The Kobeissi Letter Profile picture
Jan 27 13 tweets 5 min read Read on X
The decline is accelerating:

Nasdaq 100 futures are now down -330 POINTS since the market opened just hours ago as DeepSeek takes #1 on the App Store.

This is how you know DeepSeek has become a major threat to US large cap tech.

The stock market does not lie.

(a thread) Image
For some background, DeepSeek is a Chinese AI startup that appears to have spawned out of nowhere.

It competes with ChatGPT and cost less than $10 million to develop.

It was developed with chips that are considered to be FAR less advanced than those used by US AI companies. Image
Users have run multiple benchmarks between DeepSeek and ChatGPT.

In many categories, DeepSeek is actually outperforming ChatGPT.

For a product that was developed in a matter of months, this is incredible.

Is large cap tech in the US losing its dominance? Image
To put this into perspective, OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, has raised $17.9 BILLION in capital over 10 rounds.

The company was valued at ~$157 BILLION in October 2024.

OpenAI has ~22 TIMES more employees than DeepSeek.

This is why markets have been blindsided. Image
As seen below, DeepSeek is now a top performer in AIME, MATH-500, and GPQA benchmarks.

ChatGPT still excels in coding benchmarks, but the gap is narrowing.

The speed at which DeepSeek was developed has proven that US AI dominance is at risk. Image
On top of this, DeepSeek has become the #1 downloaded free app on the App Store.

Users are reporting that API experience is user-friendly, rate limits are not an issue, and it is likely to be integrated in agentic AI.

Agentic AI is what Nvidia said is the next big thing. Image
It gets even better; DeepSeek is ~96% CHEAPER than ChatGPT.

- Cost of OpenAI o1: $60.00 per 1M output tokens

- Cost of DeepSeek R1: $2.19 per 1M output tokens

DeepSeek R1 is 100% Opensource and a fraction of the cost of ChatGPT. Image
Needless to say, investors in large-cap US tech are worried.

The Magnificent 7 stocks are trading ~2 standard deviations above levels seen in 2001 compared to global equities.

Much of the bull market over the last 2 years has been on the basis of AI hardware and software. Image
On Friday, we posted the below alert for our premium members.

We took shorts as the S&P 500 hit 6122 and called for a sharp reversal.

Now, those shorts are up nearly +70 POINTS in hours.

This market is incredible.

Access our alerts at the link below:

thekobeissiletter.com/subscribeImage
This explains the severe underperformance seen in Nasdaq futures at the open just 2 hours ago.

The Nasdaq is currently down DOUBLE as much as the S&P 500.

US equity markets are on track to erase over $1 trillion of market cap during Monday's session. Image
This all comes as the Magnificent 7 now reflects a record 34% of the S&P 500.

These companies have added $5 TRILLION in market value since the beginning of last year.

These 5 stocks are worth now nearly as much as China and Hong Kong's stock markets COMBINED. Image
On top of the threat to US tech dominance, we are seeing trade wars escalate with new tariffs beginning.

As volatility spikes, we are trading the swings in the market.

Subscribe now at the link below to access our premium analysis and alerts:

thekobeissiletter.com/subscribe
This all comes after President Trump announced The Stargate Project, a $500 BILLION investment in AI in the US.

If DeepSeek is able to develop AI at less than 1% of the cost, is $500 billion even needed?

Follow us @KobeissiLetter for real time analysis as this develops. Image

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More from @KobeissiLetter

Nov 20
What just happened?

In its fastest reversal since "Liberation Day," the S&P 500 just lost -$2 TRILLION of market cap in 5 hours.

Nvidia went from +6% to -3% after reporting RECORD revenue of $55 billion without ANY new headlines.

Why did this happen?

Let us explain. Image
Here was the S&P 500's heat map at the open today.

After Nvidia, $NVDA, crushed earnings reporting record quarterly revenue of $55 billion, stocks were deep green.

The Nasdaq 100 was on track for its largest daily gain since May 2025.

Then, at 10:30 AM ET, everything changed. Image
As shown below, the S&P 500 went from +130 points to down -50 points in a matter of minutes.

One would expect that a market moving headline came out.

But, nothing new happened aside from an 11:20 AM headline that the BLS is releasing the November jobs report on December 16. Image
Read 12 tweets
Nov 16
What is happening in crypto?

Over the last 41 days, crypto has erased -$1.1 trillion in market cap, or -$27 billion PER DAY.

Crypto market cap is now ~10% BELOW levels seen during the record -$19 billion liquidation on October 10th.

This is a structural move. Let us explain. Image
This decline has been strange for one key reason:

There haven't been many material bearish developments on the fundamental side of crypto.

Just days ago, President Trump said America being "number one in crypto" is his top priority.

Yet, Bitcoin is down -25% in one month. Image
It also appears to be a structural and mechanical downturn.

It all began with institutional outflows in mid-to-late October.

In the first week of November, crypto funds saw -$1.2 billion of outflows.

The problem becomes excessive levels of leverage AMID these outflows. Image
Read 12 tweets
Nov 9
Stimulus checks are back:

President Trump just announced the "tariff dividend," a payment of AT LEAST $2,000 per American.

We expect 85%+ of US adults to receive this, resulting in $400+ BILLION handed out.

All as US debt nears $40 trillion.

What's next? Let us explain. Image
This morning, President Trump made the below announcement:

A dividend of at least $2,000 per person will be paid, EXCLUDING "high income people."

The economic implications of such a massive "stimulus"-like payment are huge.

Especially with markets at record highs. Image
First, who will be receiving this payment?

Let's take a look at the most recent stimulus payment, the March 2021 $1,400 stimulus check.

Full payments were only made to:

Single filers making up to $75,000, households making up to $112,500, and married earners up to $150,000. Image
Read 12 tweets
Nov 7
The US government shutdown is expanding:

Today, the FAA officially began cutting 700 flights PER DAY across 40 airports.

Airports are now facing a shortage of 3,500 air traffic controllers with 4+ MILLION passengers impacted.

What happens next?

Let us explain. Image
Today, the US government shutdown officially enters day 38.

This marks the longest shutdown in US history and nearly 5 TIMES the average.

But, today also marks the first day that the shutdown has gone "mainstream."

The FAA has announced flight cancellations beginning today. Image
Below is a map of the 40 airports impacted.

More than 700 US flights were canceled as of 9 AM ET today.

The FAA announced that 10% of flights may be canceled until the end of the shutdown.

So far, 4 MILLION travelers have been impacted by cancellations and delays. Image
Read 11 tweets
Nov 4
It's official:

The US government has now entered day number 35, making it the LONGEST in history.

Since the shutdown began on October 1st, the US government has borrowed $600 BILLION worth of debt.

That's +$17 billion PER DAY.

What's happening? Let us explain. Image
Today marks day 35 of the 2025 US government shutdown.

This ties the longest shutdown in history seen during President Trump's 1st term, in December 2018.

Historically speaking, the average length of a shutdown is 8 days.

The current shutdown is now 4.5 TIMES longer. Image
And, the end appears to be distant at best.

Currently, markets see the US government shutdown lasting until December 1st, per Polymarket.

This would mark a 61 day government shutdown, or 26 days LONGER than the current record.

The economic implications are spreading. Image
Read 12 tweets
Nov 2
The elephant in the room:

AI stocks are outperforming consumer stocks by 20%+ over the last 60 DAYS.

And, as AI investment exceeds $1 TRILLION per year, car repossessions are at 2009 levels.

There are 2 US economies: Rich vs Poor, and AI is the lifeline of it all.

(a thread) Image
For the first time in history, the Magnificent 7 stocks are now worth over a combined $20 TRILLION.

This means that these 7 stocks alone now account for a record ~35% of the S&P 500.

Not even the Dot-Com bubble in 2000 saw concentration like this.

Tech has taken over. Image
And, this has been fantastic for investors.

Since the April 2025 bottom, the S&P 500 has added over +$18 trillion in market cap.

Last week, Nvidia became the first company to become worth over $5 trillion.

Over HALF of the S&P 500's gains since 2023 are from 7 stocks. Image
Read 12 tweets

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