## [# The Real 2026 Winners? Companies Growing Margins With AI](/sections/equity/real-2026-winners-companies-growing-margins-ai)
# The Real 2026 Winners? Companies Growing Margins With AI
WisdomTree's Sam Rines discusses "Narrative Volatility" as a major driver for 2026 markets. Companies expanding their margins through AI implementation or tariff defense will be the real winners next year.
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[By ETF.com Staff](/contributors/etfcom-staff)
Dec 11, 2025
Edited by: ETF.com Staff
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Sam Rines, Macro Strategist at WisdomTree, dug into his most recent piece on narrative volatility and margins with Dave Nadig. The conversation covered the importance of narratives, what investors should really be focused on when it comes to AI, and asymmetrical bets winning in the current market environment. Below is the original piece referenced, reprinted with permission.
## The Year of the NarrVol
*Original Author: Sam Rines, Macro Strategist, Model Portfolios, WisdomTree*
FaST Take – Looking ahead at the narratives set to emerge in 2026, there are two that should not be ignored **Margins** and “**NarrVol**” (Narrative Volatility). NarrVol is a familiar beast at this point – ***narratives*** have become ***volatile***. Margins are in question (see the commentary around the AI capex spending). But there are reasons to suspect these narratives could get flipped on their head. **Welcome to the Year of the NarrVol**.
“**No sir, it is evidently a gigantic narwhal**”
-Jules Vernes, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Not going to regurgitate the history of the 2025 narratives. That is both dull and useless. *What happened, happened.* What is intriguing is if / how they meld into something intriguing in 2026. The AI narrative is not about to magically disappear for better or worse. Alphabet does not like to lose, and Meta and Microsoft are not keen to be left behind. The tariff narrative is not going to evaporate into the ether. *The Trump Administration is not going to back away from one of its primary geopolitical weapons*. The consumer is not going to be less important. **And the NarrVol is here to stay**.
*There will be unicorns, but they will be real*.
Starting with AI -
- AI infrastructure capex is not going away (if you believe the guides of the hyperscalers). But the narrative of the AI gains *might* pivot.
- It is all about “Chips to Margins”. As AI becomes increasingly embedded in day-to-day life, there may / should / will be more emphasis on who is getting the “most margin for the buck”.
- Companies able to show **margin** expansion because of AI implementation are the *new* NarrVols winners.
(Meta Results Follow Up Call, 10/29/2025)
and
(Meta Results Follow Up Call, 10/29/2025)
*More time spent on Facebook = more Ads served = more revenue*
*Better Ads served during the more time spent = higher Ad pricing = more revenue*
**AI is already working**
**No kidding**. *Better **margins** tend to be positive for risk assets*. That is where the **NarrVols** begin to mingle.
There is also the **tariff NarrVol.** And **tariffs are far from dead**.
- After being caught off guard by the extent and the depth of tariff day, companies did not stay “apathetic”. Supply chains were reworked to defend margins alongside AI experimentation.
- Now, the Supreme Court is set to rule on the legality of the IEEPA tariffs – which account for much of the current broad tariff implementation.
- **If** the IEEPA tariffs are ruled against, it is instantly margin positive. **If** they are not, there is no additional margin hit. **That is beautifully asymmetrical**.
(Polaris Investor Presentation, 4/28/2025)
and then
(Polaris Investor Presentation, 10/27/2025)
**Margins** are the story. **NarrVol** is the opportunity.
Then comes the consumer. *And who knows there*. What we do know –
- **There Will Be Angst**. There is a seeming perpetual want to be the next Burry to call the end to the US consumer.
- That is a dangerous game to play. The US consumer is a feral beast. Trying to time its demise is a classic example of “do not try”.
- The real question is – “what if consumption goes to 2% real?” Is that enough? Probably.
*Yes, the lower end of the income spectrum is under pressure. No, that does not mean consumption is falling apart.*
**The 2026 narrative is different but the same**. *Focused on AI*. But tweaked. *Tariff centric*. But asymmetrically positive. *Consumer dependent*. But not to a debilitating degree.
The **Narrative Nexus** is not a blanket “risk on”. It is not for everyone. But - where the narratives collide – it is difficult to be pessimistic. *Not (necessarily) on the index level -* on a company by company basis.
**That is the NarrVol.**
(A Narwhal, source: NOAA, public domain)
This is the era of **NarrVol**. Somedays A will be winning the AI race. Other days it will be B. Tariffs – whether struck down by SCOTUS or upheld – are not going away. *There will be large body of firms left behind*. But there will also be many that are “**tip of the tooth**” and ahead of the rest in the margin expansion game. *If you are missing the tooth, the tooth fairy is not going to come to your rescue.*
**Margins are the nexus of the 2026 narratives. NarrVol will provide opportunities to pivot.**
This material contains the opinions of the author, which are subject to change, and should not be considered or interpreted as a recommendation to participate in any particular trading strategy, or deemed to be an offer or sale of any investment product, and it should not be relied on as such. There is no guarantee that any strategies discussed will work under all market conditions. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events or a guarantee of future results. This material should not be relied upon as research or investment advice regarding any security in particular. The user of this information assumes the entire risk of any use made of the information provided herein. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the opinions, interpretations or findings expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of WisdomTree or any of its affiliates.
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