Cathie Wood’s ARK Funds Have Crushed the Market This Year. What She’s Betting On for 2026.

Cathie Wood’s ARK funds have had another stellar year. (Getty Images)

Key Points

• ARK Innovation ETF climbed 39% and ARK Next Generation Internet ETF rose 40% this year, significantly outperforming the S&P 500’s 15% increase.
• ARK funds aggressively purchased nearly $50 million in crypto-exposed equities in December, betting on a cryptocurrency rebound in 2026.
• ARK Invest has also increased holdings in Chinese megacap tech companies like Alibaba, Baidu, and WeRide, reversing a 2021 divestment trend.

Cathie Wood’s ARK funds have crushed the market in 2025, for the third consecutive year. While there’s no guarantee it’ll happen again in 2026, her recent trades are a good indication of her bets on the year ahead.

The ARK Innovation exchange-traded fund has climbed 40% this year, while the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF is also up 40%, heading into Monday’s trading. In comparison, the S&P 500 has risen 18%. It will be the third straight year the Next Generation Internet fund has convincingly beaten the market.

The fund’s top holdings are Tesla , streaming tech company Roku , AI chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices , ecommerce platform Shopify, trading platform Robinhood Markets and crypto exchange Coinbase Global .

Though, she has been selling Tesla stock lately. Barron’s argued recently that the moves were small and likely reflected portfolio management actions, rather than a call on the shares.

But other trades can probably tell us more about ARK’s predictions for 2026. ARK Invest’s recent purchases suggest Wood is making a big bet on a cryptocurrency rebound in 2026. In December, ARK’s funds have aggressively bought up shares in companies exposed to crypto amid a brutal selloff for the sector sparked by Bitcoin’s slump.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency tumbled from a record high of above $126,000 in early October to below $88,000 heading into the final week of the year.

ARK’s funds purchased close to $50 million worth of crypto-exposed equities in a single day in the middle of the month–snapping up more shares in Coinbase, stablecoin company Circle Internet, CoinDesk owner Bullish and Ethereum treasury company Bitmine Immersion Technologies. They also loaded up on Robinhood stock amid a 13% fall in December.

China is another area of interest for Wood –specifically the country’s megacap tech names. ARK bought Alibaba shares in September for the first time since 2021 in a move that paid off almost immediately.

The Innovation ETF and Next Generation Internet ETF bought a combined $16.3 million worth of the ecommerce giant’s American depositary receipts on a Monday and on the Wednesday they surged more than 8%. The gains didn’t last though–the ADRs are down 14% since then.

It’s not just Alibaba, ARK has also piled back into Baidu and Chinese robo-taxi company WeRide. ARK shed nearly all Chinese stocks in 2021 amid a sweeping regulatory crackdown in the country.

A word of warning for investors. ARK doesn’t always beat the market, particularly on the way down. In 2022, the last year it failed to outperform the S&P 500, ARK’s Innovation ETF tumbled 67% compared to the stock market index’s 19% drop.

After tech’s strong recent run, and amid fears over the AI bubble and pressure on cryptocurrencies, it’s certainly something to keep in mind.

Write to Callum Keown at callum.keown@dowjones.com