bust

And the stock market today is anything but a bargain: The S&P 500 is almost as expensive today, based on its price/earnings ratio, as it was on the eve of the dot-com bust.

But these pronouncements miss what made the internet bust so devastating—and it's about more than just speculative fervor in the stock market.

It casts a shadow over the current euphoria, much like the dot-com bust with the broader AI boom.

“I think we’re standing at the edge of a similar run today,” says Rational Equity Armor Fund portfolio manager Joe Tigay, who lived through the dot-com boom and bust as a floor trader.

“ICE is gonna come bust down your door,” he sings, accompanied only by a somber electric guitar.