AI panic has arrived and software stocks are taking it on the chin. Once wind in the sails for the software providers, AI is now their enemy as investors speculate that AI could replace many software-as-a-service companies.

The S&P Software and Services Industry Index is down 19% year-to-date. The rapid decline serves as another reminder that when stocks are priced for perfection, there’s a lot of risk when reality catches up.

This rotation out of tech provides opportunities for those armed with real insights. When earnings beats aren’t enough to propel shares higher, the real story is often buried in the footnotes.

Our Robo-Analyst AI cuts through the marketing spin to calculate real Core Earnings, true return on invested capital, and quantify the expectations for future growth embedded in stock prices. In a market still pricing perfection in some corners and neglecting others, superior fundamental research provides an edge.

You can see this edge in action in all the research we published this week. Here’s a quick look at what you may have missed.

New Long Idea:

The best opportunities arise when strong profits and growth prospects collide with low expectations.

Earnings Watch Parties:

We go beyond the headlines and show how we pick stocks with our reverse discounted cash flow model. Watch the replays to get the insights. In our first watch party we covered PLTR, MRK, PEP, PFE, GOOGL, LLY, UBER, QCOM, AMZN, SHEL, and more. Then, we analyzed KO, BUD, SPGI, BP, SPOT, HOOD, SHOP, CSCO, MCD, AMAT, ANET, and more.

Insights From CEO David Trainer:

David joined Nabil Cacheiro-Hamdi on the Apex AI Podcast to discuss how we leverage small language models to deliver Core Earnings data proven to beat the market. Then, he spoke with James Early, CEO of Curia Financial, to discuss why footnotes matter more than most investors realize, how we calculate Core Earnings, and much more.

Testimonial:

One of our clients tells us how much they appreciate our work to deliver superior fundamental research. The best testimonials are the ones we do not expect! See this testimonial.

Upcoming Ideas Dinner:

Pro and Institutional members can register for our next private Ideas Dinner meeting, which will be Tuesday, February 17 at 3pm CT.

How to Find the Best & Avoid the Worst Funds in 1Q26:

We published our quarterly series on how investors can find the best & worst ETFs and mutual funds for both sector and style in 1Q26.

Featured Stocks:

We featured a stock from our Most Attractive Stocks Model Portfolio as well as one from our Most Dangerous Stocks Model Portfolio. See how superior fundamental data reveals opportunities and traps.

Model Portfolio Updates:

We updated our Exec Comp Aligned with ROIC Model Portfolio for February 2026.

We also updated our Focus List Stocks: Long Model Portfolio.

Danger Zone Podcast:

David Trainer joined Chuck Jaffe to discuss how our Robo-Analyst AI analyzed the holdings of this fund and found that they are much worse than its lower-cost benchmark.

We hope you had a great week!

See a preview of upcoming research below.

Upcoming Research