Small Caps Are Telling Us Everything We Need to Know for the New Year

Listen to the audio version of this article (generated by AI).

 

Note from Michael Salvatore, Editor, TradeSmith Daily: Let’s face it: The new year investment predictions buzz is exciting. Everyone loves a good prediction – the bolder, the better.  

But the truth is, predictions are fickle. And if they’re not supported by data, they can easily put a damper on your trading in the new year. 

That’s why this year, we’re bringing back our Anti-Predictions tradition that we began last year. 

All our analysts’ 2026 predictions won’t come from a hunch, a macro speculation, or anything that can’t be quantified by data. Instead, they will be a smart use of TradeSmith’s tools and systems that rely on cold, hard data. They aren’t predictions – they’re the opposite. But our goal is for them to help you in 2026 all the same.  

Our series continues today with Wade Hansen and John Jagerson, analysts at Predictive Alpha, with their data-driven forecast for 2026…  

As 2025 fades into 2026, we’re witnessing something extremely rare… 

Wall Street analysts are so bullish on U.S. companies, they’re going against their own incentives and raising estimates at the last minute. 

See, normally they’re very reluctant to do that. Coming up to the end of the quarter, they typically cut them, if anything.  

And they’ve done this now twice in a row. That tells us there’s a lot going right in the economy. 

Stock prices are also hinting that something big is brewing – as you’ll see on my charts in today’s video. 

That’s the backdrop of our Anti-Predictions for 2026. Investors are getting in position for what’s coming. Wade and I will break down what this means for your portfolio next year…including whether “peak AI” is already behind us or not: 

Sincerely, 

John Jagerson  
Analyst,  Predictive Alpha