The digital world has thrived during the pandemic. Just look at the year-over-year stock gains for companies like Zoom (262%) and Amazon (61%).
But soon hundreds of millions of Americans will be vaccinated. That could be a big boost for value stocks and finally slow down tech stocks—whose growth has accelerated years into the future during the pandemic. If so, it would boost shares of companies like Delta Air Lines (-18%) and Carnival Cruise Line (-49%) that are still down since the onset of the crisis.
To see if investors agree with this narrative, Fortune and Civis Analytics surveyed 2,336 U.S. adults, including 1,378 investors, between Feb. 5 and Feb. 7. We asked investors to identify industries or sectors with the most upside and downside.
We found that investors aren’t quite ready to dump tech stocks. Investors say the industries with the most upside are technology (50%), real estate (29%), and financials (23%).
Where do investors see the most downside in the next 12 months? They point to cruise lines (48%), airlines (44%), and autos (22%). Investors just aren’t ready to load up on airlines. The reason? Airlines continue to lose millions per day as the pandemic drags on. Not to mention companies in travel-related sectors have taken on massive debt loads during this pandemic. That debt will linger and eat into profits for years to come.
But no matter where they’re parking it, investors anticipate making money in 2021. Among investors, 73% expect a positive personal investment return this year. That includes 24% who expect it to be over 10%. Meanwhile, 19% have no expectation, and 9% expect it to be flat or negative.
Among investors, 22% rate the economy as strong, 30% say it’s steady, and 48% classify it as weak.
*Methodology: The Fortune–Civis Analytics survey was conducted between Feb. 5 and 7. We surveyed 2,336 U.S. adults, including 1,378 investors. The findings have been weighted for age, race, sex, education, and geography.
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