What does a scanner actually find over a full year? We ran every one of SwingTradeScanner's scored scans over the past year of daily data, from Aug 28, 2025 to Aug 27, 2026, on today's stock universe. Every stock the scan flagged was "bought" at that day's close and measured 20 trading sessions later. No stops, no position sizing, no hindsight about which ones to take: every pick counts.
These are historical results from a backtest, not a promise of future returns. The biggest winners below are the best few out of thousands of picks; most picks did far less, and plenty lost money. The full numbers are in the table further down.
The five biggest Momentum Breakouts
| # | Stock | Flagged | Entry | 20 sessions later | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WOLF Wolfspeed | Apr 27, 2026 | $29.67 | $73.50 | +147.7% |
| 2 | ERAS Erasca | Jan 7, 2026 | $5.17 | $11.88 | +129.8% |
| 3 | SNDK Sandisk | Dec 30, 2025 | $240.22 | $539.30 | +124.5% |
| 4 | CSIQ Canadian Solar | Oct 10, 2025 | $13.38 | $28.47 | +112.8% |
| 5 | VPG Vishay Precision Group | Apr 27, 2026 | $58.58 | $123.41 | +110.7% |
What they had in common: each was already a strong stock, up substantially over the prior months, that paused in a tight range and then broke out on rising volume, the setup the Momentum Breakouts scan is built to find. Most were not obscure: Sandisk and Wolfspeed were widely followed names in groups that were leading the market at the time.
The best result from each of the other scans
- Episodic Pivots: IBRX (ImmunityBio), flagged Jan 14, 2026 at $3.02, +119.2% after 20 sessions.
- Minervini SEPA: MU (Micron Technology), flagged Apr 13, 2026 at $426.56, +86.5% after 20 sessions.
- O'Neil CANSLIM: AMD (Advanced Micro Devices), flagged Apr 13, 2026 at $246.83, +85.9% after 20 sessions.
The honest numbers
Here is every pick, not just the winners. "Hit rate" is the share of picks that were higher after 20 sessions.
| Scan | Picks | Hit rate | Median return | Average return | Average winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Momentum Breakouts | 3,447 | 53.8% | +1.5% | +3.3% | +16.7% |
| Episodic Pivots | 251 | 44.2% | −3.1% | +0.4% | +21.0% |
| Minervini SEPA | 491 | 52.5% | +0.8% | +1.2% | +12.8% |
| O'Neil CANSLIM | 160 | 54.4% | +1.5% | +3.0% | +12.4% |
Three things stand out:
- The median pick is small. Across thousands of breakouts the typical result was a low single-digit percentage. The average is higher because a minority of large winners pulls it up. That is how momentum trading works: many small outcomes, a few big ones.
- Episodic pivots are the most uneven. Fewer than half the picks were higher after 20 sessions and the median was negative, yet the average winner was the largest of any scan. A gap either keeps going or fades, which is why the catalyst and the volume matter so much.
- Risk management decides the outcome. With a median this small, the result depends on cutting losers quickly and letting the few big winners run. Size every trade from its stop; the risk of ruin calculator shows why.
How the backtest was run
- Each scan's published rules, applied to daily data on each historical date, stepping five sessions at a time.
- Entry at the close on the day the stock was flagged; exit at the close 20 sessions later.
- Today's universe of roughly 1,900 liquid US stocks, so stocks that were delisted during the year are not included. CANSLIM uses current fundamentals.
See what the scans find today
The same scans run after every close, with the chart, score and catalyst for every match.
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