The Big Takeaway from Today’s Market Rally

Today was one of those days for investors in the best way. 

It was a day when you could throw a dart blindfolded at the heat map, and you’d probably land on a stock that was in the green.  

And in several cases, stocks were up a lot.  

• Palantir was up 29.45%  
• Wayfair was up 30% 

For those stocks, the catalyst was earnings.  

Other stocks in the AI trade were up, allegedly, because the market is buying the dip brought on by the Situational Awareness hedge fund fire sale.  

Then there was Whirlpool, which was up 13.8%  

That was after the company delivered a clunker of an earnings report on Aug. 3. 

What’s the story there?  

The 13.8% gain was double that of Caterpillar, which single-handedly lifted the Dow into record territory.  

I don’t have an answer. Sometimes the market wants what it wants, and when they see a stock that’s down 38% year-to-date, they may have said enough is enough.  

But should you buy it? 

I’m not a trader; I’m an investor.  

So, when I look at Whirlpool, I have to go to the story the company confirmed in its earnings report. The housing market remains locked up, and without that, appliance sales will be soft.  

It’s a continuation of the story from 2025, when the company cut its dividend. Today’s yield of over 8% looks more like a yield trap.  

Contrast that with Palantir. For the first half of the year, Palantir was delivering exceptional results that reinforced the company’s story that it held an exclusive niche in the AI landscape.  

But for a long time, all investors could see was a lofty (but deserved) valuation. 

Today, the story and the stock took a big step towards getting on track. 

The lesson is this. Fundamentals matter. But earnings reports look backward and forward at the same time. When the fundamentals and the story don’t align, there can be both a risk and an opportunity.  

Understanding which is which can help you see which stocks were the real winners on a day like today.