S&P 500
500 largest US companies
Index
The default benchmark for the US market. Bought through funds like VOO or SPY. Broad, diversified, and the single most common long-term holding.
Lesson 04 / the watchlist
What to study, and why.
This is a research list, not a buy list. Learn what each one does, how it makes money, and how violently it moves before you put a dollar behind it.
Indexes — the foundation
Buying an index means owning hundreds of companies in one purchase. This is where most of the 70% lives.
Core
NASDAQ
Tech-heavy US index
Index
Tracked through funds like QQQ. Heavier on technology, so it moves faster in both directions than the S&P 500.
Blue chips — steady owners
Established, profitable companies. Slower moves, dividends, and easier to hold.
MSFT
Microsoft
Software / Cloud
Enterprise software, Azure cloud and AI. Deep recurring revenue and a long dividend history — a classic long-term core holding.
MCD
McDonald's
Consumer / Real Estate
As much a real estate company as a restaurant one. Franchise rent and royalties make cash flow steady, and it's a long-running dividend payer.
AMZN
Amazon
E-commerce / Cloud
Retail scale plus AWS, the profit engine. Reinvests heavily instead of paying big dividends, so the return story is growth in the share price.
Growth — higher reward, higher swing
Faster movers. Great for options study because they actually move — and that cuts both ways.
NVDA
NVIDIA
Semiconductors / AI
The chips behind the AI buildout. Huge volume and liquid options chains, which is why traders study it — but the premiums are expensive because it swings hard.
TSLA
Tesla
EV / Energy / Robotics
Electric vehicles, energy storage and autonomy bets. One of the most volatile large caps — powerful for learning how price swings inflate option premiums.
Speculative — smallest slice
The part of the portfolio you can afford to lose entirely. Position size is the whole strategy here.
CXW
CoreCivic
Small cap / Government contracts
A small-cap tied closely to government detention contracts and policy shifts. Thin trading and headline-driven, so it can gap hard in either direction.
XRP
XRP
Crypto
A cryptocurrency for cross-border payments, not a stock. No earnings, no dividends, 24/7 trading, and heavily driven by regulation news. Treat it as pure speculation.
How to research any ticker
- 01What does the company actually sell, and who pays them?
- 02Are revenue and profit growing over the last three to five years?
- 03Does it pay a dividend, and can it afford to keep paying it?
- 04How much does the price swing in a normal month? That's your risk.
- 05For options: is the options chain liquid — tight spreads, real volume?
- 06Would you be comfortable holding it for five years if it dropped 30% tomorrow?