We just passed the halfway point of 2026… and of the baseball season!
So, let me take a moment to wish you a belated “Bobby Bonilla Day.”
For baseball fans… and fans of quirky financial trivia… July 1 marks the annual payment the New York Mets send to former All-Star Bobby Bonilla.
Of course, today is also Thursday, so I’ll be covering this week’s new “Bullish” stocks. But first, let’s look at the investment mistake that turned Bonilla’s final contract into one of the most expensive deferred payments in sports history.
Back in 2000, the Mets owed Bonilla $5.9 million. Rather than pay him immediately, they agreed to defer the money, paying him roughly $1.19 million every July 1 from 2011 through 2035. That works out to nearly $30 million in total – an excellent deal for Bonilla.
So, why did the Mets take that deal?
Because then-owner Fred Wilpon believed he had a sure thing!
Wilpon believed he could earn a “safe” 12% per year by investing with Bernie Madoff, making the deferred payments look inexpensive by comparison.
As we all know, Madoff’s operation was nothing more than a massive Ponzi scheme.
The investment disappeared. But the obligation to Bonilla didn’t.
There are several lessons to take away from this story…
First, leverage and financial engineering can magnify gains — but they can also magnify mistakes. A sound investment strategy doesn’t need borrowed money or clever financing to succeed over time.
Second, diversification matters — not just across stocks, but across strategies. No matter how well something has worked in the past, I never assume it’s a guaranteed winner.
Finally, be skeptical of “black box” investments. If you can’t clearly explain how a strategy is supposed to generate returns, you’re taking on more risk than you probably realize.
That’s one reason I like the transparency of my Green Zone Power Ratings system.
My system is a composite made up of six core factors – momentum, size, volatility, growth, value and quality – all of which have been proven to outperform over time.
None of those factors are mysterious.
It makes sense that stocks trending higher tend to attract new buyers, thus extending their move.
It makes sense that smaller companies have more growth potential than larger ones.
It makes sense that low-volatility stocks win by not losing.
It makes sense that companies growing their sales and earnings rapidly tend to outperform.
It makes sense that buying stocks at attractive prices leads to strong returns.
And it makes sense that high-quality businesses with strong profit margins and capital efficiency tend to do well over time.
There are winners and losers, of course. But decades of testing have shown that stocks rated as “Bullish” on their Green Zone ratings outperform the market by double on average.
With that in mind, let’s turn to this week’s newly “Bullish” stocks, beginning with companies in the S&P 500 Index.
S&P 500 New Bulls
I ran my usual screen for S&P 500 companies that popped up as “Bullish” this week, and this is what I came up with:
It’s interesting to see United Airlines (UAL) make the cut. You see, 2026 has been a brutal year for airlines. The onset of the Iran war caused fuel prices to spike… and made would-be travelers wary about getting on a plane.
United’s shares did indeed fall in the early days of the war, but they recovered quickly and are now trading at new all-time highs.
So, what’s the story? Why is United thriving when many other airlines are struggling?
It comes down to clientele. United made a conscious decision coming out of the pandemic to offer a premium experience and cater to wealthier, higher-income travelers.
It paid off. Low-cost airlines are struggling right now, as inflation and economic uncertainty have squeezed their customers’ budgets. United’s customers are more insulated… and it’s showing in United’s results.
New Bulls Outside the S&P 500
Let’s cast the net a little wider and look at the newly “Bullish” stocks outside of the S&P 500. I ran a screen for the top 20 stocks with the largest score increases over the past month, and this is what popped up:
The list is heavy in health care this week. That makes sense. As I noted earlier this week, health care stocks have been leading the market higher recently.
But the most interesting stock on the list has nothing to do with health care…
Daktronics (DAK) designs, manufactures and services the massive displays and scoreboards you see in sports arenas. They also make the customized displays you see in airports, train stations and other sites.
It’s a quirky, niche business that happens to be extremely profitable. This is reflected in the company’s “Bullish” quality rating.
Daktronics also rates as “Strong Bullish” overall. It’s the highest-rated stock on the list after rising 38 points over the past month.
To good profits,
Adam O’Dell
Editor, What My System Says Today
P.S. Every new market cycle creates a fresh group of winners – but finding them before Wall Street catches on is the hard part. That’s exactly what our Green Zone Power Ratings were built to do.
Instead of chasing yesterday’s leaders, the system continuously scans thousands of stocks for the combination of factors that have historically produced the market’s biggest outperformers.
As the second half unfolds, we’ll be watching those signals closely for the next wave of opportunities. Learn more here…
