Period 17 Review: CANSLIM and Burry Post Career-Best Weeks as a Benchmark Surge Wipes Out the Journal's Last Cumulative Alpha

Period 17 covers August 1 to August 8, 2026 — the widest spread of results the journal has recorded. Six screens closed positive and only one negative, but the gap between best and worst widened to 9.93 percentage points — CANSLIM Rocket at +7.34% and Quality Growth at −2.59% — surpassing Period 10's 9.75-point spread as the largest since the journal began. Both benchmarks turned in their strongest single period yet: the S&P 500 gained +3.58% and the NASDAQ +5.19%, extending their positive streak to three periods running.

The period's defining move was a broad rally across mining and metals names that touched five of the seven screens at once. Burry Value Screen jumped to +7.03% on DOCS, SSRM and FSM, matching CANSLIM Rocket's +7.34% — powered by FN, ERO, HALO, AGI and DRD — as both screens posted the best results of their respective histories. Lunch (+4.37%) and Magic Formula (+4.33%) rode the same theme through shared names FSM, BVN and CGAU. Quality Growth was the lone holdout, falling −2.59% on SEZL's −23.74% collapse — its third consecutive losing period, the longest losing streak of any screen this year.

Period 17 Returns: A Mining Rally Lifts Five Screens Above 3%

CANSLIM Rocket led at +7.34%, narrowly ahead of Burry Value Screen's +7.03% — both screens' best results since joining the journal. Lunch added +4.37% and Magic Formula +4.33%, while Schloss Dividend closed at +3.02%. Piotroski F-Score managed a third straight positive period at +0.54%, extending its post-Period-15 recovery. Quality Growth was the only screen in the red, closing at −2.59%.

CANSLIM Rocket's +7.34% was its best result since joining the journal, led by FN (Fabrinet), which surged +29.16%, from $435.41 to $562.38, contributing approximately +1.46 percentage points at the screen's 5% equal weight. ERO (Ero Copper) added +27.50% (+1.38 points), HALO (Halozyme Therapeutics) rose +24.93% (+1.25 points), AGI (Alamos Gold) gained +19.12% (+0.96 points), and DRD (DRDGold) added +15.72% (+0.79 points) — five double-digit gainers in a single period. Against these, CLS (Celestica) fell −4.11% (−0.21 points) and FIX (Comfort Systems USA) declined −2.03% (−0.10 points). Twelve of seventeen retained positions closed positive. NVDA (NVIDIA), PAAS (Pan American Silver), and PODD (Insulet) all exited at the sell fee; ANET (Arista Networks), ARQT (Arcutis Biotherapeutics), and INTR (Inter & Co.) enter the screen for Period 18, keeping CANSLIM at twenty names.

Burry Value's +7.03% — also its best result yet — was led by DOCS (Doximity), which gained +31.04%, from $20.91 to $27.40, contributing approximately +0.97 percentage points at the screen's 3.13% weight. SSRM (SSR Mining) added +24.04% (+0.75 points), FSM (Fortuna Silver) rose +23.25% (+0.73 points), HL (Hecla Mining) gained +19.33% (+0.60 points), and B (Barnes Group) added +18.92% (+0.59 points). Against these, CRUS (Cirrus Logic) fell −3.42% (−0.11 points), the screen's largest single drag. Twenty-eight of thirty-one retained positions closed positive. APPF (AppFolio) exited at the sell fee; ADMA (ADMA Biologics), AUPH (Aurinia Pharmaceuticals), BSM (Black Stone Minerals), DRD, GNTX (Gentex), LNTH (Lantheus Holdings), MWA (Mueller Water Products), and RELY (Remitly Global) all enter the screen for Period 18 — the largest single-period expansion of the journal, growing Burry from thirty-two to thirty-nine names.

CANSLIM Rocket and Burry Value Screen use unrelated methodologies — momentum-and-earnings growth versus deep value — yet both posted the best results of their histories in the same week, on largely different tickers united by exposure to metals and mining. When a sector-wide rally hits, factor discipline matters less than what a screen happens to hold.

Lunch's +4.37% was led by FSM, the same +23.25% mover that lifted Burry, contributing approximately +1.55 percentage points at the screen's 6.67% weight. PAAS (Pan American Silver) added +18.81% (+1.25 points) even after CANSLIM Rocket dropped it this period, BVN (Compañía de Minas Buenaventura) rose +12.78% (+0.85 points), and HRMY (Harmony Biosciences) gained +9.00% (+0.60 points). Against these, CVE (Cenovus Energy) fell −6.43% (−0.43 points), the screen's largest single drag, and SKHY (Skyward Specialty Insurance) declined −4.05% (−0.27 points). Nine of thirteen retained positions closed positive. AEM (Agnico Eagle) and ESTC (Elastic) both exited at the sell fee; ADMA, FRSH (Freshworks), and RELY enter the screen for Period 18, growing Lunch from fifteen to sixteen names.

Magic Formula's +4.33% was led by CGAU (Centerra Gold), which gained +23.56%, from $17.19 to $21.24, contributing approximately +1.81 percentage points at the screen's 7.69% weight — its second straight double-digit gain after Period 16's +6.18%. OGC (OceanaGold) added +16.49% (+1.27 points) and BVN rose +12.78% (+0.98 points), the same name lifting Lunch simultaneously. Against these, INSW (International Seaways) fell −3.92% (−0.30 points) and TNK (Teekay Tankers) declined −2.67% (−0.21 points). Six of nine retained positions closed positive, with ORLA (Orla Mining) flat and INSW and TNK the only decliners. BSM, GPOR (Gulfport Energy), HMY (Harmony Gold), and IAG (IAMGOLD) all exited at the sell fee, the screen's largest single-period contraction since Period 12; DRD, ERO, and TDC (Teradata) enter the screen for Period 18, shrinking Magic Formula's net count from thirteen to twelve names.

Schloss Dividend's +3.02% was led by TX (Ternium), which gained +9.46%, from $49.24 to $53.90, contributing approximately +0.86 percentage points at the screen's 9.09% weight. VSNT (Visionary Education Technology) added +7.45% (+0.68 points), LEN (Lennar) rose +7.08% (+0.64 points), and MTH (Meritage Homes) gained +6.25% (+0.57 points). Against these, ATHM (Autohome) fell −2.15% (−0.20 points) and PLGO declined −1.03% (−0.09 points). Six of ten retained positions closed positive. MOS (The Mosaic Company) exited at the sell fee; AGO (Assured Guaranty) and CHRD (Chord Energy) enter the screen for Period 18, growing Schloss from eleven to twelve names.

Piotroski's +0.54% was an even split, led by WGO (Winnebago Industries), which gained +6.21%, from $30.28 to $32.16, contributing approximately +0.48 percentage points at the screen's 7.69% weight. NOAH (Noah Holdings) added +3.91% (+0.30 points), IPI (Intrepid Potash) rose +2.62% (+0.20 points), and GLOB (Globant) gained a third straight positive period at +2.19% (+0.17 points), following Period 16's +16.93% surge. Against these, GASS (StealthGas) fell −3.70% (−0.28 points), the screen's largest single drag, and MOMO (Hello Group) declined −2.17% (−0.17 points). Five of ten retained positions closed positive. USNA (USANA Health Sciences), WDH (Waterdrop), and YALA (Yalla Group) all exited at the sell fee; API (Agora), ASC (Ardmore Shipping), GROY (Gold Royalty), and IIPR (Innovative Industrial Properties) enter the screen for Period 18, growing Piotroski from thirteen to fourteen names.

Quality Growth's −2.59% was its third straight losing period, dragged down by SEZL (Sezzle), which collapsed −23.74%, from $154.75 to $118.02, subtracting approximately −2.64 percentage points at the screen's 11.11% weight — the sharpest single-position decline the journal has recorded. APP (AppLovin) fell a further −12.40% (−1.38 points) and FICO (Fair Isaac) declined −7.26% (−0.81 points), extending its own Period 16 drop of −9.25%. NBIX (Neurocrine Biosciences) added a third straight decline at −2.03% (−0.23 points). Only RDDT (Reddit, +14.95%), AUPH (+6.52%), and INCY (Incyte, +0.87%) closed positive. ALNY (Alnylam Pharmaceuticals) and DAVE (Dave Inc.) both exited at the sell fee; PAYS (Paysign) and SNDK (Sandisk) enter the screen for Period 18, keeping Quality Growth at nine names.

Retention: Magic Formula Collapses from Perfect to Worst

Period 17 delivered the sharpest single-period retention reversal the journal has recorded. Magic Formula, which held 100% of its positions in Period 16, shed four of thirteen names to post the field's lowest retention at 69.2% — while Burry Value Screen, which added eight new names on top of thirty-one retained positions, still posted the best retention of the period at 96.9%.

Burry jumped from fourth place at 91.2% to first at 96.9% even while nearly doubling its rebalancing activity, since its eight new entrants came alongside just one exit. Quality Growth and Lunch both moved up from the bottom two spots, trading places with Piotroski and Magic Formula, which fell the furthest. The spread widened for a second consecutive period: Period 15 ranged 14.3 points, Period 16 widened to 25.0 points, and Period 17 stretches to 27.7 points — the widest retention spread the journal has recorded.

Cumulative Scoreboard: Schloss Overtakes Quality Growth for First Place

Quality Growth's third straight loss trimmed its cumulative return from +14.16% to +11.20%, dropping it out of first place for the first time since at least Period 13. Schloss Dividend's +3.02% lifted its own cumulative return from +8.57% to +11.84%, moving it past Quality Growth into the top spot — breaking the exact-rank stability that had held through Period 16.

CANSLIM's +7.34% lifted its cumulative return to +11.18% from +3.58%, its largest single-period jump of the journal and enough to move it from fourth to third. Burry's +7.03% pushed its cumulative return to +8.77% from +1.63%, its own largest jump, moving it past Lunch into fourth place. Lunch's +4.37% narrowed — then flipped — its cumulative figure to +4.11% from −0.25%, turning cumulatively positive for the first time in the journal. Magic Formula's +4.33% trimmed its cumulative loss to −2.98% from −7.00%, and Piotroski's +0.54% edged its cumulative loss to −10.46% from −10.94%, still last place.

Against benchmarks, the surge in both indices erased the field's last positive cumulative alpha. Quality Growth's alpha, which had stood at +3.72% versus the S&P 500 and +2.37% versus the NASDAQ after Period 16 — the only screen beating both — flipped negative on both counts to −3.19% and −6.39%. No other screen came close: CANSLIM's alpha improved the most of any screen, from −6.86/−8.21 to −3.21/−6.41, and Burry's from −8.81/−10.16 to −5.62/−8.82, but both remain negative. For the first time in the journal, every one of the seven screens now trails both the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ on a cumulative basis.

Overlap: A Rare Three-Way Position Returns as Five New Pairs Form

The August 8 snapshot shows eleven stocks in two or more screens, up from seven on August 1 — the largest single-period expansion of the overlap set the journal has recorded. Most of the growth comes from new entrants rather than price moves: Burry Value Screen's eight-name rebalancing alone created four new pairings (ADMA and RELY with Lunch, AUPH with Quality Growth, and DRD with both Magic Formula and CANSLIM). DRD's addition to Burry and Magic Formula — on top of its existing CANSLIM position — reprises a three-way overlap between the same three screens last seen after Period 10, seven periods ago. Because all of these are new entries, none of the newly formed pairs affected returns this period; that carries into Period 18.

Burry Value and Lunch now share four tickers — FSM, HRMY, ADMA, and RELY — the most of any pair in the journal, up from two last period. Of the pairs that were already shared going into this period, FSM's +23.25% and HRMY's +9.00% lifted both Burry and Lunch together, BVN's +12.78% boosted both Lunch and Magic Formula, and PLGO's −1.03% dragged Schloss and Lunch together — the only shared name to hurt both of its screens this period. LUXE's −0.61% weighed lightly on both Piotroski and CANSLIM, though CANSLIM's overall result stayed strongly positive regardless. PAAS, the one pairing that existed on August 1, dissolved when CANSLIM Rocket exited it — Lunch still holds the name, and it was one of Lunch's better performers this period, but a single-screen holding no longer counts as overlap.

What Period 17 Tells You

A strong benchmark period can erase months of relative outperformance in one week. Quality Growth spent Period 16 as the journal's only screen with positive cumulative alpha against both benchmarks, a status it had built up over several periods. One losing period, combined with the S&P 500 and NASDAQ posting their strongest gains of the journal, was enough to erase it entirely. Every screen now trails both benchmarks cumulatively for the first time — a reminder that relative performance depends as much on what the market does as on what a screen does.

Sector rallies don't respect methodology. CANSLIM Rocket (momentum and earnings growth) and Burry Value Screen (deep value) operate on opposite ends of the style spectrum, yet both posted the best results of their histories in the same week — on largely different tickers, but ones sharing exposure to mining and metals. Lunch and Magic Formula caught the same wave through their own overlapping names, FSM and BVN. When a sector-wide move hits this hard, which screen holds which specific ticker matters more than which factor discipline selected it.

Quality Growth's concentration keeps finding new ways to hurt. Three straight losing periods, three different pairs of names at fault: SEZL and DAVE in Period 15, FICO and DAVE in Period 16, now SEZL and APP in Period 17. SEZL's −23.74% is the sharpest single-position decline the journal has recorded, at a screen that still runs just nine names. The screen's underlying structure — high-conviction, low-count, quality-growth names — keeps rotating which position does the damage, but the exposure to any one name's collapse hasn't changed.

Retention can flip from best to worst in a single period. Magic Formula held every position for two straight periods before shedding a third of its book in Period 17, while Burry Value Screen went from the field's third-highest turnover to its lowest by adding names rather than losing them. Neither pattern predicted the other — a high-retention screen is not necessarily insulated from a sudden rebalancing, and a screen adding the most new names can still post the best retention if it isn't losing what it already holds.