Stock Trends

Reviewing the stocks in the S&B 20 Index

Good morning,

We’ve been referencing the performance of the S&B 20 baskets recently, and on Monday highlighted a potentially prescient divergence between the Top Tech 8 and Cyclicals baskets relative to the Defensives group.

And while 2025 has been full of long opportunities that I’ve wanted to highlight, it’s been way too long since we’ve had a full review of the S&B 20 stocks in these pages.

As a reminder, the S&B 20 stocks are not stocks I’m endorsing from the long side. Rather, think of it as my personal Dow Jones Industrial Average. It has the largest, most important stocks, but I created it to be diverse in its representation and provide important information on market leadership. You can read each stock’s specific reason for inclusion in the introductory report, but the stocks are divided into three baskets:

• The Top Tech 8

• Cyclicals

• Defensives

Today, we’ll review all twenty, and I’ll provide some final thoughts at the end.

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Top Tech 8

AAPL: Apple

You think the S&P 500 is done going up for the year if Apple breaks out here? I don’t, and I do think Apple will break out. Friday’s low at $244 could be a stop for someone wanting to get long now.

AMZN: Amazon

Amazon is in a weak relative position, breaking down to 11-month lows vs. the S&P 500 yesterday. In absolute terms, a triangle pattern recently resolved lower, leaving the 200-DMA as critical support.

AVGO: Broadcom

Broadcom is a bullish chart, currently consolidating its gap to all-time highs in early September. We’re holding the breakout, setting up well, and the expectation should be that more new highs are in the cards by year end.

GOOGL: Alphabet