DBS CIO says Nvidia valuation shows AI stocks not in bubble

By Splitfeed EditorialLast updated Oct 5, 2026, 12:30 UTC

On October 5, 2026, DBS Bank's Chief Investment Officer Hou Wey Fook publicly stated that Nvidia's valuation demonstrates the broader AI stock rally is not a bubble. The specific metric cited was Nvidia's forward price-to-earnings multiple of 17 times its 12-month projected earnings, which Hou argued leaves AI-driven technology stocks far from bubble territory. The remarks came as Nvidia closed at a record high, lifting its market capitalization to just under 5.7 trillion dollars, its first record close since May.

The statement matters because it enters a live and consequential debate about whether the sustained rise in AI-related equities reflects genuine earnings growth or speculative excess. A forward earnings multiple of 17 times is, by historical standards, not extreme for a high-growth technology company, which is the core of the DBS argument. But critics point out that valuation multiples are only as reliable as the earnings projections underneath them, and questions remain about how durable AI-driven revenue growth will be as competition intensifies and infrastructure costs remain high. The question of whether AI investment translates into broader economic gains, rather than concentrated market returns, adds a further dimension to the debate.

Pro-AI voices are largely aligned with the DBS position, pointing to the 17-times forward earnings figure as evidence that the market is pricing Nvidia on fundamentals rather than pure speculation. The anti-AI camp is unconvinced. Accounts including Patrick Samphire and Rislandr pushed back directly, with Samphire arguing the sector is losing billions with no path to profitability, and Rislandr contending that competitive pressure from open-weight AI models undermines the equity case even if AI technology itself endures. Other voices in that camp, including Riley and Jane Doe, framed the DBS statement itself as a sign of anxiety rather than confidence, treating reassurances as evidence that a correction is near. Captain Murphy went further, predicting no hardware price relief until a broader economic recession follows a bubble implosion. The middle ground reaction, represented by accounts like eslam00, raises a structural question distinct from the bubble debate itself, noting that Nvidia's record valuation sits alongside stalling job growth and asking whether AI gains are creating a split-screen economy rather than broad prosperity.

The argument will be difficult to settle without more earnings cycles from Nvidia and its peers. Nvidia's next quarterly results, along with any guidance revisions from major AI infrastructure buyers, would either reinforce the DBS case or give ammunition to those expecting a correction.