After the US stock market plummeted, "Wood Sister" Cathie Wood said: The more the market worries, the more optimistic I become, the bull market is not over

As US tech stocks experienced heavy losses this week and the Nasdaq Composite fell into correction territory, ARK Invest leader Cathie Wood chose to buy more against the trend.

On Friday, November 6, Cathie Wood told CNBC that rather than shaking her confidence, widespread investor worries have only strengthened her belief in a continued bull market.

The more the market worries, the more optimistic I get, because that often means the bull market is more sustainable. I don't think this bull market has been derailed.

Tech stocks saw a modest rebound on Friday, but market sentiment remained fragile. Wood believes the current volatility is a normal part of the “two steps forward, one step back” rhythm within a technological revolution and expects the market rally to continue into 2027. Wood suggests that investors should take profits appropriately when the market rebounds, and add to high-conviction positions during declines—ARK has recently increased core holdings such as SpaceX.

What Triggered This Downturn

Thursday’s sell-off was directly triggered by market concerns that data center construction may slow if Democrats control Congress.

But Wood pointed out that anxiety about AI has persisted throughout most of the year—investors have continually questioned the scale of capital expenditure on AI by technology companies, their cash burn rates, and the trend of hyperscalers shifting from very high positive free cash flow to negative free cash flow. “This has made the market uneasy for quite a long time,” she said.

Meanwhile, macroeconomic pressures have mounted. The Israel-Iran conflict has pushed global inflation higher, while US interest rates and bond yields have surged this year, driving up corporate bond yields. “This correction is partly due to what's happening in the bond market,” Wood said.

The “Wall of Worry” Makes the Bull Market Healthier

Wood describes today’s pervasive market pessimism as a “wall of worry,” but her interpretation is very different from most. She contrasts it with her own experience:

I went through the tech and telecom bubble, and back then, almost nobody was worried. That was the ’80s and ’90s, it was a bull market, and people just assumed it would keep going up forever. But the way AI trading is evolving, it's nothing like that.

In her view, it is precisely this “wall of worry” that makes the current bull market healthier. She even named the “builders” of this wall:

This wall of worry has been built by senior leaders in the financial industry—they were still young during the bubble. It’s the industry veterans that keep this wall standing, and that’s not a bad thing. Now, bond investors have joined in as well.

She further explained that bond investors did not previously need to understand the tech sector deeply—back then, it was about software, low fixed costs, and viral adoption, with extremely high-profit margins.

But AI involves high fixed costs, so bond investors are embarking on a journey into the tech world, which is actually quite unfamiliar to them.

Limited Impact from Interest Rates, Growth Logic Remains Strong

Faced with pressure from rising interest rates, Wood believes AI hyperscale cloud companies have unique buffers.

If a company believes that taking on debt can accelerate its growth—that is, increase its growth rate—then what happens to interest rates hardly matters to these companies.

When asked whether the bull market is nearing its end, Wood’s answer was brief and direct: “I don’t think so.”

“I think we are in the middle of a technological revolution,” she said, citing developments such as robo-taxis and AI agents as evidence.

ARK's Practical Moves: Increasing High-Conviction Holdings

Wood is not just optimistic in words—ARK has taken action amid the recent volatility.

She revealed that over the past week or so, ARK has continued to concentrate positions in its highest-conviction targets.

Our SpaceX position has increased. If anything, the controversy about earthbound data centers creates even more opportunity for space-based data centers.

For the average investor, she offered a practical approach:

In a volatile environment, take profits appropriately during rebounds; when the market declines, if you've already taken profits before, you'll have the mental strength to get back in.

Looking toward 2027, Wood remains optimistic: “The revolution will become clearer and clearer, and I think the market will perform well.”

It’s also worth noting that Wood’s flagship product, ARK Innovation ETF, saw an over 35% gain in 2025, far outpacing the S&P 500’s 16.4% gain and the Nasdaq Composite’s 20.5% gain over the same period.