EXPERT TIPS

Defense stocks have been one of 2026's best-kept secrets. While the market obsessed over AI semiconductors and mega-cap tech, the ITA defense ETF has outperformed the broader SPY year-to-date. AeroVironment surged nearly 30% in a single week on earnings. Northrop Grumman and RTX Corp each rose over 10% in July alone. The geopolitical backdrop has created a multi-year tailwind for defense spending that most retail investors are significantly underweighted to. Here's how to thi

Q2 2026 earnings season is tracking as one of the strongest on record, with 47.4% year-over-year earnings growth for the S&P 500 — the highest quarterly growth rate in five years. With 61% of companies having reported, the data tells a clear story about where corporate strength is concentrated and where investors should be paying attention.

The most significant investment story of mid-2026 isn't AI — it's the historic rotation from growth to value that began in June and accelerated dramatically through July. Value outperformed growth by 8.5 percentage points in July alone, one of the five strongest relative performance events since 1979. If you missed it or are still positioned for the old regime, here's exactly what's happening and what to do about it.

The AI boom is the defining investment theme of this decade. Nvidia's earnings continue to shatter expectations, hyperscaler capex commitments keep climbing, and the infrastructure buildout shows no signs of slowing. But as with every transformational technology cycle, the opportunity is nuanced — not every AI stock is a buy at any price, and the biggest winners from here may not be the names everyone already owns. Here's how to think about investing in AI tech stocks right n

The US-Iran conflict has sent oil prices surging to multi-year highs, reigniting the energy sector as one of the most compelling areas of the market. For investors who understand how to navigate energy stocks, geopolitical disruptions like this create real opportunities — but also real risks. Here's how to think about it.

Kevin Warsh has been named the new Federal Reserve Chairman, succeeding Jerome Powell. For investors, a change at the top of the world's most powerful central bank is never a trivial event. Warsh brings a distinctly different philosophy to the role — and understanding what that means for monetary policy, interest rates, and your portfolio is essential right now.

Cryptocurrency has gone from fringe experiment to legitimate asset class discussion in less than a decade. Whether you own crypto, are considering it, or simply want to understand it as an investor, here is a clear-eyed look at what it is, how it works, and how to think about it in the context of a serious investment portfolio.

Return on invested capital — ROIC — is the single best metric for identifying truly great businesses. More than revenue growth, more than earnings per share, more than any headline number, ROIC reveals whether a company is actually creating value for its shareholders or just consuming capital to generate the appearance of growth. Here's how to use it.

Technical analysis gets a bad reputation in some investing circles — dismissed as chart-reading or tea-leaf interpretation. But used correctly, it isn't a replacement for fundamental analysis. It's a tool for timing and risk management that even the most fundamental investors can benefit from understanding. Here's a practical introduction to what actually works.

Most investors focus almost entirely on picking individual stocks. Far fewer spend time thinking about how those stocks fit together into a coherent portfolio. Portfolio construction — the deliberate process of combining positions to achieve a target return profile with appropriate risk — is what separates wealth builders from stock pickers. Here's a practical framework for building one.

A stock screener is one of the most powerful tools an investor can use — yet most people either don't use one or use it without a clear framework. Done right, screening cuts through thousands of stocks to surface a short list of candidates that meet your specific investment criteria. Here's how to build a screening process that actually works.

Macro investing — taking investment positions based on broad economic trends rather than individual company analysis — is one of the most powerful frameworks available to investors who want to stay ahead of major market moves. Understanding macro dynamics won't just make you a better investor; it will help you understand why markets move the way they do, even when the news seems disconnected from price action.

Top-down sector analysis is one of the most powerful tools available to investors who want to position their portfolios ahead of macroeconomic shifts. Rather than starting with individual stocks, it starts with the big picture — the economy, interest rates, and the business cycle — then works down to identify which sectors are best positioned to benefit. Here's how to do it.

Growth vs value is one of the oldest debates in investing — and one of the most misunderstood. In reality, the best investors don't rigidly choose one camp. They understand what each approach offers, when each tends to outperform, and how to blend the best elements of both into a coherent investment philosophy.

Value investing is one of the most time-tested frameworks in the history of financial markets. Pioneered by Benjamin Graham and refined by Warren Buffett, it's built on a deceptively simple idea: buy assets for less than they're worth and wait for the market to recognize that value. Here's how it works in practice and why it remains relevant today.

There are very few signals in investing that are as pure as insider buying. When a company's own executives and directors buy shares in the open market with their personal money — not options, not grants, but actual cash purchases — it's one of the most direct expressions of confidence in a company's future that exists. Here's how to find it, read it, and use it.

Of the three core financial statements, the income statement is the one most investors look at first — and often the one they read least carefully. Revenue and EPS grab the headlines, but the real story is almost always in the details underneath. Here's how to read an income statement like a professional.

Short selling is one of the most misunderstood strategies in investing. In the media it's portrayed as dangerous, predatory, or even unethical. In reality, short sellers play a critical role in efficient markets — and understanding how shorting works makes you a better investor even if you never short a single stock.

Most investors spend the majority of their time deciding what to buy. Far fewer spend serious time thinking about how much to buy. That's a mistake. Position sizing — the discipline of determining how large each holding should be in your portfolio — has a bigger impact on your long-term results than almost any other decision you make.

Warren Buffett built one of the greatest investment track records in history using a simple framework: find companies with durable competitive advantages — economic moats — and hold them for the long term. Understanding what a moat actually is, and how to identify one, is one of the most valuable skills in fundamental investing.