The takeaway
Gladstone Investment Corporation shows a pronounced seasonal pattern over 10 years of data — strongest in April (+9.9%) and softest in September (−0.8%).
Right now
In July, the stock has risen 60% of years, averaging +0.2%, roughly 2.0 pts behind the S&P 500.
The full picture
Gladstone Investment Corporation's most dependable month has been April, higher in 9 of 10 years; September has been its least reliable, up just 30% of the time.
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Month by month
The stock's clearest edge over the S&P 500 lands in April (+8.3 pts); it has trailed the market most in March (−2.9 pts).
“vs S&P” is Gladstone Investment Corporation’s average for a month minus the S&P 500’s average for that same month — isolating Gladstone Investment Corporation’s own seasonal edge from broad market drift.
Reality check
Over the last 5 years, April has closed higher 80% of the time versus 90% across the last 10 years — the pattern is weakening.
Figures are the typical (median) April return and how often it rose — the last 5 years versus the last 10(the heatmap’s default window). This verdict stays anchored to that 10-year window even if you zoom the chart, so it never disagrees with the badges above.
In plain English
Dependability is the through-line here. April stands out, higher in 9 of 10 Aprils, but it heads a clutch of months that pull the year reliably upward.
The headline flatters a touch — its +9.9% average sits well above the +5.9% a typical year delivers, the work of a few big Aprils. That reliability comes with real swings, mind — even April ranges by 15.6% from year to year, so any single year can land far from the average. Crucially, the gain is the stock's own rather than a rising tide's: April has cleared the S&P 500 by +8.3 points above the index. That consistency sets it apart from the field, where the average stock manages April only about 55% of the time.
The strength clusters rather than stands alone — April–August forms a firm stretch that carries much of the year. On the other side of the ledger, September has been the soft spot — the weakest of 3 months that average a loss (−0.8%), and the edge isn't year-round — the stock has trailed the S&P 500 in March, July, and December. Its roughest month on record was a −35.0% March in 2020 — a reminder of how hard even a seasonal name can fall.
The pattern has softened of late, April's last five years slipping below its longer-run record.
The takeaway is less about when to buy than what to expect: April aside, the stock's months offer little reliable tilt.
Short answers on the stock's best month (April), its worst (September), and whether it really trades seasonally.
Yes, to a pronounced degree. Since 2016 its best month (April, +9.9%) has run well ahead of its worst (September, −0.8%) — the heatmap above shows how steady that gap has been year to year.
April has been the strongest, averaging +9.9% and closing higher in 9 of 10 years since 2016.
It's the weakest, averaging −0.8% — 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.
Before you trade