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Summer is often a boring time to buy US stocks. As I said last weekWall Street’s whales often go on vacation, taking cash with them on their 50-foot yachts.
However, long-term investors are less bold in thinking. It’s hard to imagine Warren Buffett caring much about stock prices while sipping cherries on the beach.
But volatility has been more difficult for day traders, with many finding themselves in trouble this year. For example…
- shares Space Exploration Technologies Company (Spex) It briefly fell below its IPO price last week.
- Chipmakers have retreated from June highs.
- And many ex Meme stock He loves Lucid Group Company (LCD) and Hertz International Holding Company (HTZ) Now teetering on bankruptcy.
However, there is always a bull market somewhere. Many retailers in the Far East have a “second Thanksgiving” in the summer. And some US sectors, like oil and gas, never go on vacation. In May I wrote about how gasoline is refined BBF Energy Company (PBF) Thanks will go up Peak demand is in the summer; Shares have risen 33% since then due to peak demand in the summer.
To help investors reduce risks this summer, Keith Kaplan And to him Want Smith He created the Quantity Team Seasonal tool Which accurately Determines the best days to buy a particular stock. With this program, you don’t have to guess when to buy costco wholesale companyIt costs) At the Santa Claus Parade at the end of the year. Instead, you’ll know that October 27 is just the right date to enter.
To illustrate the power of Keith’s innovation, I’d like to introduce you to another stock this week that the system flagged. It’s a summer darling that does brisk business in the warmer months… and I think it’s at the beginning of a multi-year transformation.
The company has passed other quantitative screens, and Keith’s system shows that next week is the best time to buy. After all, stocks have historically returned a staggering 35.6% between July 24 and August 17, as shown in the chart below.
Historically one of the best late summer stocks
So, let’s dive into the details…
My first stock for the summer of 2026
Every summer, my neighborhood turns into a bustle of activity.
People go out for a barbecue…
Music is playing…
This year, there was a new sound across the street: water splashing in the pool.
You see, my neighbors installed a new in-ground pool earlier this year. Now that the weather is warming up, they seem determined to enjoy every minute of their spraying time before fall arrives.
They are not alone. Since 2025, demand for inground pools in the United States has stabilized after collapsing in the post-COVID-19 years. Many Americans are finally reopening their wallets and getting the pool they’ve always wanted.
To capitalize on this trend, my top pick is the largest American supplier of inground pools:
Latham Group Company (Swimming).
Latham is a New York-based company that installs roughly one out of every five new inground swimming pools in America. They are especially dominant in fiberglass assemblies, and the stock chart above belongs to them.
That’s why I think the stock is worth buying today.
The cycle has turned
Few companies are swinging with the economy as violently as the swimming pool maker. A new inground pool can cost $50,000 or more, making it an “affordable luxury” and sometimes more “luxury” than “affordable.” So, when stimulus checks and near-zero interest rates collided with stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans flocked to their backyards, sending Latham’s revenues soaring to a record peak of $696 million in 2022.
Then the interest rate shock hit. Demand for the complex collapsed and Latham’s sales collapsed by 27%. Below is a graph showing the number of new complexes added annually, with light blue bars reflecting the estimates.
The new pool began to break down after the COVID-19 pandemic
Source: Latham Investor Relations
But something important happened this year: a new swimming pool was built in the United States I stopped going down. Latham’s management now expects the market to be “roughly flat compared to last year” and is modeling significant growth for the future. My generous-spending neighbors seem to be part of a broader trend.
In fact, this view may be too bearish. Demand is increasing for other affordable luxuries such as marine vehicles, high-end decks and air travel. Owner Mercury Marine brunswick company (B.C.E.) It announced a “win and lift” quarter earlier this spring. Analysts expect boat sales to rise 8% this year, compared to a 2% decline last year. All airlines are trending higher as well.
I’m also not too concerned about the low consumer survey sentiment numbers, which On average reached record levels. Latham’s primary market is in the “sand states” (Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California), three of which lean Republican – a group that has remained optimistic about the economy. Below is a graph showing consumer sentiment, separated by political opinions.
University of Michigan Consumer Confidence, broken down by political affiliation
Source: University of Michigan
In other words, not every consumer needs to feel good about the economy. As long as the group interested in $50,000 inground pools spends money, Latham should move forward. Keith’s quantitative tool has rated this week as the best time to apply this insight.
Self-help engine
Latham is also riding a broader American trend toward fiberglass pools. This means that revenues should rise even if collection starts remain constant. Here’s why…
Fiberglass pools are prefabricated structures that require only two to three days to install, rather than 8 to 16 weeks for a traditional gunite pool (concrete over steel bars). Fiberglass versions are much cheaper to install (often half the cost) and only require refinishing every 20 years. (Gunites need to be resurfaced every 10 to 15 years, while vinyl pools need to be replaced every five to 10 years.)
American homeowners are steadily catching up. Fiberglass has risen to about 23% to 24% of inground pools in the U.S., from 17% to 18% in 2019, and is growing by double digits in states like Florida.
For context, 70% of inground pools in Australia are made of fibreglass, so the growth trajectory in the US is long.
Together, this means the year 2025 was actually A growth year for Latham, despite fewer overall starts. Sales rose 7% to $546 million, marking the company’s first profitable year (on a GAAP basis) since its 2021 IPO. Management is now on track for another 9% growth in 2026, and that number could be much higher if strong sales of boats and other big-ticket items are any guide.
I should also note that approximately half of Latham’s revenue comes from pool lining and cover replacement, which provides an additional source of income.
Insiders are buying
In May, two Latham insiders purchased shares on the open market:
- CFO Oliver Glow bought about $74,000 worth of stock at $4.90
- Director James Klein bought approximately $242,000 at $4.84.
CFO purchases are my favorite type of buy signal. Studies have found that CFO buyouts perform well twice In addition to CEO purchases, these purchases were not made by any insider.
I pay close attention to these purchases, because they are one of the most honest signals on Wall Street. Executives can sell for a hundred reasons, including college fees, a new home, diversification… or perhaps a new pool in the land. But they buy for only one:
They think the stock is going up.
When two insiders buy shares (without anyone else selling them), it’s a sign that they know something the rest of the market doesn’t. These prices may have been early for the ‘buy’ signal provided by the Keith tool… but there’s no harm in getting in sooner rather than later.
Of course, there are risks in the short term. The first is randomness: one of the seasonal stocks I recommended last week, Coupang Company (CPNG)fell almost 10% from the gate due to the unexpected South Korean court ruling. The second is Latham’s volatile earnings. The company’s annual interest payments of $26 million are large compared to operating income of $30.6 million last year, so even small changes in operating income will have huge impacts on the bottom line. The third is America’s recovery: If the United States suddenly enters a recession, no consumer stock will escape cyclical fluctuations.
However, the three factors cut both ways. So, I’d point to Lantham as a stock worth owning as America dives back into the deep end.
Get the timing right
I’ve had my eye on Latham for a while. The company runs a well-understood business, has a clear profit engine, and its new CEO (who replaced a retiring president) has excellent experience selling expensive household goods. Before joining Latham as CEO, Sean Gadd ran the North American business James Hardie Industries PLC (JHX).
However, the timing in Latham was never quite clear. Leveraged stock shares seem to move almost at random: 22% drop in March… 11% rise in April… another 20% crash in early May…
2026 has been a guessing game for Latham stock.
But with Keith’s trading system, much of the uncertainty disappears. Seasonal trends become more evident, and buying opportunities begin to present themselves.
Click here to watch Keith Breakthrough 2026 event to learn more about its seasonal programme.
Until next week,
Thomas Young, CFA
Market Analyst, InvestorPlace
