Here’s how a stock market crash could help me retire years earlier

It’s hard to escape the chatter about a stock market crash these days. Why? Since ChatGPT burst onto the scene in late 2022, AI-related chip stocks have absolutely surged in value, sending the S&P 500 to lofty new heights.

As such, some investors are getting nervous about the US index’s valuation. Especially when tech giants like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Microsoft are forking out eye-watering sums to build huge data centres to support the AI revolution.

Were a crash to take place, this obviously wouldn’t be a pleasant experience, especially for those new to the stock market. But even for more experienced investors, it’s horrible to see one’s portfolio suddenly in a sea of red.

However, I plan to use any significant volatility or crash in 2026 as an opportunity to potentially increase my wealth significantly. Here’s what I would buy.

Past crashes

Since I started investing, there have been a handful of bear markets and a couple of crashes. In early 2020, the global pandemic triggered the fastest market crash in history, followed by a quite staggering recovery.

The last meltdown was in April 2025, when President Trump’s global tariffs announcement also caused a massive sell-off.

Again though, the recovery was swift, making this a flash crash rather than a deep downturn. On both occasions, anyone who loaded up on high-quality shares likely did very well.

To give an idea, here are the three shares that I bought in April and how they’ve performed since.

Nvidia +94%
Shopify + 79%
BlackRock World Mining Trust +145%

As we can see, these are juicy market-beating gains. Even if one stock had fallen and another went nowhere, I would still be up from the third one.

High-quality stock

If the market crashes again in 2026, I plan to buy a couple of high-quality stocks.

One I would pile into if it lost 30%-40% of its value is Amazon. This isn’t pie-in-the-sky thinking because the stock crashed 50% during the 2022 bear market.

Why Amazon? Well, it’s one of the highest-quality companies about, with multiple avenues of potential future growth.

For example, global e-commerce still has decades of steady projected growth ahead, while management expects its market-leading cloud computing business (AWS) to grow by double digits for many years to come.

Then there’s digital advertising, which is Amazon’s fastest-growing business. Throw in the million robots automating its warehouse operations — and millions more to come in future — as well as delivery drones, and I just see Amazon’s competitive advantages getting stronger.

Having said that, it’s not immune to an economic downturn. Were this to happen, e-commerce sales could fall, alongside slowing business adoption of its cloud computing solutions.

Nevertheless, this is a stock that I would load up on during a crash.

Going against instincts

Warren Buffett famously said: “Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful“.

While I was greedy in April, this wasn’t easy at the time because the pain of losing is psychologically twice as powerful as the joy of a gain, according to academic research. It goes against instincts to buy when stocks are tumbling.

But if the market crashes in 2026, I will channel my greedy side again. It might pay off bigger next time, and possibly even help me retire early.

The post Hereâs how a stock market crash could help me retire years earlier appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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Ben McPoland has positions in BlackRock World Mining Trust Plc, Nvidia, and Shopify. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Shopify. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.