Madness season is here once again but it's not about basketball this time. The annual Stock Market Madness is right around the corner with the first matchup being titans of the tech sector when Microsoft (MSFT) takes on Alphabet (GOOG) on March 14.
But let’s back up for a moment, what actually is the Stock Market Madness tournament and how does it work?
Stock Market Madness is a tournament held on InvestorsObserver from March 14 to April 3 with a matchup between two stocks in a similar industry held each day markets are open. Instead of a bracket style tournament each day is a standalone matchup with users making a pick for which stock will rise the most, percentage wise, on that day. Users can make their picks all the way up until the market opens on the day of any individual contest.
One lucky user who picked the correct stock for the matchup will win a custom Stock Market Madness pint glass. Meanwhile, the user who makes the most correct picks over the course of the tournament will win the grand prize of a free lifetime subscription to InvestorsObserver and a $100 credit to the IO merch store. Additionally, there is a bonus prize where participants can earn up to 7 bonus entries for sharing the contest on social media platforms with three people randomly selected at the end of the tournament being able to choose one free item of their choice from the merch store.
Now that the rules are all set lets get down to how to actually win this tournament and get that lifetime subscription and $100 credit to that sweet InvestorsObserver drip.
A crucial aspect to remember about this tournament is that picking which stock is going to rise the most or fall the least on any given day is pretty random as any fundamental or technical analysis isn’t going to be too relevant for how a stock changes on one particular day.
Instead, the most important factor to consider for choosing a winner on one day is analyzing to see which stocks might have upcoming news such as an earnings report or other big event that can heavily swing share price.
The other major point to factor in is a stock’s current sentiment and interest among investors over the last week or so, as that is naturally the most relevant when trying to consider how a stock will move on that day. How a stock has traded over the last year isn’t really too impactful on one day of trading but how it's traded over the last five days might actually tell users something interesting about likely movement.
With all that being said, let's predict some of the featured matchups for the 2023 Stock Market Madness based on wild speculation and a hint of analysis.
NKE (Nike) Vs. UAA (Under Armour)
March 17
The drip contest matchup held on the greenest of days is an interesting competition between two rivals in the athletic-apparel industry. Sentiment for both stocks at the moment are similar with both currently holding a bearish rating but the main reason this matchup is unique is due to Nike being slated to report its earnings just two market days later.
There will certainly be some price movement heading into the weekend as investors look to gather as much information as they can to predict how Nike’s earnings results and any guidance it gives for the industry going forward. Nike saw its shares crash days before its latest earnings report in which it managed to easily surpass estimates which helped lead to a large surge following the report. The downward slide heading into that report was likely largely due to its disappointing report the previous quarter and investors expecting a similar result, which if the same logic holds true this time around then the opposite should happen and Nike may experience a nice price surge heading into the weekend. Bet the house on Nike, just do it.
GIS (General Mills) Vs. K (Kellogg)
March 20
A similar logic holds up for the following post-game snack matchup as General Mills is scheduled to report earnings just three days after the competition. Both stocks here hold similar overall scores but General Mills notably holds a higher sentiment rank with it receiving a neutral rating currently compared to Kellogg’s bearish mark.
General Mills has also been able to surpass earnings projections for each of the last four quarters and seen its share price surge for all but the most recent report following those results. More importantly for the matchup, its stock has risen significantly before three of the past four reports with the latest report having also seen a drop before results were reported. General Mills fourth quarter beat was narrower than previous quarters but analysts are currently expecting the company to report earnings-per-share of $0.91 compared to the year-ago quarter’s result of $0.84. The improvement year-over-year and consistent beats should give traders some confidence heading into the report. Plus, General Mills owns the two best cereals in Lucky Charms and Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
MCD (McDonald’s) Vs. WEN (Wendy’s)
April 3
The last matchup is the golden nugget showdown and the conclusion of the epic tournament and there’s no scheduled news for either company. Something could happen on April Fools Day that gets meme traders going on either stock based on some social media post, but this matchup should be decided by something simple. Who has the best food?
McDonald’s gets a lot of crap these days but man there is no denying how good those beef fat-flavored fries taste when they are fresh out of the fryer. Wendy’s has good fries too, McDonald’s still reigns supreme there. Meanwhile, many would say Wendy’s has the superior burgers with the fresh never frozen campaign and the uniqueness of having a square patty. Wendy’s probably has the objectively better quality burger but something about the McDonald’s tiny little burgers are just so good and taste like sweet childhood mistakes.
Debates can be had between the two companies burger and fries or how Wendy’s has the better desserts because the McFlurry machine is never actually working, but McDonald’s has objectively the best breakfast and it comes down to a single product.
The McGriddle.
The McGriddle is the most genius and American thing ever created. It’s always a tough question to get either pancakes or a breakfast sandwich when at a breakfast diner. Why not both? Why not just stick some sausage and egg in between two small maple flavored pancakes and call it a day. The McGriddle is one of the best inventions of this millennium and I’m tired of pretending it's not. McDonald’s all day, I’m loving it.
