Ben Gran, The Motley Fool Fri, November 13, 2026 at 9:01 AM EST 5 min read QQQ +0.41% NVDA +2.08% Explore stocks on Coinbase Trading disclosure Trading disclosure The above button links to Coinbase. Yahoo Finance is not a broker-dealer or investment adviser and does not offer securities or cryptocurrencies for sale or facilitate trading. Coinbase pays us for certain activity generated through this link. Prices displayed are informational.
The years-long stock market boom powered by artificial intelligence (AI) stocks seems to be at a crossroads. Investors are worried about rising levels of AI company debt, voter backlash against data centers, and concerns that AI tools won't deliver significant gains in productivity.
Doubts about the AI trade are showing up in one of the most important tech exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that tracks the Nasdaq-100 index. The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) has lost about 11.2% (as of Nov. 10) since its record high on Oct. 6. Tech stocks are officially in a "correction" (a broad decline of 10% or more). Could this AI sell-off go further and reach a bear market?
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Let's look at whether you should buy QQQ now after a 10% (or more) decline in share prices -- and why it depends on what you believe will happen next with AI stocks.
The AI boom has been fueled by positive emotions about the future: enthusiasm, optimism, hope. Many AI investors believe that AI companies are building a revolutionary technology that could be more important to the economy than the internet, the telephone, or perhaps electricity. If you believe AI will make everyone richer -- and its early investors especially rich -- you want to get in on the ground floor.
But more recently, negative emotions about AI have been creeping in: worry, fear, doubt. Many investors are questioning the high costs of the AI build-out. They worry that AI companies are spending too much, too rapidly, on developing technology that hasn't clearly demonstrated enough value to the economy. They're skeptical that the hundreds of billions of dollars of AI capital expenditures (capex) will pay off anytime soon.
Some major tech stocks have gone through big share price declines as more of those companies' free cash flow gets devoted to AI capex. Major tech names at the center of the AI trade, like Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL), Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), have had double-digit declines in their share prices in the past six months. As of Nov. 10, Alphabet is down about 26.3%, Nvidia is down about 23.1%, and Tesla is down about 14.7% in that time frame. These stocks are three of the 10 largest holdings in QQQ as of Nov. 9.Should you buy QQQ? That depends on what you believe about the future:
If you are broadly bullish on AI, if you believe that the tech majors that are leading the AI trade are going to profit from it in the long run, and that AI will pay off for the companies building it, then today's recent 11% correction in QQQ shouldn't discourage you. Think of it like QQQ is "on sale" at an 11% discount.
Long-term investors who are willing to put up with some short-term volatility probably shouldn't fear buying QQQ at today's prices. In the past 10 years, the Invesco QQQ Trust has delivered average annual returns of about 20.3% as of Oct. 31.
It's possible that the recent sell-off in AI stocks is overblown, that the market overreacted to the midterm elections (which were widely seen as a bipartisan backlash against AI data centers). We might still be at the early stages of the AI boom. Billions of people are using AI chatbots and tools. Companies all over the world are experimenting with AI and implementing it in their work processes. None of this is a sign that AI is going to "go away" or fail.
If you believe that AI is overhyped, or that the AI bubble is bursting, then you might want to steer clear of QQQ even after an 11% "discount." Loading up on tech stocks has been a great investment strategy for most of the past 15 years. But there's no guarantee that this trend will continue for the next 15 years. Sometimes tech stocks crash and keep crashing for a long time -- for 10 years.
Here's what happened to the Invesco QQQ Trust during its "lost decade" of the 2000s after the dot-com bust:
Diversification and a long-term perspective are key for investors to keep in mind. If we're at the start of a new bear market in tech stocks, there's no guarantee that any stock or sector will be "safe" in the short run. If you're bullish on AI and you don't mind the risks of making a concentrated investment in 100 tech names, then buying QQQ could still be a good choice. But if you're more skeptical about the risks of AI stocks, buying an S&P 500 ETF could offer some diversification.
Before you buy stock in Invesco QQQ Trust, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Invesco QQQ Trust wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $338,083!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,021,163!*
Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 830% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 209% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of November 13, 2026.
Ben Gran has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
QQQ Is in a Correction (Down 10%). Should You Buy More of This Popular Tech ETF? was originally published by The Motley Fool
