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Article Comments: The Focus of Seeking Alpha’s Investment Community
Community is the core feature Seeking Alpha provides to both its readers and contributing analysts.
And that community experiences its highest level of interaction in the comment streams of articles.
Whether it’s an analyst piece, news, or earnings transcripts, article comments provide another layer of insight beyond the content itself. This is where engagement happens. It’s a forum for questions and answers, not only from the analyst but also for readers. And comments provide a platform that allows this broad audience to share their experiences and perspectives.
Beyond Saving, a supporting analyst for Rida Morwa and his High Dividend Opportunities Investing Group, shares his perspective on comments in this article. He reminds readers and analysts that the article is only the beginning of the process: comments create a two-way exchange that traditional financial media cannot duplicate.
We want to thank the HDO team for sharing this perspective.
Our quick suggestions for comments:
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Often, not everyone will agree. That’s part of a healthy discussion. Thoughtful disagreement can add value to a discussion in a comment stream. This also can help investment-minded readers look at a topic or analysis from a different angle.
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The best comments are the ones that are polite and positive, surface the best questions to ask, and create an environment that encourages others to share their perspective. Civil discussion develops into something meaningful for everyone.
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And positive comments help keep focus on the investment topic. This helps steer clear of hostility and personal arguments.
Our community guidelines can be found here.
An Update for ETF Analysis: Presenting an Original Thesis
An original thesis is key to grabbing and keeping readers’ attention. For ETF coverage, it should be timely and guide readers to a deeper understanding of the ETF than they could glean from a basic understanding of its structure, holdings, and the macro environment. While macro events like the latest Fed decisions can add useful context for evaluating an ETF in light of what you feel is on the horizon, an original thesis brings something unique above an apparent application of a simple macro theme. Articles should avoid presenting generalities like a bond ETF increasing yields but dropping in price as a result of a rate hike.
Similarly, an original thesis does not simply aggregate known elements and apply them to an ETF but rather adds insights above just the sum of these parts. However, neglecting a key structural element of an ETF within the thesis also renders it incomplete. For instance, a thesis on a leveraged ETF that ignores its daily reset within the thesis and reads like a very bullish or bearish bet on its underlying makes the thesis indistinguishable from a strong buy or strong sell. The investment vehicle’s structure should be part of the thesis so that the chosen ETF is truly in focus.
Finding support for a thesis would involve looking at how an ETF has performed. However, when using backward-looking information, be sure to explain how it should apply going forward and why. A trend that has appeared in the rearview mirror could be compelling evidence for future gains, but your analysis on why it should continue would be crucial to backing a forward-looking view.
We also understand there are some ETFs you may have a general opinion about, either positive or negative. When making a broad statement about an ETF, please also address a timely component so readers who have different views on it can see it through your lens in a specific use case in the environment ahead. Please also keep in mind that what you may like least about an ETF may be the reason certain investors choose it specifically (i.e., a high percentage of return of capital distributions for high-income earners).
In addition to an original thesis, we want to remind you to avoid some common misconceptions around NAV, liquidity, and technical analysis.
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Treating a discussion of NAV decay similarly to how you would characterize a CEF’s discount or premium to NAV. As a quick reminder, ETFs create shares via creation units, while CEFs have a set number of shares issued at their IPO.
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When you discuss an ETF’s liquidity, please note that it’s primarily a function of an ETF’s underlying holdings (most of the time). The exception where this is limited would be for derivatives-based ETFs, where the market for these derivatives can present liquidity challenges. This primarily affects commodity and leveraged ETFs, for example, a leveraged oil ETF when oil prices turned negative in 2020. This would be less applicable to buffered ETFs, on the other hand, for which there is a robust institutional market that can offset the seeming illiquidity of FLEX options. Please consider the liquidity of an ETF’s underlying holdings in your discussion on the topic for a more complete overview of the topic, rather than simply noting an ETF’s AUM.
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When providing technical analysis of a covered call ETF, please instead refer to its underlying when possible (i.e., an index). Cover average trading volume and how that can impact the bid/ask spread. Technicals on an index or stock are much clearer, as covered call dynamics make RSI signals more murky. Using clearer technicals on the underlying would, therefore, be more effectively indicate the covered call ETF’s direction you foresee.
Questions for editors on ETF coverage can be sent to submissions@seekingalpha.com. More background on our guidelines for ETF coverage can be found in our January Analyst Connect newsletter.
Don’t Forget Our Newsletters
A quick guide for some of our top newsletters, featuring content hand-picked by editors:
Rare Stock Picks: This newsletter delivers actionable long ideas from analysts who have had no other Buy or Strong Buy recommendations during the past three months.
Undercovered Dozen: Editors select 12 actionable investment ideas on tickers that don’t get a lot of coverage.
New Analyst Showcase: This puts the focus on new analysts and their first article.
The Macro Brief: Providing useful economic and market analysis from top macro analysts.
SA Article Competitions: The latest on our article competitions.
Make sure to subscribe and “follow” these newsletters to get the latest big ideas from our analysts. Details on these newsletters can be found in the account Settings area, under the Newsletter tab.
Best Industry Disruptor: And the Winners Are…
Congrats to the winners of our latest article competition. This one focused on the best industry disruptor:
1) Joffrey Simonet – HydroGraph: The Spearhead Of The Graphene Revolution
2) The Alpha Analyst – Schrödinger: A Rare AI-Adjacent Disruptor Still Not Priced For It
3) Andriy Blokhin – Hesai: LiDAR Pays The Bills, Robotics Fixes The Margin
The competition received 27 submissions, all of which can be found here.
Keep an eye on the SA Article Competitions page for announcements on future competitions.
Looking Ahead to October
October marks the start of the final quarter of 2026, and it also marks the start of the next earnings season. The political calendar will become more active with the midterm elections on the horizon in early November. Between earnings, midterm elections, and another Fed meeting to discuss, investors will have plenty of happenings to focus on throughout the month.
As usual, we have included a list of companies that we expect to report throughout the month, but please keep in mind that as we get further out in the month, some of the earnings dates haven’t been confirmed by the companies yet, and these are estimated dates.
Seeking Alpha Earnings Calendar
Week 1 (October 1-9)
With October kicking off on a Thursday, I decided to merge the first few days of the month with the first full week since neither time period is very busy. For Thursday, October 1, we do have three relatively large and well-followed companies expected to report, with Accenture (ACN) being the largest one, followed by Nike (NKE) and McCormick & Company (MKC).
Moving to the next week and over to Tuesday, we see Constellation Brands (STZ) and RPM International (RPM) are slated to report their results. Jumping over to Thursday we see PepsiCo (PEP) on the docket, and then on Friday we expect to hear from Delta Air Lines (DAL). The earnings calendar for Seeking Alpha also shows FedEx Freight (FDXF) is expected to report, but this is only the second earnings report since the spinoff, so there’s little history to go on with regard to a particular day the company might report.
Week 2 (October 12-16)
The activity starts to pick up in the second week with the unofficial kickoff of earnings season coming on Tuesday when JPMorgan (JPM), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Goldman Sachs (GS), Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (C), and United Airlines (UAL) are all expected to report. Wednesday slows a little but still has three companies with market caps over $100B: ASML Holding (ASML), Bank of America (BAC), and Morgan Stanley (MS). Fastenal (FAST) is also expected to report.
Thursday brings the first report from a member of the trillion-dollar club, that being Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM). We also expect to hear from Charles Schwab (SCHW), Prologis (PLD), Bank of New York Mellon (BNY), US Bancorp (USB), and PNC Financial Services (PNC). Friday shows more financial sector reports due from HDFC Bank (HDB), The Travelers (TRV), Truist Financial (TFC), and M&T Bank (MTB).
Week 3 (October 19-23)
This is when the accuracy of the calendar really starts to become less certain. As time goes on, more companies will issue press releases with the exact date and time of their earnings reports, so you will want to check the calendar more closely. For now we show reports from Fifth Third Bank (FITB) and Steel Dynamics (STLD) for Monday. For Tuesday, expected reports are from Coca-Cola (KO), Netflix (NFLX), RTX (RTX), Verizon (VZ), Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), Chubb Limited (CB), and Lockheed Martin (LMT).
Moving over to Wednesday, October 21, the calendar currently shows Tesla (TSLA) reporting along with Philip Morris International (PM), Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO), SAP SE (SAP), IBM (IBM), AT&T (T), Boeing (BA), and Danaher (DHR). Thursday’s expected reports include Procter & Gamble (PG), GE Vernova (GEV), T-Mobile (TMUS), Union Pacific (UNP), Blackstone (BX), Newmont (NEM), Capital One (COF), and British American Tobacco (BTI). The one confirmed large-cap name that’s confirmed for Friday is American Express (AXP). NextEra Energy (NEE) is expected to report.
Week 4 (October 26-30)
Turning to the final week of October, again the certainty gets less clear, but these are the expected dates and reports at the time of writing. Monday shows Southern Copper (SCCO), Eaton (ETN), Welltower (WELL), Cadence Design Systems (CDNS), American Tower (AMT), Nucor (NUE), and Ford (F) among the largest and most followed companies. Tuesday’s docket shows HSBC Holdings (HSBC), Novartis (NVS), Corning (GLW), Waste Management (WM), and UPS (UPS) among the most anticipated names.
Wednesday sees Meta Platforms (META), Amphenol (APH), ServiceNow (NOW), Automatic Data Processing (ADP), Equinix (EQIX), Phillips 66 (PSX), Equinor (EQNR), and GSK plc (GSK) all with market caps over $100B. Thursday shows Microsoft (MSFT), Eli Lilly and Company (LLY), SK hynix (SKHY), Mastercard (MA), AbbVie (ABBV), Caterpillar (CAT), Merck (MRK), Shell (SHEL), Western Digital (WDC), and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) all reporting, but only CAT, LLY, and BMY are confirmed. Friday has Chevron (CVX), AstraZeneca (AZN), BP (BP), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), and Sanofi (SNY), with CL and SNY confirmed.
October Investor and Industry Events
October 1 – Deliveries and sales reports from Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, GM, Ford, Nio, and XPeng
October 5 – Piper Sandler Taking Stock of Teens survey
October 5 – Marvell Technology Investor Day
October 6 – Zscaler Investor Day
October 6-8 – ICS Cybersecurity Conference
October 6-9 – NACS Show (relevant for convenience store stocks)
October 7 – Costco monthly sales report
October 7 – Microsoft Windows and Surface media event
October 7 – Neogen Investor Day
October 7-8 – Amazon Prime Big Deal Days
October 8 – Circana videogame data
October 12-14 – SEMICON West tech conference
October 12-18 – Paris Auto Show
October 13 – Procter & Gamble annual meeting
October 13 – Workday Analyst Day
October 13-15 – TechCrunch Disrupt
October 14 – Accenture Investor Day
October 16 – iPhone Duo pre-orders begin
October 19 – Trade Desk extraordinary shareholder meeting
October 19-21 Cloudflare Connect Agentic Conference
October 20 – Estimated spinoff date for Knicks and Rangers from MSGS
October 20 – Kroger Investor Day
October 20 – Zoomtopia
October 20-22 – Nvidia GTC Berlin
October 22-23 – NEXT Predict Summit
October 23 – Initial iPhone Duo deliveries begin
October 25-28 – Oracle AIWorld
October 28 – Agentic Infrastructure Stack Summit
October 30 – Russell US Index rank date
Major Economic Reports and Events
October 1- ISM Manufacturing
October 2 – September Employment Report, Factory Orders
October 5 – ISM Services
October 6 – Trade Balance
October 7 – FOMC Minutes
October 9 – Univ. of Michigan Consumer Sentiment
October 12 – Treasury Budget
October 13 – Existing Home Sales
October 14 – CPI, Beige Book
October 15 – PPI, Philly Fed Index, Retail Sales
October 16 – Industrial Production, Capacity Utilization
October 19 – NAHB Housing Market Index
October 20 – Building Permits, Housing Starts, Pending Home Sales
October 23 – Univ. of Michigan Consumer Sentiment
October 27 – Durable Goods, New Home Sales, S&P/Case-Shiller Housing Index, Consumer Confidence
October 28 – FOMC Meeting and Rate Decision
October 29 – PCE Price Index, Personal Income, Personal Spending
