The takeaway
GrafTech International Ltd shows a pronounced seasonal pattern over 8 years of data — strongest in September (+16.0%) and softest in March (−10.7%).
Right now
In July, the stock has risen 50% of years, averaging +2.9%, about +0.8 pts better than the S&P 500.
The full picture
GrafTech International Ltd's most dependable month has been September, higher in 6 of 8 years; March has been its least reliable, up just 0% of the time.
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| 2018 | — | — | — |
Month by month
The stock's clearest edge over the S&P 500 lands in September (+16.1 pts); it has trailed the market most in March (−11.8 pts).
“vs S&P” is GrafTech International Ltd’s average for a month minus the S&P 500’s average for that same month — isolating GrafTech International Ltd’s own seasonal edge from broad market drift.
Reality check
Over the last 5 years, September has closed higher 60% of the time versus 75% across the last 8 years — the pattern is weakening.
Figures are the typical (median) September return and how often it rose — the last 5 years versus the last 8(the heatmap’s default window). This verdict stays anchored to that 8-year window even if you zoom the chart, so it never disagrees with the badges above.
In plain English
The seasonal story is really one month's story — September. It has closed higher in 6 of 8 Septembers, a concentration the rest of the calendar can't touch.
Read it with one caveat: the average (+16.0%) runs well ahead of the median (+6.0%), so a handful of outsized years — not steady strength — do much of the lifting. That reliability comes with real swings, mind — even September ranges by 35.9% from year to year, so any single year can land far from the average. Better still, that strength is the stock's own and not just a buoyant market — September has outpaced the S&P 500 by +16.1 points on average. It is the more striking for the company it keeps — September is a losing month for most of the market, where barely 39% of names gain ground.
Only November comes anywhere near it for reliability. The weaker half of the year is plainer: March has been the soft spot — the weakest of 6 months that average a loss (−10.7%), and the edge isn't year-round — the stock has trailed the S&P 500 in March, August, and December. Its roughest month on record was a −35.7% January in 2024 — a reminder of how hard even a seasonal name can fall.
The pattern has softened of late, September's last five years slipping below its longer-run record.
For a stock this dependable in September, the sharper question is the rest of the year — outside its strong stretch, the calendar gives far less to lean on. With a short 8-year record and returns that swing hard year to year, the signal is best held loosely.
Short answers on the stock's best month (September), its worst (March), and whether it really trades seasonally.
Yes, to a pronounced degree. Since 2018 its best month (September, +16.0%) has run well ahead of its worst (March, −10.7%) — the heatmap above shows how steady that gap has been year to year.
September has been the strongest, averaging +16.0% and closing higher in 6 of 8 years since 2018.
It's the weakest, averaging −10.7% — historically a soft spot, though it still varies from year to year.
Explore
These names have the strongest July track records on record — a starting point for comparison.
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