The Market in Pictures, February 28

by | Feb 28, 2025 | Blog, Charts

Our team looks at a lot of research throughout the day. Here are a handful that we think are contributing to investor activity, from earnings to sentiment to the economy and comparisons of foreign markets to ours. Enjoy!

 

Brad: The correlation between individual stocks has fallen to extreme levels

 

Data as of 02.26.2025

 

 

Brad: and it’s not just small-caps driving the dispersion of returns, it’s even true across the largest stocks

 

Data as of 02.26.2025

 

 

Dave: The downside for earnings misses has far outweighted the upside for beats

 

 

 

Arch: probably feeding into the growing bearish sentiment amongst individual investors

 

Data as of 02.27.2025

 

 

John Luke: Megacap techs have been popular targets of “overvaluation” calls, but their valuation relative to the market is actually normalizing through strong earnings

 

 

 

Brian: and investors are getting more discriminating when it comes to company profitability

 

 

 

Joseph: with profit margins a primary driver of US equity dominance

 

Source: Goldman Sachs as of 02.24.2025

 

 

Brett: US consumers are feeling anxious about the outlook for jobs

 

Source: @thestalwart as of 02.25.2025

 

 

Joseph: and weak results are showing up in many “soft” surveys, in contrast to stronger data for actual results

 

Data via @DanGreenhaus

 

 

Beckham: and there’s been no sign of such softness in real-world credit spreads

 

Source: Apollo as of 02.24.2025

 

 

John Luke: The US economy has far outperformed its peers through the COVID era and beyond

 

Data as of January 2025

 

 

Dave: which has not only increased earnings but widened valuation gaps between the US and foreign indices

 

Data as of 02.22.2025

 

 

John Luke: For years, the price of gold followed closely along with real yields

 

Data as of December 2024

 

 

John Luke: but in recent years, the price kept rising despite the rise in real yields

 

Data as of 02.27.2025

 

 

JD: Younger buyers are getting squeezed out of the housing market by higher rates and higher prices

 

Source: Apollo as of 02.20.2025

 

 

Beckham: but despite affordability challenges, the overall wealth in housing is still huge and growing

 

Source: Redfin as of January 2025

 

 

 

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Advisory services offered through Aptus Capital Advisors, LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Registration does not imply a certain level or skill or training. More information about the advisor, its investment strategies and objectives, is included in the firm’s Form ADV Part 2, which can be obtained, at no charge, by calling (251) 517-7198.

Aptus Capital Advisors, LLC is headquartered in Fairhope, Alabama.

The opinions expressed herein are those of Aptus Capital Advisors (“Aptus”) and/or the individual Aptus Employee being interviewed as of the date of publication and are subject to change without notice. Aptus reserves the right to modify its current investment strategies and techniques based on changing market dynamics or client needs and there is no guarantee that such assessments of investments will be accurate. There is no guarantee that strategies or recommendations will equal or exceed any expectations or goals discussed. The discussions, outlook, and viewpoints featured are not intended to be investment advice and do not take into account specific client investment objectives.

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