Kathy Wood sends a 3-word message on the stock outlook in 2026

Cathy Wood is making another bold call on the US economy and stock market.

In a 2026 outlook paper published on January 15, the founder and CEO of ARK Invest said the US economy is storing energy for a sharp rebound.

“Despite real gross domestic product growth over the past three years, the underlying U.S. economy has suffered a rolling recession and developed into a coiled spring that may rebound strongly over the next few years,” she said.

Wood said post-Covid high interest rates have squeezed the economy, hitting housing, construction and non-AI investment. But she is optimistic that easing rates and rising productivity can release growth potential.

Wood wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the next three years could look like “Reaganomics on steroids,” which she believes could lead to “another golden age” for the U.S. stock market.

“Early in my career, I remember how the dollar rose through deregulation, tax cuts, sound monetary policy, and peace through force, which kept a lid on gold prices,” he explained.

During the Reagan era, a combination of those forces helped the market enter the longest bull run of the 1980s and 1990s.

“The policies of the Trump administration echo the early days of Reaganomics in the 1980s, when the dollar nearly doubled,” Wood said.

Wood focuses on emerging high-tech companies in fields including artificial intelligence, blockchain, biomedical technology, and robotics.

He gained fame in 2020 after the Ark Innovation ETF returned 153%. In 2025, the flagship Ark Innovation ETF ( ARKK ) has gained 35.49%, beating the S&P 500’s 17.88% return over the same period.

• Tesla (TSLA): 10.14%

• CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP): 5.29%

• YEAR: 5.09%

• Coinbase Global (COIN): 5.07%

• Tempus AI (TEM): 4.98%

• Shopify (SHOP): 4.67%

• Robinhood Markets (HOOD): 4.06%

• Beam Therapeutics (BEAM): 3.79%

• Palantir Technologies (PLTR): 3.57%

• Roblox (RBLX): 3.54%

Wood’s style brings sweet wins in rising markets but also painful losses in downturns, as seen in 2022 when the Arc Innovation ETF fell more than 60%.

Those swings have weighed on Wood’s long-term results. As of Jan. 16, the Ark Innovation ETF has delivered a five-year annualized return of -10.31%, while the S&P 500 has delivered an annualized return of 14.66% over the same period, according to data from Morningstar.

From 2014 to 2024, the Ark Innovation ETF wiped out $7 billion in investor wealth, according to an analysis by Morningstar analyst Amy Arnott. This made it the third-biggest asset destroyer among mutual funds and ETFs in Arnott’s ranking.