Charles Rotblut

Earnings persistency is one of the stock characteristics that our A+ Investor Quality Grade takes into consideration. Specifically, the Quality Grade looks at how reliant a company is on accruals to boost its earnings. This reliance matters because it indicates whether a company has a greater risk of writing down earnings in the future. Accrual accounting recognizes transactions when their economic benefits become probable.

As we gear up to celebrate the U.S.’ 250th Fourth of July (aka the semiquincentennial), the S&P 500 index is coming off its best quarterly gain in six years. The large-cap index surged 15.2% in the second quarter of 2026. The S&P SmallCap 600 index performed even better, soaring 19.7%. Year to date, the S&P 500 has set 24 new all-time highs.

Charles Rotblut leads a class in AAII's new Essential Investing Video Course. Go to https://www.aaii.com/ves for more information and to subscribe. I received a scam text message while writing this month’s Editor’s Note. It was one of those seemingly innocuous—and oddly phrased—messages that most of you have also received on your phone. Its intent, though, was purely malicious: to steal my money. Any response to it would be viewed as an invitation to begin a conversation.