An update on two Best Stocks breakouts. One is now failing, but the other is partying on

Cnbc · Aug 10, 2026 · 1286 words · By Josh Brown; Sean Russo; Joshua Brown

Technical Analysis Stock Market Analysis Corporate Earnings

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What to know about Technical Analysis

(This is The Best Stocks in the Market , brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) Josh — We're showing you two stocks we've written up recently that reported earnings in the last few days.

Claims checked 28

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center100%

Right0%

1 source compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

Block (XYZ) and Expedia (EXPE) are recent entrants to our list.

Common ground

We'll show you what's happened with their reports and how the news has affected their share prices.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Glittering Generalities: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Technical Analysis story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that We first spotlighted EXPE on September 18 of last year and the stock is up 40.9% since?
How does this story connect Technical Analysis with Stock Market Analysis over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/10/an-update-on-two-best-stocks-breakouts-one-is-no…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Glittering Generalities 70% confidence

Using vague, emotionally appealing phrases ('freedom', 'justice') without specifics.

Why it matters: Recognizing glittering generalities helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 28 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 18

info Single Source 3

verified Verified By Reference 3

help Insufficient Evidence 3

check_circle Corroborated 1

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Claim 1: “We first spotlighted EXPE on September 18 of last year and the stock is up 40.9% since”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 2: “gross profit grew 25% to $3.17 billion”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided discusses Block's CEO changes and a puzzle game called Block Blast, but contains no financial data regarding gross profit.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Block Blast is a fun and addictive puzzle game where players strategically place colorful block pieces on a grid to create complete rows or columns. Once completed, the rows or columns disappear, earn…
https://blockblast.game/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Later in the month, Block said in a regulatory filing that the CEO of its Square business, Alyssa Henry, was set to leave the company in October 2023, and that Jack Dorsey, serving then as the "Block …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block,_Inc.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Block. If an internal link incorrectly led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block

verified

Claim 3: “Adjusted EPS came in at $1.02 against a consensus $0.86”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The evidence provided discusses EPS for Ormat Technologies and ONCY, but does not provide the Q2 adjusted EPS for Block, Inc.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a timeline of the first presidency of Donald Trump during the second quarter of 2017, from April 1 to June 30, 2017. For a complete itinerary of his travels, see List of presidential …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_first_Trump_pr…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — AST SpaceMobile, Inc. is a publicly traded satellite designer and manufacturer based in Midland, Texas, United States. The company is building the SpaceMobile satellite constellation, a space-based ce…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AST_SpaceMobile

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley, and known for consumer electronics, software and online services. Founded in 1976 …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc.

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 4: “revisited it in our December 29 travel edition and it has added another 8.8% since then”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 5: “Revenue grew 14% to $4.31 billion on $33.9 billion of gross bookings (up 12%)”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 6: “adjusted EBITDA grew 23% to $1.1 billion with margins expanding to 25.9%”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 7: “cutting headcount from over 10,000 to under 6,000”

CORROBORATED

Three independent web sources (Metaintro, TheMurrow, and a news report on Jack Dorsey) all explicitly state that Block is reducing its headcount from over 10,000 to under 6,000, eliminating approximately 4,000 roles.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.) is an American technology company and financial services provider for consumers and merchants. Founded in 2009 by Jack Dorsey, it is the U.S. market leader in point…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block,_Inc.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Buzz is an open-source multi-user harness for large language model agents and a workplace collaboration application developed by Block, Inc. It was announced by Block co-founder Jack Dorsey on July 21…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_Buzz

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — H&R Block, Inc., or H&R Block, is an American tax preparation company operating in Canada, the United States, and Australia. The company was founded in 1955 in Kansas City, Missouri, by brothers Henry…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H&R_Block

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 8: “PayPal's board has since rejected the offer as too low”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 9: “XYZ's Bitcoin ecosystem gross profit fell 31%”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 10: “the numbers were 105 million room nights booked (up 7%), B2B bookings up 17%... and nearly $1 billion of first-half buybacks”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 11: “As of Aug 10, there are 216 names on The Best Stocks in the Market list.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence includes general stock market articles and Wikipedia entries on the S&P 500 and Nifty Fifty, but none mention a specific list called 'The Best Stocks in the Market' or the number 216.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This article is a summary of the closing milestones of the S&P 500 Index, a United States stock market index.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closing_milestones_of_the_S&P_…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In the United States, the term Nifty Fifty was an informal designation for a group of roughly fifty large-cap stocks on the New York Stock Exchange in the 1960s and 1970s that were widely regarded as …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nifty_Fifty

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called as shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include securities …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_market

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 12: “Management raised full-year guidance again with gross profit of $12.51 billion (up 21%) and adjusted EPS of $4.02”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 13: “The stock is up 3.2% since then [July 23]”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

No evidence was provided regarding the specific stock price movement of Block, Inc. (SQ) between July 23 and the date of the article.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Adult Swim (AS; stylized as [adult swim] and [as]) is an American adult-oriented television programming block on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and late-night daypart…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult_Swim

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+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 14: “RSI is at 66”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 15: “Cash App gross profit grew 31% to $1.97 billion”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found for this claim.

schedule

Claim 16: “RSI is at 48”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 17: “This was the fifth consecutive quarter Expedia exceeded the high end of its own guidance”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 18: “a bitcoin loss dragged GAAP net income down to $89 million”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 19: “EXPE has executed $900 million of buybacks year to date, a fresh $5 billion authorization with $5.7 billion total remaining and a $0.48 quarterly dividend”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 20: “the Q2 report on August 5”

SINGLE SOURCE

The web search results for 'Block' returned results for Microsoft Teams blocking and browser cookies, not the Q2 earnings report for Block, Inc.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jul 3, 2026 · Create block entries for domains and addresses in Teams in the Tenant Allow/Block List Tip See the requirements in the What do you need to know before you begin? section to managed block…
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-office-365/tenant…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Block third party cookies Block all cookies Block cookies from a specific site Delete all cookies Delete cookies from a specific site Delete cookies every time you close the browser Use cookies to pre…
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/manage-cookies-in-m…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The Microsoft Edge feature that blocks pop-ups is effective in preventing websites from automatically opening a new window or tab, or a partial window on top of your current web page. This feature is …
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/block-pop…

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Claim 21: “the restructuring is expected to produce $800-$900 million in annualized net cost savings”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 22: “The B2B segment just posted its 20th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, with bookings up 21% and revenue up 23%”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 23: “the adjusted operating margin hit 27%, up from 22% a year ago”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found for this claim.

schedule

Claim 24: “Management raised the full-year outlook... with gross bookings of $129.5-$130.8 billion (up 8-9%), revenue of $16.05-$16.22 billion (up 9-10%), and adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of 1.5-1.75 points”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 25: “We wrote up Block as our Best Stock Spotlight on July 23”

SINGLE SOURCE

Evidence confirms Barry Ritholtz is the founder of Ritholtz Wealth Management, but there is no external corroboration that they featured Block in a 'Best Stock Spotlight' on July 23.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Victor B. Niederhoffer (December 10, 1943 – August 4, 2026) was an American hedge fund manager, eight-time U.S. National Squash Champion (five times in singles) and four-time national paddleball champ…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Niederhoffer

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Barry Ritholtz (born 1961) is an American businessman and author. He is the founder and chief investment officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management, a financial planning and asset management firm with over…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Ritholtz

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — A Wealth of Common Sense is a blog that focuses on wealth management, investments, financial markets and investor psychology. I manage portfolios for institutions and individuals at Ritholtz Wealth Ma…
https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2026/08/the-most-hated-asse…

+ 1 more evidence source

help

Claim 26: “Square gross profit grew 13% on $72.8 billion of payment volume”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found for this claim.

schedule

Claim 27: “Block exited the Stripe/Advent buyer consortium before the group's $53.4 billion PayPal bid was submitted”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 28: “adjusted EPS of $5.76 grew 36%”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.