Carson Group Chief Market Strategist Ryan Detrick started 2026 with a bullish outlook—and he's sticking with it despite geopolitical tensions tied to the Iran conflict.

Here's how he frames the outlook and why he still favors the bull case.

Ryan Detrick Ignores Most Headlines, Looks To Data And Trends

"Every year has bad headlines,” Detrick told Benzinga. “Every year has bad days to the market, bad weeks to the market.”

The market expert explained that looking at history is usually enough to keep him bullish, and that he keeps his eyes on data and trends, ignoring some of the outside noise.

"There's always scary headlines and volatility,” he adds.

One tried-and-true trend Detrick highlighted was that the stock market doesn't go up every single day, and 2026 is no different. He also said that most years have double-digit peak-to-trough corrections, something most investors and experts prepare for.

Riding the Wave of Market Ups and Downs

Quoting former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Detrick adds, "Plans are worthless, but planning is everything."

At the start of 2026, Carson Group released its 2026 outlook and titled it "Riding the Wave."

"When you're riding a wave, it could be a little dangerous, a little choppy. You might wipe out. You got to get back up," Detrick said.

Detrick also highlighted that investors can be diversified across stocks, bonds and other investments and diversified across U.S. stocks and international stocks.

"To be diversified can really help you sleep at night. To be aware most years are going to be volatile and scary and bad headlines and all that stuff."

Another example of riding the waves from Detrick was some investors being scared three to four weeks ago and now instead of markets lower, they're trading at all-time highs and the Nasdaq 100, tracked by the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) recently had a 13-day consecutive win streak.

What's Next For Stock Market

Despite the geopolitical tension and Middle East headlines, Detrick said "we're still in a bull market."

Detrick said tech earnings guidance for 2027 are up 15% this year.

"That's incredible and it's one of the waves we were talking about."

The market expert said this could indicate that AI capex is not slowing.

Carson Group has an outlook of the S&P 500, tracked by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:SPY), trading higher by 12% to 15% in 2026. Detrick told Benzinga he doesn't see that guidance changing.

With the S&P 500 up around 4.5%, Detrick is holding firm on the original 2026 call.

"I think it's perfectly normal to think we could gain another 10% or so and get to the mid-teens before all is said and done."

Photo Courtesy Ryan Detrick