Stock Trends Mid-Quarter Review: How the Year-End 2025 Themes Are Performing in Q1 2026

Published in Stock Trends

Halfway through Q1 2026, the question is no longer theoretical: Did the year-end institutional momentum and ST-IM Alpha themes actually guide investors effectively?

With the updated February 13, 2026 Stock Trends dataset now in hand, we can measure the outcome directly — not against headlines, but against trend structure, relative strength, and momentum persistence.

The short answer: the framework largely held — but leadership rotated exactly where the model suggested it might.

Subscriber Testimonials

Stock Trends analysis quantifies nicely the movement of individual stocks. I’ve found that if the technicals are out of synch with fundamental analysis, it is a wake-up call to make a decision. The Stock Trends Bull/Bear Ratio is useful in identifying major market bottoms and tops. It has always presented a good buying or selling opportunity.
Charles G., Subscriber
An admitted cynic, it's obviously very high praise when he says he likes StockTrends because of its "simplicity, utility, openness, [and] honesty," and in addition to having "no hidden agenda" is "understandably documented [and] historically verifiable." And, he adds, "It lets me see a lot of things without doing a lot of work." Globe and Mail
Paul W., Subscriber
I have had the good fortune to be reasonably successful and enjoy the investment process. Your process would be recommended for both experts and those who are new to investing.
Frank I., Subscriber
Your report is an impressive, excellent tool and I have recommmended it to friends.
Colin E., Subscriber
Stock Trends Weekly Reporter is an easy way to pick up equities that represent an upward trend.
Subscriber
I use Stock Trends to help direct my stock picks. Also, following the advice of Stock Trends I have religiously used stop-loss orders and have avoided hanging on to losing stocks for emotional reasons.
John B., Subscriber
There is a lot to be gained from comparing trends of how individual stocks are doing within a sector, as well as how the sector is performing relative to the broad market.
Dudley R., Subscriber
I've followed a number of Stock Trends picks, and the methodology is solid.
Doug B., Subscriber
I am just writing to tell you of my appreciation of your service! It makes so much sense to me. You seem to be an oasis of stability and sensibility in a stockmarket jungle.
Adrian S., Subscriber
I am fascinated with your service and methodology - it is very impressive. [...] Over the years I have concluded that there are many ways to approach stock investing, but once one has chosen a path, one is better off sticking to it.
Bob E., Subscriber
I find your website and research very helpful in my stock trading. I have subscribed to several related services in the past and none present their work with “just the facts” as you. Please keep up the great work so that I can continue to learn!
Bryan E., Subscriber
I very much like the systematic approach to analyzing stock data, it fits my approach.
Subscriber
I want to thank you for posting such an excellent guide to technical analysis on the web. You have provided a great service to all of us novice investors.
Michael C., Stock Trends user
I am something of a momentum investor. I find Stock Trends useful as I can look at my portfolio as a “watch list” and quickly see where trends are declining in strength or reversing, so it is particularly useful as a tool in portfolio management regarding sales.
William C., Subscriber
I've followed your recommendations since reading your columns in the Globe & Mail, and finding they published Stock Trends arrows in their financial listings. I do find them a guide to the general market and what I should be avoiding for declining chart trends.
Has probably saved me the subscription by not rushing into hot stocks!
Anthony D., Subscriber
You have created and maintained an amazing, highly educational program and I am grateful for your part in getting our retirement funds to the good place they are.
Karin M., Subscriber
Stock Trends information is part of the base information I review before making a trade.
Subscriber
Thank you for your excellent work and kind approach to your customers.
Odette C., Subscriber
Just thought I'd call to thank you, Skot. Stock Trends Weekly Reporter helped pay for my daughter's education!
Peter H., Subscriber
Hence, anyone who had followed the "Stock Trends" line should have sold their Bre-X shares and, with the windfall, paid for a lifetime subscription to The Globe and Mail and more. Talk about return on investment!
Muni P., Subscriber

Subscription Plans

STWR - Monthly

$19.95

Monthly subscription plan to Stock Trends Weekly Reporter - pay your monthly subscription fees by having them automatically charged (PayPal only). Free 7-day trial period. Subscribers may cancel before the end of any subscription month.

STWR - 1 Year Prepaid Subscription

$199.00

1 Year Prepaid subscription to Stock Trends Weekly Reporter. Save 16% off monthly rate!

STWR - 2 Year Prepaid Subscription

$299.00

2 Year Prepaid subscription to Stock Trends Weekly Reporter. Save 37% off monthly rate!

STWR - 3 Year Prepaid Subscription

$399.00

3 Year Prepaid subscription to Stock Trends Weekly Reporter. Save 44% off monthly rate!

Stock Trends Editorial

Forward Probability Is Expanding Beyond Trend Confirmation
The recent Stock Trends editorials have established that the current market is not defined by a unified directional regime. Instead, it is characterized by internal dispersion, where leadership is fragmented across sectors, industries, and individual securities. The latest dataset reinforces that conclusion. But more importantly, it reveals a structural shift beneath the surface: forward return probabilities are no longer tightly coupled to traditional trend classifications.

08 April 2026 Read more...
Leadership Beneath the Surface: How Stock Trends Identifies System-Critical Equities
The broad market still reads as a rotation market rather than a generalized expansion phase. Energy, Materials, and Utilities remain the clearest sector-level leadership blocs, but the current Stock Trends dataset shows that a second layer of leadership is now becoming more visible beneath the sector averages. That secondary leadership is important because it does not present itself as broad participation. It appears instead through specific industry groups whose internal trend structure is materially stronger than that of their parent sectors. In this week’s data, the clearest examples are Semiconductors and Equipment, Telecommunications, Containers & Packaging, and Banking.

29 March 2026 Read more...
Indexing Is the Baseline—Probability Is the Edge
The case for indexing continues to strengthen, and rightly so. The evidence is overwhelming: most active managers fail to outperform their benchmarks over time, and the costs of attempting to do so only compound the underperformance. For many investors, indexing has become not just a strategy, but the default solution. But the conclusion that often follows—that markets cannot be meaningfully outperformed—is where the interpretation begins to break down. The failure of traditional active management is not evidence that opportunity does not exist. It is evidence that non-probabilistic selection fails.

24 March 2026 Read more...
Continuation, Not Expansion: What the Probability Structure Now Reveals
The current market is not offering investors the kind of broad speculative expansion that often defines the early phase of a powerful advance. Nor is it confirming a simple risk-off breakdown. The latest Stock Trends dataset points to something more disciplined. The probability structure remains constructive, but it is now being expressed primarily through continuation and consolidation rather than broad breakout expansion.

21 March 2026 Read more...