Bridger PenningtonFund Launch & Investment Expert

The Stock Market is UP. So Are Bankruptcies 📈💀

17 Aug 2026 · 1 min

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Bridger Pennington argues the U.S. faces a silent recession despite record stock highs. Chapter 11 bankruptcies jumped 28% year-over-year, and just four percent of firms account for 92% of GDP growth. Nvidia alone weighs 7.7% of the S&P 500, the largest ever.

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Are we living in a silent recession? The stock market just hit record highs, but we're also seeing a 28% increase in Chapter 11 filings bankruptcies over last year. And if you take out the hyperscalers, we're not growing that much. This is all an op-ed article I just posted on LinkedIn and X. Also, the chief economist at Trellis agrees with what I'm saying, which is most of the growth in our economy is really coming from just a handful of names. Everybody else is suffering. They call it the S&P 493, and the hyperscalers, the Mag Seven, are just getting. big right now. Nvidia, 7.7% of the index, is the largest in history. Jason Furman put this best. He said 4% of GDP is responsible for 92% of GDP growth. I would love to hear in the comments down below, do you know any local business owners absolutely crushing it, or the majority struggling quite a bit? Most people I know in business, they're just kind of surviving right now. And if you can, go check out this whole article on LinkedIn or X and, uh, let me know what you think.