Hedgeye · Oct 15, 2026 · 49m · 38m saved
With David McAlvany, CEO and Portfolio Manager of McAlvany Financial Group
David McAlvany, CEO and portfolio manager of McAlvany Financial Group, told Keith McCullough at the Hedgeye Investing Summit that the AI build-out has to generate $3.7 trillion in revenue by 2032 to support its financing.
Most investors read AI spending as a reason to own stocks. David reads the borrowing behind it as a reason to own gold.
"Gold ends up playing a significant part on the other side of the AI bubble bursting. That it bursts is something of an inevitability as you start looking at the math." — David McAlvany
David runs a 54-year-old firm that sells physical gold, and he watched a 120-year-old company go under in the telecom bust when its lenders marked down its inventory. He also manages money, and gave Keith a price target and an allocation.
The full interview is covered here so you can skip it. 49 minutes of audio, 11 minutes of reading.
Here are the 15 calls that matter.
Key Takeaways
The AI build-out needs $3.7 trillion in revenue by 2032, and much of it is borrowed
JPMorgan expects about $4 trillion more in AI borrowing over five years
Oracle's $165 billion New Mexico project stalled on a gas pipeline, not on demand
Central banks, not retail buyers, have driven gold's rally
94% of reserve managers in a World Gold Council survey plan to cut dollar holdings
Government debt, not AI, is the bigger bubble in David's view
About $1 trillion a year, roughly 25% of tax revenue, now goes to interest
$8,000 gold over 2 to 3 years is a reasonable target, with silver at $200
Half of a portfolio's cash reserve should be gold, the other half short-term T-bills
Bitcoin rides the same debasement trade but has never faced a real crisis
1. Gold After the AI Bubble
Keith McCullough, CEO of Hedgeye, hosted the session. David opened by tying gold's next leg to the end of the AI spending boom, which he sees as a matter of arithmetic rather than sentiment.
David McAlvany expects gold to benefit once the AI investment boom breaks
"Gold ends up playing a significant part on the other side of the AI bubble bursting. That it bursts is something of an inevitability as you start looking at the math." — David McAlvany
The math he meant is the revenue the data centers must earn against the money being spent to build them. The next three sections lay it out.
