Monthly run archive / September 2026
Modern Formula NASDAQ-Only Top 40
September 6, 2026 research cycle. Model entry: September 8, 2026 close.
This September research version is being archived after the model entry date. Results are a retrospective model comparison, not evidence of a portfolio published before entry. The run date labels the research cycle; the actual public timestamp is the hosting deployment record.
First worksheet; original rank order.
The NASDAQ universe
The same process, a different eligible universe.
This portfolio applies the same screen, technical overlay, ranking, and allocation rules to NASDAQ-listed companies. The hypothesis is that technology adoption and AI-enabled productivity may improve earnings across this universe. Persistent outperformance remains a question for the accumulating record.
NASDAQ-listed does not mean technology-only. ONEQ provides the broader NASDAQ Composite comparison across company sizes.
Model performance
Portfolio and benchmark.
Portfolio closes: September 8, 2026. Benchmark close: September 8, 2026.
- Weighted portfolio return
- 0.00%
- ONEQ return
- 0.00%
- Difference vs. ONEQ
- +0.00 pp
Price returns from the entry close, before dividends, fees, and taxes. Splits and other corporate actions require review. Each portfolio is tracked separately; overlapping holdings are not combined into a single track record.
Top-40 model portfolio
Holdings and entry prices.
Per our target weighting, this run uses the top 40 ranked names and applies rank-weighted model allocations. Ranks 1-12, their prices and individual returns, and exact allocations are reserved for members.
Membership access Download public entry snapshot CSV
40 of 40 entry prices recorded. Latest portfolio closes: September 8, 2026.
| Rank | Ticker | Tier | Allocation | Entry date | Entry price | Latest close | Price return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Subscriber Only | Core overweight | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | Member Only | Member Only | Member Only |
| 2 | Subscriber Only | Core overweight | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | Member Only | Member Only | Member Only |
| 3 | Subscriber Only | Core overweight | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | Member Only | Member Only | Member Only |
| 4 | Subscriber Only | Core overweight | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | Member Only | Member Only | Member Only |
| 5 | Subscriber Only | Core overweight | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | Member Only | Member Only | Member Only |
| 6 | Subscriber Only | Core overweight | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | Member Only | Member Only | Member Only |
| 7 | Subscriber Only | Core overweight | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | Member Only | Member Only | Member Only |
| 8 | Subscriber Only | Core overweight | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | Member Only | Member Only | Member Only |
| 9 | Subscriber Only | Core overweight | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | Member Only | Member Only | Member Only |
| 10 | Subscriber Only | Core overweight | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | Member Only | Member Only | Member Only |
| 11 | Subscriber Only | Core | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | Member Only | Member Only | Member Only |
| 12 | Subscriber Only | Core | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | Member Only | Member Only | Member Only |
| 13 | NTAP | Core | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $189.13 | $189.13 | 0.00% |
| 14 | QCOM | Core | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $174.09 | $174.09 | 0.00% |
| 15 | VSNT | Core | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $38.25 | $38.25 | 0.00% |
| 16 | CARG | Core | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $32.77 | $32.77 | 0.00% |
| 17 | EVER | Core | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $24.94 | $24.94 | 0.00% |
| 18 | KDP | Core | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $32.55 | $32.55 | 0.00% |
| 19 | NBIX | Core | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $155.13 | $155.13 | 0.00% |
| 20 | PRDO | Core | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $33.09 | $33.09 | 0.00% |
| 21 | SAIC | Standard | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $127.55 | $127.55 | 0.00% |
| 22 | STRA | Standard | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $81.44 | $81.44 | 0.00% |
| 23 | DLO | Standard | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $14.95 | $14.95 | 0.00% |
| 24 | HRMY | Standard | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $42.07 | $42.07 | 0.00% |
| 25 | VRTX | Standard | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $528.90 | $528.90 | 0.00% |
| 26 | LEGH | Standard | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $27.57 | $27.57 | 0.00% |
| 27 | ACIW | Standard | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $51.98 | $51.98 | 0.00% |
| 28 | DBX | Standard | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $33.81 | $33.81 | 0.00% |
| 29 | MEDP | Standard | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $590.89 | $590.89 | 0.00% |
| 30 | OSPN | Standard | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $16.10 | $16.10 | 0.00% |
| 31 | URBN | Starter | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $79.43 | $79.43 | 0.00% |
| 32 | NWS | Starter | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $33.34 | $33.34 | 0.00% |
| 33 | DSP | Starter | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $13.48 | $13.48 | 0.00% |
| 34 | COKE | Starter | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $188.28 | $188.28 | 0.00% |
| 35 | IPAR | Starter | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $113.01 | $113.01 | 0.00% |
| 36 | LAUR | Starter | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $36.38 | $36.38 | 0.00% |
| 37 | LECO | Starter | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $277.05 | $277.05 | 0.00% |
| 38 | NSIT | Starter | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $157.34 | $157.34 | 0.00% |
| 39 | TILE | Starter | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $35.43 | $35.43 | 0.00% |
| 40 | UTMD | Starter | Member Only | September 8, 2026 close | $69.16 | $69.16 | 0.00% |
Opportunity notes
Why the top 15 ranked here.
The score measures fit with the opportunity framework, not a forecast of future returns. Commentary summarizes the supplied September research version. Notes for ranks 1-12 are reserved for members.
Rank 1 / 83.5 score
Subscriber Only
Detailed opportunity note reserved for members.
Rank 2 / 78 score
Subscriber Only
Detailed opportunity note reserved for members.
Rank 3 / 75.5 score
Subscriber Only
Detailed opportunity note reserved for members.
Rank 4 / 75 score
Subscriber Only
Detailed opportunity note reserved for members.
Rank 5 / 74.5 score
Subscriber Only
Detailed opportunity note reserved for members.
Rank 6 / 74.5 score
Subscriber Only
Detailed opportunity note reserved for members.
Rank 7 / 73 score
Subscriber Only
Detailed opportunity note reserved for members.
Rank 8 / 72.5 score
Subscriber Only
Detailed opportunity note reserved for members.
Rank 9 / 72.5 score
Subscriber Only
Detailed opportunity note reserved for members.
Rank 10 / 72 score
Subscriber Only
Detailed opportunity note reserved for members.
Rank 11 / 71.5 score
Subscriber Only
Detailed opportunity note reserved for members.
Rank 12 / 70.5 score
Subscriber Only
Detailed opportunity note reserved for members.
Rank 13 / 70.5 score
NTAP
NetApp's record fiscal first-quarter revenue, strong earnings growth, and higher guidance strengthen its all-flash and AI infrastructure case. Lower free cash flow is an important counterweight to that momentum. The valuation depends on how much of current demand and earnings can persist through the next infrastructure cycle.
Rank 14 / 70.5 score
QCOM
Qualcomm combines a high-margin licensing franchise and shareholder returns with growth in automotive and connected devices. Apple modem substitution and weaker handset activity create a more difficult earnings transition. The valuation case depends on diversification and licensing income offsetting that customer decline.
Rank 15 / 70 score
VSNT
Versant is a January Comcast cable-networks spin-off with higher guidance, maintained free-cash-flow expectations, and additional buybacks. The separation and capital returns create a plausible route for the market to reassess the assets. Secular linear-TV decline remains inseparable from the opportunity and limits how confidently current cash flow can be extended into the future.
Show ranked research
| Rank | Ticker | Score | Band | Opportunity and risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Subscriber Only | 83.5 | Strong MF fit | Detailed thesis reserved for members. |
| 2 | Subscriber Only | 78 | Good candidate with hair | Detailed thesis reserved for members. |
| 3 | Subscriber Only | 75.5 | Good candidate with hair | Detailed thesis reserved for members. |
| 4 | Subscriber Only | 75 | Good candidate with hair | Detailed thesis reserved for members. |
| 5 | Subscriber Only | 74.5 | Good candidate with hair | Detailed thesis reserved for members. |
| 6 | Subscriber Only | 74.5 | Good candidate with hair | Detailed thesis reserved for members. |
| 7 | Subscriber Only | 73 | Good candidate with hair | Detailed thesis reserved for members. |
| 8 | Subscriber Only | 72.5 | Good candidate with hair | Detailed thesis reserved for members. |
| 9 | Subscriber Only | 72.5 | Good candidate with hair | Detailed thesis reserved for members. |
| 10 | Subscriber Only | 72 | Good candidate with hair | Detailed thesis reserved for members. |
| 11 | Subscriber Only | 71.5 | Good candidate with hair | Detailed thesis reserved for members. |
| 12 | Subscriber Only | 70.5 | Good candidate with hair | Detailed thesis reserved for members. |
| 13 | NTAP | 70.5 | Good candidate with hair | NetApp's record fiscal first-quarter revenue, strong earnings growth, and higher guidance strengthen its all-flash and AI infrastructure case. Lower free cash flow is an important counterweight to that momentum. The valuation depends on how much of current demand and earnings can persist through the next infrastructure cycle. |
| 14 | QCOM | 70.5 | Good candidate with hair | Qualcomm combines a high-margin licensing franchise and shareholder returns with growth in automotive and connected devices. Apple modem substitution and weaker handset activity create a more difficult earnings transition. The valuation case depends on diversification and licensing income offsetting that customer decline. |
| 15 | VSNT | 70 | Good candidate with hair | Versant is a January Comcast cable-networks spin-off with higher guidance, maintained free-cash-flow expectations, and additional buybacks. The separation and capital returns create a plausible route for the market to reassess the assets. Secular linear-TV decline remains inseparable from the opportunity and limits how confidently current cash flow can be extended into the future. |
| 16 | CARG | 69.5 | Interesting but messy | CarGurus combines an asset-light marketplace, revenue growth, strong operating margins, net cash, and substantial share-count reduction. Those features support a cash-flow valuation case with limited capital requirements. The key question is how much of that quality and buyback compounding the market already recognizes. |
| 17 | EVER | 69.5 | Interesting but messy | EverQuote's revenue growth, record operating earnings, and net cash strengthen the case that profitability can persist. An attractive enterprise valuation matters only if the earnings base survives a less favorable advertising environment. Insurance-carrier spending cycles and channel concentration keep the opportunity below the cleaner compounders. |
| 18 | KDP | 69 | Interesting but messy | Keurig Dr Pepper's completed combination, asset sale, and separation plans create a corporate-action case around established beverage brands. Debt, weak reported earnings, and declining U.S. coffee profit complicate the path to realizing that value. |
| 19 | NBIX | 69 | Interesting but messy | Neurocrine's commercial base is broadening as multiple products contribute to revenue growth. Product concentration remains a constraint even as the earnings sources become more diversified. |
| 20 | PRDO | 69 | Interesting but messy | Perdoceo combines earnings growth, higher guidance, a dividend increase, and net cash. The discount appears tied primarily to education-sector regulatory risk rather than a weak current earnings base. |
| 21 | SAIC | 69 | Interesting but messy | SAIC offers contracted federal cash flow, strong margins, and higher guidance. Soft book-to-bill, recompete risk, and federal budget timing temper the visibility implied by the backlog. |
| 22 | STRA | 69 | Interesting but messy | Strategic Education's Strayer, Capella, and Sophia businesses combine revenue and earnings growth with an employer-funded education model. No debt and a dividend support the balance sheet, while education-sector regulation remains a constraint. |
| 23 | DLO | 68.5 | Interesting but messy | dLocal combines rapid payment-volume growth, record gross profit, higher guidance, buybacks, and net cash. Take-rate pressure and emerging-market country exposure make earnings durability harder to underwrite. |
| 24 | HRMY | 68.5 | Interesting but messy | Harmony's WAKIX growth, profitability, net cash, and patent settlements strengthen its cash-generation case. Dependence on a single commercial product remains the central risk. |
| 25 | VRTX | 68.5 | Interesting but messy | Vertex's cystic-fibrosis franchise, growth, and cash position support exceptional business quality. Acquisition-related research charges complicate reported EBIT, and the valuation offers only a moderate gap. |
| 26 | LEGH | 68 | Interesting but messy | Legacy Housing combines growing manufactured-home earnings, net cash, and a valuation near book value. Geographic concentration and dealer or borrower credit exposure require attention alongside the housing-affordability opportunity. |
| 27 | ACIW | 67.5 | Interesting but messy | ACI Worldwide's real-time payments software combines earnings growth, higher guidance, and buybacks. Implementation cycles and recurring-revenue bookings timing limit near-term visibility. |
| 28 | DBX | 67.5 | Interesting but messy | Dropbox combines renewed paying-user growth, high margins, substantial cash flow, and Dash-related AI opportunities. Slow underlying growth and term debt constrain the buyback-driven per-share case. |
| 29 | MEDP | 67.5 | Interesting but messy | Medpace combines revenue and bookings growth in a founder-led clinical research business. Valuation and dependence on smaller biopharma customers' funding limit the attractiveness of otherwise strong operating quality. |
| 30 | OSPN | 67.5 | Interesting but messy | OneSpan combines growing subscription revenue, strong operating margins, net cash, and a dividend. Declining legacy hardware remains the main offset to the recurring software case. |
| 31 | URBN | 67.5 | Interesting but messy | Urban Outfitters has sustained growth across Anthropologie, Free People, and Nuuly, supported by net cash. Tariff refunds benefit reported earnings, while fashion cycles limit the durability that should be assigned to current margins. |
| 32 | NWS | 67 | Interesting but messy | News Corp's Dow Jones franchise, digital subscriptions, publishing assets, and REA stake create a sum-of-the-parts case supported by cash flow. Conglomerate complexity, control, and cyclical advertising remain the main discounts. |
| 33 | DSP | 66.5 | Interesting but messy | Viant combines rapid revenue growth, connected-TV demand, net cash, and no debt in the supplied research. Advertising cycles and competition from larger platforms temper the operating-growth case. |
| 34 | COKE | 66 | Interesting but messy | Coca-Cola Consolidated's protected bottling territories support growing sales and earnings alongside debt repayment. Capital intensity and a modest valuation gap after re-rating keep the score in check. |
| 35 | IPAR | 66 | Interesting but messy | Interparfums retains an attractive fragrance franchise, but higher marketing and logistics costs have reduced operating earnings. Tariff refunds included in guidance should be separated from the recurring earnings base. |
| 36 | LAUR | 66 | Interesting but messy | Laureate's focused Mexico and Peru education operations show stronger revenue and earnings, higher guidance, and additional buybacks. Country, regulatory, and currency concentration remain the main limits on the opportunity. |
| 37 | LECO | 66 | Interesting but messy | Lincoln Electric's welding franchise combines record sales, earnings growth, and improving volumes after a prolonged decline. The business remains durable, but the valuation gap is moderate. |
| 38 | NSIT | 66 | Interesting but messy | Insight Enterprises' improving services and cloud mix supports stronger sales, earnings, and guidance. Thin reseller margins and a substantial recent share-price rise cap the valuation opportunity. |
| 39 | TILE | 66 | Interesting but messy | Interface combines sales and backlog growth with higher guidance. A one-time tariff refund accounts for a meaningful part of the margin improvement and should be excluded from normalized earnings. |
| 40 | UTMD | 66 | Interesting but messy | Utah Medical retains a debt-free balance sheet and operating margins, but lost major customers and declining revenue weaken the earnings outlook. The valuation needs to reflect the reduced demand base rather than assume a quick recovery. |
Benchmarks
Comparison baseline.
| Benchmark | Entry date | Entry price | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ONEQ | September 8, 2026 close | $104.12 | Started |
Publication ledger
Research version and record.
- Research cycle
- September 6, 2026
- Entry date
- September 8, 2026 close. September 7 was a market holiday.
- Research updates through
- September 3, 2026
- Publication timing
- Prepared after entry. See the hosting deployment record for the actual public timestamp.
- Source workbook
- Consolidated_Sep-6-26_NASDAQ_Run_FINAL_V2.xlsx
- Source worksheet
- Consolidated
- Ranking CSV SHA-256
cdbda641b905853261298d78841a38c9bdc00ab341770f9fb084ba33c60a2da1- Portfolio CSV SHA-256
b503597f65de913ea340ee7d09cd9b13fa8db0036174608182492470c22c764f- Manifest
- View publication manifest
Preserve the original publication and record any corrections with a new date. Portfolio closes can be updated separately from the archived research.