Grading all the Stock Trades: This Substack is winning!

The scorecard on every recommendation I've made to you since May (spoiler: I'm not perfect, but damn close)

At the end of each Substack post I make a stock recommendation for my paid subscribers. Let me start with the bottom line: IF you had invested only $1,000 in each of my 20 stock recommendations over the past three months, would have made $1,858 in 90 days. That's a 9.29% average return across all picks in just over 90 days. Several recommendations are mere weeks old and already double-digit gainers (my selections over just the last 30 days are up 8.57% on average - wow).

Not bad, but let's dig into what actually happened… the wins, the losses, and what we can learn from both. It’s worth noting that the overall market is performing, so it makes some of us “day traders” appear smarter than we actually are! With that said, we have had some very quick pops to the upside in a few of these names.

Below is the date recommended here on ILT, the company ticker, and the performance

The Home Runs

Shopify (SHOP) - Recommended May 29 at $107, currently at $142.47 This one paid off big with a 33.15% gain. I caught this during a broader tech selloff when the fundamentals were still solid. Sometimes the market overreacts to sector-wide pessimism, creating opportunities in quality companies. I wish I could say that I am still holding my SHOP, but I sold it a little early once my target return was accomplished.

UnitedHealthcare (UNH) - Two recommendations, both winners. My first call in May at $270 netted 12.20%. But the second recommendation in August at $244.67 during the DOJ investigation scare? That's up 23.82%. This perfectly illustrates why I keep hammering the point about buying quality companies during temporary panic selling. I am still long this position and probably own more of it than I should.

Palantir (PLTR) - Recommended July 3 at $130, now at $157.75 Up 21.35%. This AI play caught the broader artificial intelligence momentum, though as I've warned repeatedly, these high-growth tech names can be volatile. I actually sold my PLTR at $172 last week and moved those dollars into CRWV when it was trading in the mid $90’s.

The Strikeouts

IBM - Recommended June 13 when the stock was at $276, currently at $245.63 Down 11%. However, if you read that post again, you will see that I actually said this stock was too expensive and that you should buy it if it got back below $250. Here we are. You would only be down 1.75% if you were patient as suggested.

Grail (GRAL) - Recommended July 21 at $35, now at $34.20 Down 2.29%. This biotech pick shows why I constantly emphasize position sizing with speculative investments. Small positions in high-risk, high-reward names can work if you manage them properly. This price actually went up to $42 and represented a nice gain if I would have sold before this recent sell off. Still holding this very turbulent stock.

The Solid Singles and Doubles

The majority of my picks fall into this category—nothing spectacular, but consistent positive returns:

• Apple (AAPL): Up 16.38%. Easy buy when blue chips sell off.

• CoreWeave (CRWV): Up 14.18% (despite the volatility I warned about). New position for me here, but up big after just a week.

• USB and BAC: Up 10.21% and 12.40% respectively with most of the financial sector.

• Elevance Health (ELV): Up 9.28%

These represent the kind of steady, quality company investing that builds wealth over time.

What This Report Card Actually Teaches Us