經濟學家將資產價格上漲帶動消費增長的連鎖反應稱為「財富效應」，認為這是近年來美國經濟展現韌性的關鍵因素。牛津經濟研究院估算，自新冠疫情以來，財富效應推動了美國消費支出增長的約三分之一；截至2025年8月的12個月內，美國科技股的飆升為家庭帶來了約2500億美元的額外消費。目前約58%的美國成年人持有股票，股票佔家庭金融資產的比例達到歷史最高的46%，使得這一效應比以往更加顯著。
然而財富效應是一把雙刃劍。彭博經濟團隊模擬顯示，若人工智慧泡沫破裂導致標普500指數下跌約20%，全球將蒸發1.6兆美元的GDP，美國經濟將被推向衰退邊緣。由於人們對損失的感受遠強於對收益的感受，消費者緊縮支出的衝擊將十分劇烈。加上外國投資者持有美國股市的比例已達創紀錄的18%，一旦市場下行，其影響將波及全球。
Micron Technology's stock has surged nearly 700% over the past year, fueled by the AI boom and soaring chip demand, turning many of its Idaho-based employees into overnight paper millionaires. Wealth manager JT Belnap has witnessed clients buying luxury trucks, making charitable donations, and taking dream vacations as the windfall ripples through the local economy, with businesses like Silverhawk Aviation Academy reporting strong demand for helicopter date nights and private jet charters.
Economists attribute much of the US economy's recent resilience to the "wealth effect"—the tendency for people to spend more when their asset values rise. Oxford Economics estimates this effect has driven roughly one-third of the increase in US consumer spending since the pandemic, with tech stock gains alone generating $250 billion in additional household spending in the twelve months through August 2025. The effect is amplified today because stock ownership is more widespread than ever, equities constitute a record 46% of household financial assets, and an aging population increasingly depends on portfolio wealth for spending decisions.
Yet the wealth effect cuts both ways. Bloomberg economists modeled a scenario in which the AI bubble bursts and the S&P 500 drops approximately 20%—roughly half the magnitude of the dot-com crash—finding it would erase $1.6 trillion in global GDP and push the US to the brink of recession. Because loss aversion makes consumers react more sharply to declines than to gains, and because foreign investors now hold a record 18% of the US market, a significant downturn would trigger a severe consumer retrenchment with worldwide repercussions.