Core Insights - Riverwater Partners' "Small Cap Strategy" underperformed the Russell 2000 Index in Q4 2025 and for the entire fiscal year, primarily due to stock selection focusing on high-quality stocks that lagged behind market trends [1] Company Performance - Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOPE) was highlighted as a significant stock in the Small Cap Strategy, closing at $179.70 per share on January 22, 2026, with a one-month return of 6.75% and a 52-week gain of 4.73% [2] - Despite reporting solid operating results, Grand Canyon Education was the largest detractor in the quarter, affected by negative sentiment from peers and concerns over enrollment trends in the for-profit education sector [3] - The company reported third-quarter 2025 revenue of $261.1 million, marking a 9.6% year-over-year increase [4] Market Sentiment and Outlook - The stock's weakness was attributed to external factors such as potential government shutdowns affecting Title IV funding and regulatory uncertainty, overshadowing the company's strong execution and demand profile [3] - Riverwater Partners maintains a positive long-term outlook on Grand Canyon Education, viewing it as a high-quality compounder with a compelling growth trajectory [3]

Core Viewpoint - Mattel reported quarterly earnings of $0.19 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.16 per share, and matching the earnings from the previous year, indicating a positive earnings surprise of +18.75% [1] Financial Performance - The company achieved revenues of $1.02 billion for the quarter ended June 2025, which fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.79% and represented a decline from $1.08 billion in the same quarter last year [2] - Over the last four quarters, Mattel has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times and topped consensus revenue estimates two times [2] Stock Performance - Mattel shares have increased approximately 12.2% since the beginning of the year, outperforming the S&P 500's gain of 7.3% [3] Future Outlook - The company's earnings outlook will be crucial for determining the stock's immediate price movement, with current consensus EPS estimates at $1.16 on $1.88 billion in revenues for the upcoming quarter and $1.64 on $5.46 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year [4][7] - The estimate revisions trend for Mattel was mixed ahead of the earnings release, resulting in a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold) for the stock, indicating expected performance in line with the market [6] Industry Context - The Toys - Games - Hobbies industry, to which Mattel belongs, is currently ranked in the bottom 7% of over 250 Zacks industries, suggesting potential challenges ahead [8]