Each study was written down before its results were seen, so a first result that happens to look good cannot be picked afterwards.
Fresh-results screen, forward test
Companies whose filing passes the fresh-results screen beat the S&P 500 over the next 63 sessions by the +3.0% the in-sample history claims.
The belief: +3.0% over the next 63 sessions against the S&P 500. Where it is stated: this project's own back-test of 2016 to 2026, in-sample and unconfirmed.
Not run yet · It is tested only on filings from 16 November 2026 on, and none of them has had its 63 trading days yet.
Registered on 14 November 2026; tested only on prices after that day. Amended on 14 November 2026: Before any run, the precision rule was made stricter: a verdict is given only once the test would find an effect of the claimed size 80% of the time.
Share dilution
Companies whose diluted share count rose most over a year trail the average stock of their sector and tier over the next 63 sessions.
The belief: −1.0% over the next 63 sessions against the other stocks of its sector and trading-volume tier. Where it is stated: Fama and French (2008), 'Dissecting Anomalies', Journal of Finance 63(4), Table II.
Too little data to tell, because its range is still too wide to tell · Nov 2020–Oct 2023: −2.1% (−6.6 to +2.3), 1,974 events · Nov 2023–Oct 2026: −3.1% (−9.0 to +2.7), 2,329 events
Registered on 14 November 2026; tested on prices from 4 January 2016. Amended on 14 November 2026: Before any run: the signal became each filing's own comparison of its diluted share count with the same period a year earlier, because companies do not file a fourth quarter; each stock is measured against the other stocks of its group, not a group that includes itself; and a verdict is given only once the test would find an effect of the claimed size 80% of the time.
The 126-session figures, for information
For information only, it decides nothing: over 126 sessions, Jan 2017–Oct 2017: −0.8% (−5.6 to +4.1) · Nov 2017–Oct 2020: +10.3% (−1.3 to +21.8) · Nov 2020–Oct 2023: −6.3% (−12.9 to +0.4) · Nov 2023–Oct 2026: −4.1% (−14.2 to +6.0).
Gross profitability
Companies with the highest gross profit relative to their assets beat the other stocks of their sector and tier over the next 63 sessions.
The belief: +0.5% over the next 63 sessions against the other stocks of its sector and trading-volume tier. Where it is stated: Novy-Marx (2013), 'The Other Side of Value: The Gross Profitability Premium', Journal of Financial Economics 108(1), Table 2.
Too little data to tell, because its range is still too wide to tell · Nov 2020–Oct 2023: +1.6% (−1.7 to +5.0), 364 events · Nov 2023–Oct 2026: −4.7% (−8.8 to −0.6), 348 events
Registered on 15 November 2026; tested on prices from 4 January 2016.
The 126-session figures, for information
For information only, it decides nothing: over 126 sessions, Jan 2017–Oct 2017: −6.9% (−17.0 to +3.2) · Nov 2017–Oct 2020: +1.5% (−10.2 to +13.2) · Nov 2020–Oct 2023: +0.9% (−4.0 to +5.8) · Nov 2023–Oct 2026: −7.9% (−15.3 to −0.5).
Insider purchases
Stocks whose officers or directors bought at least $100,000 on the open market within five sessions beat the average stock of their sector and tier over the next 63 sessions.
The belief: +1.1% over the next 63 sessions against the other stocks of its sector and trading-volume tier. Where it is stated: Jeng, Metrick and Zeckhauser, 'Estimating the Returns to Insider Trading', Review of Economics and Statistics 85(2), 2003 (NBER Working Paper 6913, Table 5).
Too little data to tell, because its range is still too wide to tell · Nov 2020–Oct 2023: +0.3% (−1.2 to +1.6), 2,196 events · Nov 2023–Oct 2026: +0.5% (−0.9 to +1.9), 2,157 events
Registered on 14 November 2026; tested on prices from 4 January 2016. Amended on 14 November 2026: Before any run: the reading of the rule was written down (which filings and purchases count, and that a purchase needs a price that matches that day's trading); each stock is measured against the other stocks of its group, not a group that includes itself; and a verdict is given only once the test would find an effect of the claimed size 80% of the time.
The 126-session figures, for information
For information only, it decides nothing: over 126 sessions, Jan 2017–Oct 2017: −0.1% (−2.8 to +2.5) · Nov 2017–Oct 2020: +1.2% (−1.3 to +3.8) · Nov 2020–Oct 2023: −0.5% (−2.6 to +1.6) · Nov 2023–Oct 2026: +0.2% (−2.2 to +2.5).
Short interest
Stocks with the most days to cover trail the average stock of their tier over the next 63 sessions.
The belief: −0.8% over the next 63 sessions against the other stocks of its trading-volume tier. Where it is stated: Hong, Li, Ni, Scheinkman and Yan (2015), 'Days to Cover and Stock Returns', NBER Working Paper 21166, Tables 3 and 4.
Too little data to tell, because its range is still too wide to tell · Nov 2020–Oct 2023: −2.2% (−3.8 to −0.7), 4,029 events · Nov 2023–Oct 2026: +0.6% (−0.8 to +2.0), 4,000 events
Registered on 14 November 2026; tested on prices from 4 January 2016. Amended on 14 November 2026: Before any run: the reading of the rule was written down (how the most-shorted tenth is chosen, and that a figure counts only from the day it was published); each stock is measured against the other stocks of its group, not a group that includes itself; and a verdict is given only once the test would find an effect of the claimed size 80% of the time.
The 126-session figures, for information
For information only, it decides nothing: over 126 sessions, Nov 2017–Oct 2020: +0.5% (−2.5 to +3.4) · Nov 2020–Oct 2023: −5.0% (−7.6 to −2.4) · Nov 2023–Oct 2026: +0.3% (−2.5 to +3.1).