THE RUSSELL 2000 TRADE IS CHANGING Last year, the speculative names won: 🔴 Non-profitable Russell 2000 stocks: +20% 🟢 Profitable stocks: +10% In 2026, the story has nearly flipped. Investors are increasingly rewarding earnings, cash flow and quality — not simply growth at any price. That makes profitable small caps particularly interesting right now. 10 Russell 2000 stocks I would put on the BUY watchlist: $GVA — Granite Construction — infrastructure exposure + strong earnings growth $PLMR — Palomar Holdings — fast-growing specialty insurer $CARG — CarGurus — high margins + strong free cash flow $GPOR — Gulfport Energy — profitable natural-gas producer + strong FCF $VTS — Vitesse Energy — profitable energy exposure + cash generation $HRTG — Heritage Insurance — profitable specialty insurer $UPBD — Upbound Group — low valuation + positive earnings $CASH — Pathward Financial — profitable specialty financial company $GSL — Global Ship Lease — cash-generating containership owner $ESEA — Euroseas — profitable shipping exposure The theme: 2025 rewarded speculation. 2026 is increasingly rewarding profits. If that rotation continues, the next leg of the small-cap rally may be driven by companies that actually make money. $IWM #Russell2000 #SmallCaps #Stocks #Investing Source for performance comparison: Bloomberg, as of 10/2/2026. Profitable companies defined as trailing 12-month EPS $0. Past performance does not guarantee future results.