This week gave talking heads everything they love: earnings beats, macro data releases, and plenty of “AI-driven optimism” headlines.

And, the market responded in kind with the S&P 500 posting its best month since 2020.

But as earnings season continues, the gap between perception and reality starts to widen. “Beats” don’t always mean better businesses. Strong narratives don’t always mean strong fundamentals. And some of the market’s biggest winners are still driven by expectations than actual results.

It’s easy to get pulled into the headlines and chase the momentum. It’s much harder to remain disciplined and make informed investment decisions.

You don’t have to do it alone though.

Check out our research from this past week to see how we separate real opportunities from potential traps.

New Long Idea:

This week’s Long Idea maximizes allocation to good stocks in the Energy sector, minimizes allocation to bad stocks, and taps into larger macro tailwinds. 

New Danger Zone Pick:

Despite the overall style earning an Attractive rating, this fund allocates too much capital to companies with low profitability and expensive valuations.

Watch the FinSights Showcase from Google Cloud Next 2026:

The Google Cloud AI leaders presented “Finsights: Financial Insights and Analysis Using AI Agents” at Google Cloud Next 2026 in Las Vegas. Get the key takeaways and watch the full replay here.

BIG (Tech) Earnings Watch Party!

We heard from companies that define the market this week. In our latest Earnings Watch Party, we uncovered whether these market giants generate real Core Earnings that justify their valuations. Watch the replay here. We covered GOOGL, AAPL, MSFT, AMZN, META, LLY, BKNG, KO, MRK, CAT, and more.

Expert AI Insights from David Trainer:

CEO David Trainer recently spoke at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and Harvard Business School. The topic of the hour? How AI will impact students’ careers and replace analysts and portfolio managers.

How to Find the Best & Avoid the Worst Funds in 2Q26:

We published our quarterly series on how investors can find the best & worst ETFs and mutual funds for both sector and style in 2Q26.

Cheap Funds Dupe Investors:

Investors are good at picking cheap funds. We want them to be better at picking funds with good stocks. Both are required to maximize success.

Featured Stocks:

We featured a stock from our Safest Dividend Yields Model Portfolio. See how this Model Portfolio gives you the best of both worlds: safety and upside potential.

Model Portfolio Updates:

We updated our Dividend Growth Stocks Model Portfolio.

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

Danger Zone Podcast:

David Trainer joined Chuck Jaffe to discuss why everyone using AI is in the Danger Zone.

We hope you had a great week!

See a preview of upcoming research below.

Upcoming Research