Stocks made up 48.2% of Americans' financial assets in the second quarter, the highest share in Federal Reserve records back to 1945, above the 38.7% peak in the dot-com bubble. Households hold about $74 trillion in stocks against roughly $20 trillion in bank deposits and money market funds, or $3.65 in stocks per dollar of cash. Most of the rise came from higher prices rather than new buying, and the richest 1% of households own about half of all stocks and stock funds. Yahoo Finance calculations show that when the share topped 30%, the S&P 500 gained a median of about 5% a year over the following decade, versus about 11% when it was below 20%. The article notes that a sell-off in AI stocks could hit consumer spending faster than before, though household balance sheets still have room to absorb it.
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Related tickers and likely impact
QQQ
• NeutralInvesco QQQ Trust
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | ETF |
| Close on 10/23/2026 | 704.39 |
| Change that session | -0.01% |
SPY
• NeutralSPDR S&P 500 ETF
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | ETF |
| Close on 10/23/2026 | 759.85 |
| Change that session | -0.54% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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