, and near-term visibility as scrutiny increased across high-growth and AI-related stocks.
• Leadership narrowed as company-specific fundamentals and execution increasingly drove performance, leading to greater dispersion across sectors.
• Investor interest favored companies with tangible contract wins and improving industry dynamics, highlighting a shift toward more defensible sources of growth.

U.S. equities moved through a more cautious and transitional period between index selection dates (December 11, 2025 – Jan 9, 2026, the “Period”), as markets closed out the year and began to recalibrate expectations for 2026. While headline indices were relatively stable, underlying market dynamics became more defensive, with investors increasingly focused on valuation discipline, earnings durability, and visibility into near-term returns. Large-cap technology and other leadership cohorts that had dominated much of 2025 faced renewed scrutiny, particularly where optimism around AI investment cycles appeared to outpace evidence of near-term monetization. Against this backdrop, the BUZZ NextGen AI US Sentiment Leaders Index (the “BUZZ Index”) declined 1.2% during the Period, reflecting its greater exposure to stocks undergoing this valuation reassessment.

Policy and data developments reinforced the more selective tone. The Federal Reserve’s December rate cut was widely anticipated, but accompanying communications suggested a more measured stance heading into early 2026, tempering expectations for additional near-term easing. As the calendar turned, attention shifted quickly to labor-market data and early corporate commentary, with investors weighing signs of cooling employment conditions against still-elevated cost pressures. The first week of January further highlighted dispersion across sectors, as technology and digital-asset-linked equities lagged while more defensively positioned areas held up better. Overall, the Period was characterized less by broad macro direction and more by a tightening of standards, with performance increasingly shaped by company-specific execution and the ability to justify elevated expectations entering the new year.

The BUZZ Index returned -2.83% during the month of December compared to a return of 0.06% for the S&P 500 Index during the same period. Year-to-date, the BUZZ Index leads the S&P 500 with returns of 31.10% and 17.88%, respectively, as of the end of December.

Rocket Lab Drives BUZZ Gains During the Period; Micron Advances on Tightening Memory Markets
Shares of Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) were the top contributor to BUZZ Index performance during the Period, advancing on the back of a significant national-security contract that further elevated the company’s role within the U.S. space-defense ecosystem. Rocket Lab was awarded an $816 million contract by the U.S. Space Development Agency under the Tracking Layer Tranche 3 program, calling for the design and manufacture of 18 missile-warning and tracking satellites. The program is focused on persistent global detection of emerging threats, including hypersonic systems, and is part of the Department of Defense’s broader push toward resilient, proliferated satellite constellations. Investors appeared to view the award as both a meaningful revenue anchor and a strong validation of Rocket Lab’s expanding space-systems capabilities beyond launch services, reinforcing confidence in its ability to scale complex manufacturing programs and secure additional defense-related work.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) was the next-largest contributor, continuing to benefit from tightening conditions across global memory markets. Shares moved higher as renewed strength across the semiconductor complex highlighted accelerating demand for DRAM and NAND tied to AI-driven infrastructure buildouts. Industry commentary pointed to rising spot prices, constrained supply, and improving pricing power heading into 2026, reinforcing expectations that memory may be entering a more pronounced upcycle. Micron’s positioning as a key supplier into data centers and AI workloads left it well placed to capture these dynamics, and investors appeared to respond to growing evidence that elevated demand is translating into a more favorable earnings backdrop.

Top BUZZ Index Contributors: December 11, 2025 – January 9, 2026

Source: BUZZ Holdings ULC, Bloomberg. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Index performance is not illustrative of fund performance. Not intended as a recommendation to buy or to sell any of the securities mentioned herein.

Rigetti and QuantumScape Drag BUZZ Amid Execution and Commercialization Questions
Shares of Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ: RGTI) declined during the Period, weighing on Index performance after a period of significant momentum. The stock faced pressure as market participants appeared to recalibrate expectations following its exclusion from the next phase of a high-profile government benchmarking initiative, which may have raised questions about its near-term competitive standing. Combined with a valuation that could be perceived as extended relative to current revenue, the absence of new incremental catalysts may have contributed to a pullback as positioning reset entering the new year.

QuantumScape Corp (NYSE: QS) was also a detractor during the Period, retreating despite meeting its annual goal for pilot production equipment installation. The stock’s movement may suggest that expectations may have moved ahead of near-term fundamentals, potentially leading to a "sell the news" dynamic as investor focus shifted toward the multi-year hurdles of commercial scaling. While technical progress and partnership validation remain intact, a breakdown below key moving averages might have accelerated downside momentum during a seasonally quieter trading window.

Bottom BUZZ Index Contributors: December 11, 2025 – January 9, 2026

Source: BUZZ Holdings ULC, Bloomberg. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Index performance is not illustrative of fund performance. Not intended as a recommendation to buy or to sell any of the securities mentioned herein. .

BUZZ Index January 2026 Rebalance Highlights

Cipher Mining Inc.

Cipher Mining (NASDAQ: CIFR) entered the BUZZ Index this month for the first time, reflecting increased investor attention toward operators of large-scale bitcoin mining data centers. Cipher became a public company in 2021 through a merger with SPAC GoodWorks Acquisition Corp, entering during a window when high-growth thematic segments experienced elevated capital inflows. As market conditions tightened through 2022 and 2023, shifting risk appetite and broader pressure on speculative assets weighed on valuations across the sector, including CIFR. More recently, the operating backdrop has evolved as a recovery in digital asset pricing suggested a renewed focus on mining capacity and scalable development pipelines. Cipher has sought to position itself within this landscape, with multiple sites scheduled to come online over the next one to three years. In November 2025, the company announced a 10-year agreement with cloud-computing provider Fluidstack, a contract partially supported by Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL). Shares have advanced significantly since early Q4, accompanied by increasing online engagement. CIFR joins the BUZZ Index this month with a 0.79% weight.

Venture Global, Inc.

In January 2025, Venture Global (NYSE: VG), a leading global exporter of liquefied natural gas, debuted on the NYSE at $25 in one of the largest IPOs of the past five years. The offering raised $1.75 billion and valued the company at approximately $65 billion. At first glance, the transaction appeared to signal a reopening of the IPO market. Beneath the surface, however, signs of strain were already evident. Venture Global initially targeted a $2.3 billion raise at a $110 billion valuation. Within three months, the stock declined to roughly $7 per share, making it one of the year’s most disappointing IPOs. Since then, trading has been volatile, with shares briefly rebounding toward $20 before retreating again toward prior lows. More recently, the energy sector has drawn increased attention and engagement across online forums, potentially reflecting a broader thematic rotation as the advancement of a pro-energy agenda by President Trump appears to be regaining sector momentum. As part of this month’s rebalance, Venture Global enters the BUZZ Index for the first time with a 0.32% weight, alongside Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) at 0.28% and Chevron (NYSE: CVX) at 0.58%.

For more on rebalancing results and a full breakdown of index constituents added and removed for the month, view the BUZZ Index reconstitution report.