U.S. stocks keep hitting record highs, but the so-called Warren Buffett indicator, the total market cap of U.S. stocks relative to GDP, stands at a record 237.5%, far above the 138.5% peak during the early-2000 dot-com mania. The author argues the backdrop shapes how to invest rather than whether to invest, and recommends Pfizer (PFE) and Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) despite the warning. Pfizer's revenue has fallen from just over $100 billion in 2021 to around $60 billion, and patent expirations threaten roughly one-third of its drug portfolio, but Padcev sales reached $667 million in Q2, up 23%, and its forward dividend yield is nearly 6%. Alphabet is well positioned in AI as its Gemini chatbot outgrows competitors, Google handles nearly 90% of the world's web queries, and Android runs on 69% of the world's mobile devices.
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