Squawk on the Street SOTS 2nd Hour: The State of 'Truflation', AI Private Credit Check, & Is Software Oversold Here? 2/12/26
Feb 12, 2026
Johnny Fine, Goldman Sachs head of investment grade credit who advises corporates on bond markets, and Byron Dieter, Bessemer partner and AI-focused software investor, join the conversation. They tackle the rise of alternative inflation measures, how hyperscalers may finance massive AI buildouts, and whether software valuations have been oversold. Expect debate on private credit risks, long-tenor corporate debt, and which software models can survive the shakeout.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Truflation Diverges From CPI
- Truflation offers a real-time inflation measure that collapsed to under 1% recently, diverging sharply from CPI.
- The gap arises because Truflation uses many high-frequency inputs and different weighting than CPI, especially for rent/OER.
Invest On Earnings, Not Flows
- Anchor investment decisions to earnings and fundamentals rather than flow-driven multiple expansion.
- Be tactical and patient, shifting toward sectors with real earnings growth rather than chasing recent price moves.
Software Will Split Into Winners And Losers
- Byron Dieter sees software oversold but predicts a sharp separation between vulnerable horizontal SaaS and defensible vertical moats.
- Private AI-native and late-stage platforms will lead a software renaissance and drive public-market re-rating.