Why the Nasdaq 100's AI-driven stock boom still looks tame compared to the dot-com era
Key takeaways
- The comparison of the current AI boom and the dot-com era is reasonable, the strategist noted.
- However, the Nasdaq 100’s more than 140% gain since the launch of ChatGPT is still a long way off from the index’s 1,090% return at the dot-com bubble’s peak in March 2000, Buchbinder said.
- The two moments are fundamentally different for several reasons, Buchbinder argued.
Why the Nasdaq 100's AI-driven stock boom still looks tame compared to the dot-com era Jake Conley · Breaking Business News Reporter Wed, May 13, 2026 at 5:00 PM GMT+7 3 min read ^NDX For all the worries about an artificial intelligence bubble, the Nasdaq 100’s (^NDX) advance still seems relatively tame compared to the exuberance of the dot-com-era run-up and crash, LPL Financial chief equity strategist Jeff Buchbinder said.
The comparison of the current AI boom and the dot-com era is reasonable, the strategist noted. When comparing the Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) returns at the start of the dot-com bubble (pinned to the launch of Netscape) and those starting with the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the patterns are broadly similar.
However, the Nasdaq 100’s more than 140% gain since the launch of ChatGPT is still a long way off from the index’s 1,090% return at the dot-com bubble’s peak in March 2000, Buchbinder said.