Michael Burry said on August 4, 2026 that the U.S. stock market may be near a major top and could experience a 1987-type fall, according to his official X account (@michaeljburry). The post reads, verbatim: "We are near a major top, and possible a 1987-type fall" (X / @michaeljburry).

The warning landed even as the S&P 500 — a widely used measure of the largest U.S. companies' stock prices — made new highs (Yahoo Finance). Burry maintained bearish short positions while issuing the call. A short position is a bet that a stock or market will go down: you borrow shares, sell them, and hope to buy them back cheaper later. He also flagged AI bubble risks alongside the crash comparison (Seeking Alpha).

Burry's X account is titled "Cassandra Unchained" and described as "Official X account for Michael Burry, MD" (X / @michaeljburry). He is known for accurately predicting the 2008 U.S. housing crash (Yahoo Finance, published July 24, 2026).

The 1987 reference is specific. On October 19, 1987, the Dow Jones Industrial Average — another major stock market index — dropped 22.6% in a single day. That is the largest one-day percentage drop in the index's history. The crash came after a long period of rising prices and expensive valuations, and it happened without a clear economic reason to justify the size of the drop. Burry's choice of that comparison suggests he thinks the market's own structure is fragile, and that the trigger does not have to be an obvious economic event.

The key detail is that Burry paired this call with actual money on the line. A warning without capital behind it is just talk; a warning with short positions in place is a real bet. Holding shorts costs money for as long as stock prices keep going up, which they have been. He is paying that price.

Burry is also pointing a finger at artificial intelligence. He is not just saying stocks are generally expensive. He is saying that a specific corner of the market — AI-related companies — is pushing stock prices to levels that may not be backed by actual profits. This matters because those AI companies are among the biggest in the S&P 500, so if their shares fall, the whole index could drop with them.

The question for anyone paying attention is not whether Burry has the timing right. Nobody, including Burry, can reliably call the exact top of a market. The question is what his willingness to lose money on shorts while the market is at highs tells us about how he sees the risk. If an investor famous for calling big meltdowns is willing to pay that cost, it tells us he thinks the potential downside is large.

The broader context is that warnings like this do not prove themselves right just because someone famous made them. The S&P 500 hitting new highs even as Burry posts his warning is the market's current answer: investors are betting on company profits growing, AI spending continuing, and interest-rate conditions that, together, outweigh the crash worry for now. That does not mean the market is right and Burry is wrong. It means both sides are taking a risk. People betting against the market are losing money while they wait. People buying at today's prices are paying levels that one of the most famous pessimists alive considers dangerously high.

What is known: Burry posted the warning, he is betting against the market, and the index is at record highs. What the market currently expects: profits will keep growing and there will be no system-wide crisis. What is unknown: whether the 1987 comparison will turn out to be right or just early. Anyone reading this should treat it as one person's trade in a noisy market, not a reason to act without thinking it through.