Expect a huge change in how companies act next year, says Omar Aguilar, chief investment officer for equities at Charles Schwab.
Companies will start beefing up their capital expenditures to pursue growth rather than focusing on share buybacks and dividends, he told
CNBC. Growth will be back in style.
"We're going to start seeing those companies that will be more aggressive in capex. That should be the natural cycle," Aguilar said. "So far, investors seem to be rewarding companies that are more conservative. As we go into next year, that's going to change."
Companies repurchasing their own shares have been a huge factor in driving stocks to record highs.
"People are concerned and they are not necessarily spending the capital they need to spend," Aguilar told CNBC. "CEOs and companies are still gun-shy about spending money in the current environment."
Corporate America will have to increase growth if stock values are to continue rising, he said.
"The biggest headwind we face is lack of growth. That is definitely the biggest challenge we're going to face next year," he told CNBC. "Without top-line growth, it's going to be very hard for us to maintain the level of (stock market) growth."
Uncertainty about fiscal policy in Washington and stock valuations becoming stretched are other risks, he added.
In its Web 2.0 capex report, Goldman Sachs predicts capital expenditures by Internet companies will jump 55 percent in 2013 and 22 percent in 2014, reports
Investor's Business Daily. Spending by Google, Microsoft and Facebook will be especially robust.
"The largest contributor to the growth in 2013 is Google, which has more than doubled its capital investments year-over-year," the report stated. "For 2014, capex is expected to continue to grow at a healthy rate of 22 percent to reach $20 billion, with strong growth in Microsoft and Facebook capex (capital expenditures)."
In addition, U.S. phone and telecom capital spending will peak at $69 billion over 2013, driven by strong growth at AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile, before falling off in 2014, Goldman Sachs forecasts. Vodafone and China Mobile will increase capital expenditures next year.
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