For the past decade-plus, the performance record has favored growth stocks over value. Yet the tide may be changing. In 2025, value stocks and growth stocks had similar returns, with growth advancing 13.8% and value returning 13.6%. More than halfway through 2026, value stocks have climbed 16.8% while growth stocks have returned 5.7%. The post COVID-19 economy gave a lift to some of the cyclical companies (energy and regional banks), and value stocks outpaced growth stocks that year. While growth stocks led for a few years after that, history has shown other instances where value stocks have outperformed. Value stocks tend to be more resilient in times of market uncertainty and higher volatility as they are less likely to overreact to economic news. Another factor, in our view, has been the level of interest rates. If interest rates are high, discount rates will be high, and future profits will be worth less, creating an unfavorable environment for growth stocks. In any event, the value sector is the place to achieve income.

The major stock indices all finished the session lower on Thursday, but not by significant amounts. The recently surging Dow Jones Industrial Average took the biggest hit, down 0.85%. Earnings reports are still driving individual names higher and lower, but other headlines got attention as well. For one, oil moved almost 4% higher on news that Iran will seek to bar U.S. and Israeli ships from using the Strait of Hormuz. Investors also spent the day looking ahead to the nonfarm payrolls report, which will be released before the bell today.

The world's largest package delivery company, United Parcel Service provides a wide range of transportation, distribution, and logistics services. It has three main business segments: U.S. Domestic Package, International, and Supply Chain Solutions. The shares are a component of the S&P 500. The company has approximately 490,000 employees.

The 2Q reporting season is in full swing. Many companies have knocked it out of the park, delivering earnings and revenue numbers that were well over expectations. Meanwhile, we have been looking at the early trends and, as usual, there are companies increasing guidance. Raising guidance is one of our Investing Themes for the second half of 2026. We view management's ability to raise guidance consistently as a catalyst for possible market-beating returns in the quarters ahead. It's even harder for companies to lift guidance during uncertain economic times, as vision is murky. This is especially true now, as the war in the Middle East drags on. Wall Street is also pondering a new Federal Reserve chairman, one with a different view about forward-looking guidance (or in this case, a lack thereof). A good number of companies already have increased guidance in this earnings cycle, so we are putting out a first round of companies that are in Argus' Fundamental Universe of Coverage and that made the grade.