m starting a new habit: writing quarterly portfolio reviews to hold myself accountable and double-check my own homework.
Here is the quick breakdown of my Q3 2026 performance:
My Q3 Portfolio Return: +8.11%
S&P 500: +2.03%
Nasdaq: +2.47%
TL;DR: Got lucky this quarter
Here is every move I made and how my individual holdings performed between July 1st and September 30th:
Sold Danaos (DAC): Locked in a ~23% gain and rotated that capital straight into SK Hynix (000660.KS). SK Hynix is currently up about 15% in my portfolio.
Sold Assured Guaranty (AGO): Exited with a modest ~5% gain in Q3 and rotated into FMC Corp (FMC). FMC is currently sitting at an unrealized loss of roughly -23%.
Held Zhihu (ZH) & Everest Group (EG): Didn’t touch these two during the quarter. Zhihu was up about 14% for Q3, and Everest was up around 3%.
Same old rules: Extreme concentration, 4 stocks max, 100% invested.
Here is the strategic thesis behind my current 4-stock portfolio and what I plan to do next:
1. FMC Corp (NYSE: FMC) — The Turnaround Play
This is a classic long-term turnaround story. Survival is no longer an issue after their $1B balance sheet cleanup, but ramping up their new R&D pipeline will take time. I am fully prepared to sit on my hands and hold this for 3 to 5 years.
2. SK Hynix (000660.KS) — The Safe Value Gateway to AI
Compared to other AI hype stocks flying in outer space at nosebleed valuations, SK Hynix is a grounded value play. I’m prepared to hold this for the ultra long haul.
From my own personal experience and direct conversations with C-suite executives at Fortune 500 companies, the impact of AI is real. Every major department across every industry is either already implementing AI or actively racing to embrace it. I’ll put it out there: This is officially the Third Industrial Revolution. SK Hynix owns the HBM bottleneck, and I’m happy to hold the keys.
3. Zhihu (NYSE: ZH) — On the Chopping Block (With 3 Caveats)
I might exit this position in the short term. My original thesis was that their massive Chinese language dataset would be hugely valuable to AI companies—similar to how Reddit charges tech giants a annual fee with near-zero marginal cost. But the domestic environmentis tough; most big tech companies are essentially free-riding their content.
Why haven’t I pulled the trigger to sell yet? Three reasons:
Regulatory & API Monetization: I want to give it a bit more time to see if domestic AI regulations solidify and whether Zhihu can finish building its commercial AI data API interfaces.
The Short-Drama Boom in China: Zhihu has tapped right into the massive short-drama trend and is now a top IP supplier in this space. I want to monitor if this growth holds up next quarter.
Aggressive Buybacks: Management is putting their money where their mouth is, buying back roughly $200,000 worth of shares every single day.
4. Everest Group (NYSE: EG) — The Anchor of My Portfolio
This reinsurance giant is my portfolio’s main stabilizer. While my other holdings might swing wildly, Everest is my rock. The upside potential might be capped compared to tech, but I am more than happy with it.
With management ditching loss-making insurance lines and their core reinsurance business back on track, it’s essentially a quiet compounding machine. I comfortably see a long-term compound return of 10% to 15% per year here.