Despite early-week angst over continued AI disruption fears, markets steadied into the weekend as tech found fresh legs and headline risk eased after a key Supreme Court ruling altered the U.S. tariff landscape. The rebound in mega-cap names helped sentiment improve off midweek lows, though small caps lagged. For the week, the S&P 500 rallied 1.1%, the Dow advanced 0.3%, and the Nasdaq led with a gain of 1.5%, while the Russell 2000 was essentially flat.

Despite early-week angst over continued AI disruption fears, markets steadied into the weekend as tech found fresh legs and headline risk eased after a key Supreme Court ruling altered the U.S. tariff landscape. The rebound in mega-cap names helped sentiment improve off midweek lows, though small caps lagged. For the week, the S&P 500 rallied 1.1%, the Dow advanced 0.3%, and the Nasdaq led with a gain of 1.5%, while the Russell 2000 was essentially flat.

It’s not 1999 out there, but the Model Portfolio has been doing OK despite the choppy, challenging, crosscurrent-filled market of late, partially thanks to an interesting dynamic—while the top-down evidence really hasn’t changed much in recent weeks (if anything, it’s probably worsened a bit, especially when it comes to growth funds and our Aggression Index), we are definitely seeing more individual stocks perk up, both within AI and in cyclical areas.

We do have two or three moves we’re close to making—while we’re not eager to be heavily invested given the evidence, we have a lot of cash and are likely to put some to work soon. But, tonight, we’ll stand pat and see if opportunities arise in the next few days—while also seeing if the Nasdaq’s test of its recent low holds. Bottom line, stand pat here, but we’ll be in touch with any changes in the days ahead.

With the market’s rotation into energy, industrial and other “unloved” stocks continuing well into 2026, we’re leaning deeper into the trends.

This month’s issue focuses on yet another specialty industrial player, an under-the-radar biofuel story, and an energy name with exposure to strong, international markets.

As always, the goal is to stay aligned with what’s working.

Enjoy!

Despite a small bounce Friday on softer inflation data that eased some knee-jerk selling, markets finished on their back foot as renewed investor anxiety around artificial-intelligence disruption rippled through tech and cyclical stocks. Growth names lagged, pressure widened beyond software to financials and real estate, and defensive sectors outperformed amid falling Treasury yields that weren’t enough to stem the slide. By week’s end, the S&P 500 had fallen 1.4%, the Dow Jones had lost 1.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite had tumbled 2.1%.

Although the S&P is currently down around 2% from a week ago, new highs on both exchanges have been encouraging lately. This underscores that a broad array of industries have held firm despite softness in the tech space. Understandably, in this mixed environment, cyclical names are outperforming as traders hedge against possible AI sector weakness, with utilities, consumer staples and healthcare names acting well, but there has also been solid participation from highly economically sensitive areas of the market like transport, discretionary retail and hotel/lodging stocks. Not surprisingly, many of the names in this issue are scattered across these categories. We’ll keep our Market Monitor at a level 6, but we’re still fine nabbing some shares in some of the stronger names out there.

This week’s list contains a nice mix of names across several of the stronger industries—including both defensive and cyclical. Our Top Pick is a water transport name benefiting from a robust start to the annual cruise season.

As market malaise lingers on, it’s become a stock-picker’s market. Fortunately, we have an entire team of expert stock pickers here at Cabot – and in Stock of the Week, we get our pick of the litter. This year already, that’s resulted in gems like Mike Cintolo’s Corning (GLW) (+50% in six weeks), Clif Droke’s JetBlue (JBLU) (+17% in two weeks) and Carl Delfeld’s TransAlta Corp. (TAC) (+10% in a month).

So today, we try to uncover another gem by going back to the well on a former Stock of the Week – and market – darling that has recently rediscovered its mojo. Cabot Dividend Investor Chief Analyst Tom Hutchinson never gave up on it and is now higher on it than ever.

Details inside.

Despite a small bounce Friday on softer inflation data that eased some knee-jerk selling, markets finished on the back foot as renewed investor anxiety around artificial-intelligence disruption rippled through tech and cyclical stocks. Growth names lagged, pressure widened beyond software to financials and real estate, and defensive sectors outperformed amid falling Treasury yields that weren’t enough to stem the slide. By week’s end, the S&P 500 had fallen 1.4%, the Dow Jones had lost 1.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite had tumbled 2.1%.

Despite a small bounce Friday on softer inflation data that eased some knee-jerk selling, markets finished on the back foot as renewed investor anxiety around artificial-intelligence disruption rippled through tech and cyclical stocks. Growth names lagged, pressure widened beyond software to financials and real estate, and defensive sectors outperformed amid falling Treasury yields that weren’t enough to stem the slide. By week’s end, the S&P 500 had fallen 1.4%, the Dow Jones had lost 1.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite had tumbled 2.1%.

The economy is steady, but economists are beginning to worry about consumers. For December, retail sales were flat (vs. the anticipated 0.4% rise) after an increase of 0.6% in November. And credit card balances rose 5.5% from last year, to $1.28 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Inflation remained at 2.7%, and unemployment ticked down a bit, to 4.3%. That’s some good news!

Investors seem to be rotating out of high-fee, labor-intensive business models viewed as potentially vulnerable to AI-driven disruption. Fortunately, Explorer stocks and ETFs have not been impacted and had a good week and start to 2026.

Luckin Coffee (LKNCY) shares were up 3% this week following last week’s 13% gain. The company just opened its 30,000th store and this underscores Luckin’s extensive network.

The market has taken a dramatic turn.

Previously beleaguered stocks are soaring while technology flounders. Cyclical stocks in industries including materials, energy, consumer companies, and industrials have posted double-digit returns while the overall market is barely positive.

Is this a lasting trend or a temporary aberration? The cyclical rally indicates investor confidence regarding the state of the economy in the quarters ahead. Will that stronger growth materialize? Is the AI trade finished, or is this just another periodic consolidation?

Anything can happen in the next several months. It’s easier to focus on the longer term instead of trying to figure out the next fashionable trend on Wall Street. Sectors go in and out of favor all the time. Industry leadership changes often. But one strategy has been a winner in just about every kind of market over time – dividend growth.

In this issue I highlight several portfolio stocks that have consistently paid and grown the dividend for many years and have delivered stellar returns with far less volatility than the overall market.

Due to a short Thanksgiving week, rather than the usual stock-by-stock update, I will briefly highlight some significant moves by Explorer stocks. I’d also like to wish you and your family a great long Thanksgiving weekend.

Regrettably, Universal Technical Institute (UTI) has not worked out for us despite filling a crucial need and posting impressive earnings, as the stock was down sharply this week. I’m moving this to a sell. Coeur Mining (CDE) and International Business Machines (IBM) were both up about 6% this week, while Sea Limited (SE) was down 7%.

A couple of weeks ago we discussed the likelihood that the “all things AI” momentum trade would sooner or later lose luster. I called into question the tenacity of some of 2025’s top-performing tech stocks while also speculating that some of this year’s wayside laggards would launch a return to prominence in the coming months.

WHAT TO DO NOW: The market tried to rebound today after Nvidia’s earnings last night—but big investors stepped up to sell, driving the market and many growth stocks into the red. Our Cabot Tides have now joined the Two-Second Indicator in negative territory, which has us remaining cautious and holding plenty of cash. In the Model Portfolio, we’re going to book partial profits in the ProShares S&P 500 Fund (SSO), selling one-third of our stake and holding the rest. That will leave us with a cash position of 62%. Details below.

A quick housekeeping note: with our offices closed next Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving, we won’t be publishing the regular Weekly Update next week. I will, of course, send out Special Bulletins if/as needed. I hope you have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

On to the market.

Nvidia’s (NVDA) upbeat revenue forecast due to ongoing AI demand should help to tamp down bubble concerns today and possibly stanch the selling that pushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq below their 50-day moving average lines earlier this week and inflicted the same damage on the S&P 600 SmallCap Index last Thursday.

It was a rough week for investors of all stripes, as the S&P 500 is down 3.5% since we last wrote, while the Nasdaq tumbled more than 4%. Even the usually steadier Dow Jones Industrial pulled back nearly 5%, while value stocks pulled back nearly 2%. All month, growth stocks have been getting battered, with many high flyers getting sold off even after convincing earnings beats. Now, the selling has spread to other corners of the market.

But not all sectors are suffering.

The market rally is sputtering. The near-term direction of stocks is highly uncertain. But we might have a much better idea of where things are going by the end of this week.

This will be an important week for a market that’s been floundering.

The S&P 500 is still in an uptrend that began in April. The index is up 14.5% year to date and within 3% of the high. But stocks are down 2% so far in November as investors fret about technology.

A growing chorus of concern regarding artificial intelligence valuations is dragging on the market. Several analysts believe AI stocks have gotten ahead of themselves. Technology has pulled this market higher all year and for most of the bull market. A pullback in those stocks will likely drag the index lower.

In her latest State of the Union address, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen provided the parliament and citizens of Europe with a stark reminder of a problem that continues to plague governments, corporations and individuals around the world.

In her speech, she specifically referenced “the higher cost of living” for millions of Europeans as “THE global crisis” (emphasis mine). Not climate or geopolitical instability or cybersecurity threats, but inflation.

Small caps continue to underperform large caps in 2025.

The S&P 600 is up a mere 3.6% year to date, trailing the S&P 500’s 16.7% gain by roughly 13 percentage points.

The gap closes meaningfully if we strip out megacaps’ strong performance and compare the S&P 600 with the S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP), which is up “just” 10.3%.

The end of the government shutdown is buoying markets while indications that some of the AI-related stocks are retrenching is a headwind for the overall market.

The AI story is clearly impacting the cutting of management jobs with the worst numbers in one month in more than two decades, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The last time companies made more layoffs during that month was in 2003, when cell phones started to take off. American investors funded $104 billion of AI startups in the first half of 2025 alone.

Growth stocks, led by the Magnificent Seven, have again carried the market this year.

The Mag. 7 – the clever name for big-tech behemoths Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), Meta (META), Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA) and Tesla (TSLA) – are up an average of 22% this year. Because those seven companies account for more than a third of the entire S&P 500, they’ve carried the index to a solid 16.5% gain year to date. The Equal Weight S&P 500 index, which equally weighs each of the 500 stocks that comprise the benchmark index, is up a mere 8.5% and has barely budged since the Fourth of July. For most stocks, the entirety of this year’s rally occurred during the post-Liberation Day run-up from the second half of April through early July.

It’s cannabis earnings season once again. Like most retailers, cannabis companies report late in the earnings season. I’ll get into company details below. But first, here are the key sector takeaways from third-quarter results.

WHAT TO DO NOW: The indexes continue to look good, and the big-picture (months down the road) outlook is very favorable. But growth stocks remain hit and miss, with some newer names perking up but many potholes out there, too. Today, we’re going to sell one-third of our stake in GE Aerospace (GE), which has been a fine performer, but it’s been lagging a bit, got hit today and many in the group have topped. We’ll take a few chips off the table and hold the rest, leaving us with around 42% in cash.

Doximity (DOCS) Delivers

National Grocers (NGVC) stock should have a good day after posting a solid Q3 FY 25 and raising guidance for the rest of the year. Revenue in Q3 grew 6.3% to $328.7, daily average comparable store sales grew 7.4%, net income grew 26% to $11.6 million and adjusted EPS grew 34% to $0.54. The company declared a $0.12 dividend, payable on September 17.

Primo Brands (PRMB), Dynatrace (DT) and Dutch Bros (BROS) Report

Sell Remaining Quarter of Paramount Global (PARA). Bloomin’ Brands (BLMN) Earnings Update.

Shares of A10 Networks (ATEN) are trading higher today after the company beat Q2 expectations on both the top and bottom lines. Revenue grew 15.5% to $69.4 million (beating by $3.3 million) while adjusted EPS grew almost 17% to $0.21, beating by $0.02.

ThredUp (TDUP), Sportradar (SRAD) and Alamos Gold (AGI) Report

WHAT TO DO NOW: The market has finally seen some selling this week, with two downside reversals and then today’s big drop on tariff and economic fears. Our Cabot Tides are now on the fence as the broad indexes have sagged, though with 30% cash already on the sideline, we’re taking things on a stock-by-stock basis. Today that means pulling the plug on Snowflake (SNOW), which is cracking support today. This will raise our cash level to 39%—some of which we might redeploy into a stronger name when the indexes find support. Details below.

Enovix (ENVX) reported Q2 results after the closing bell yesterday. Results were generally in line with the pre-announced results (from early July), with $7.5 million in revenue and an EBITDA loss of $20.1 million ($1.3 million less than the pre-announced amount).

Carpenter Technology (CRS) & Microsoft (MSFT)

A few Cabot Options Trader subscribers have asked me about ways to protect gains in their portfolios, so I thought I would write to everyone with a couple of strategies using options to hedge your portfolio.

A subscriber recently asked me if I keep a journal of my trades. Many traders keep journals so they can look back at their trades and evaluate what they did right and what they did wrong.

Want to know how the big institutional investors use options? Here is an example of how one trader spent $132 million on three technology stocks.

Options trading has its own vernacular. To know how to do it, you need to know what every options term means. Here are some of the basics.

Our Cabot Top Ten Trader’s market timing system consists of two parts—one based on the action of three select, growth-oriented market indexes, and the other based on the action of the fast-moving stocks Cabot Top Ten features.