Signals/How trends work

How Signals reads a stock's trend.

Signals compares a stock's moving averages after each completed trading day and labels it Bullish, Mixed or Bearish. You choose the averages: one of four presets, or your own SMA or EMA periods.

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AAPL daily chart in Signals on the 10/20/50 EMA model: the 10 EMA at 333.70 is above the 20 EMA at 331.32, which is above the 50 EMA at 323.54, so AAPL reads Bullish — AAPL reads Bullish on 10/20/50 EMA: 10 EMA $333.70, above the 20 EMA at $331.32, above the 50 EMA at $323.54. Oct 2, 2026 close.

The rule

The averages, in order.

With three averages, a stock is Bullish when each faster average sits above the next slower one, and Bearish when each sits below. Anything in between is Mixed: the trend is turning or undecided.

Label	Three averages (e.g. 10/20/50 EMA)
BULLISH	10 EMA above 20 EMA, and 20 EMA above 50 EMA.
MIXED	The averages are out of order.
BEARISH	10 EMA below 20 EMA, and 20 EMA below 50 EMA.

With two averages, such as 50/200 SMA, a stock is Bullish when the faster average is above the slower one and Bearish when it's below. It's Mixed only when they're exactly equal or there isn't enough history yet.

Trend models

Choose the model that fits how you invest.

Model	Averages	Good for
10/20/50 EMA	EMA 10 · 20 · 50	Shorter swings. Exponential averages react faster to recent prices.
10/20/50 SMA	SMA 10 · 20 · 50	The same horizon, with simple averages that move more steadily.
20/50/200 SMA	SMA 20 · 50 · 200	Intermediate to long-term trends.
50/200 SMA	SMA 50 · 200	The long-term picture, with two averages.
Custom	SMA or EMA, 2–3 periods	Your own periods, from 2 to 250 days.

Examples

Two stocks, two directions.

MNST chart on 10/20/50 EMA with the averages rolled over into a Bearish order, plus RSI and MACD panels — MNST: the averages have rolled over into a Bearish order.

NVDA Watchlist card reading Bullish under 10/20/50 EMA with Signal Context readings — NVDA: Bullish, shown with Signal Context on a Watchlist card.

Across the market

4,842 stocks, one label each.

At the Oct 2, 2026 close on 10/20/50 EMA, Stock Trends sorted every covered stock into three columns.

Bullish

1,006

Averages stacked fastest on top.

Mixed

971

Averages out of order.

Bearish

2,865

Averages stacked slowest on top.

Questions

Trend FAQ

Which prices does Signals use?

Completed daily bars, split-adjusted. A stock's label changes only after a trading day closes, never mid-session.

How is the EMA calculated?

Each exponential moving average starts from the simple average of its first period, then weights each new close by 2 ÷ (period + 1).

What's the difference between SMA and EMA?

A simple moving average weights every day equally. An exponential one gives recent days more weight, so it turns sooner.

Does Bullish mean I should buy?

No. A trend label describes past price behavior and doesn't predict future results.

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