Aug 18, 2026 · 1h 12m
Rising yields test markets as AI debt moves off balance sheets
Treasury yields break out, how to invest with Bill Ackman, Workday rumors, off-balance sheet madness
The episode connects higher Treasury yields, expanding deficits, hidden AI financing, and market breadth to a broader question about whether risk is normalizing or accumulating.
- 1Higher long-term Treasury yields may reflect a return to market-driven rates rather than an imminent crisis, despite larger deficits and debt costs.
- 2Off-balance-sheet data-center financing can shift AI infrastructure risk toward private-credit investors while leaving companies exposed through leases and guarantees.
- 3Broad stock-market participation contrasts with pressure on software businesses, as investors weigh AI spending, enterprise disruption, and financing feedback loops.
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The hosts challenge the practical meaning of Bill Ackman’s headline annualized returns by focusing on drawdowns and changing investment vehicles.
The brief
Josh Brown and Michael Batnick begin with rising Treasury yields, widening deficits, and a resilient stock market, asking whether higher rates signal danger or normalization.
The bond debate leads to a less visible risk: companies such as Meta can finance data centers through separate entities, moving obligations toward leases, private credit, and contractual protections.
AI revenue growth helps justify enormous capital spending, but falling equity prices could tighten financing and business conditions, creating a reflexive loop for Meta, Oracle, and software vendors.
Breadth indicators show unusually broad market strength even as enterprise software faces structural pressure, complicating the idea that the rally rests only on a few AI leaders.
The closing discussion turns to Bill Ackman’s concentrated portfolio and investment vehicles, then to leisure stocks and Josh Brown’s Spotify purchase as a trade with explicit risk management.
Featuring
William Ackman
Pershing Square Capital Management
Amazon.com, Inc.
La-Z-Boy
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