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Paid stock promotions, explained

Guides for retail traders on how paid promotions work, where the disclosures live, what they mean, and what the record shows happens next.

Start with the basics Browse all guides

12 guides · 60 minutes of reading · free, no account needed

Every day, companies and their backers pay newsletters and websites to put small stocks in front of traders. It's legal when it's disclosed, and the disclosures are public, but they're scattered across hundreds of disclaimer pages that almost nobody reads. These guides explain what to look for and how to read it. For the live record, browse the promoted tickers and operators indexes, or see how our data works.

New here? Start with this one

The basics5 min read

What is a paid stock promotion?

A paid stock promotion is an ad for a stock: someone pays a newsletter or site to publish a ticker. How it works, why it's legal, and what the disclosure tells you.

From our deal record

What happened after disclosed promotions

How these are measured

median peak run above entry: +9%
of deals reached +20% at some point: 27%
median given back from the peak by window end: 10%
closed their window above entry: 44%

Per deal, across ended promotions with usable price data. Backtested history, not a forecast, and not investment advice.

The basics

What a paid stock promotion is, who's involved, and how to spot one.

4 guides

The basics5 min read

What is a paid stock promotion?

An ad for a stock, legal when the payment is disclosed.

The basics4 min read

How to tell if a stock is being paid to be promoted

Three checks that tell you whether a ticker was paid for.

The basics5 min read

Stock promoters, newsletters, IR firms and operators: who pays whom

Funder, operator, newsletter: how the money moves.

The basics6 min read

Why you're getting stock promotion emails and texts

Where the alert emails come from and how to check who paid.

Disclosures and the law

Where the disclosure lives, what each line means, and the rule that requires it.

4 guides

Disclosures and the law5 min read

How to read a stock promotion disclaimer

A field-by-field walkthrough of the paragraph nobody reads.

Disclosures and the law4 min read

Section 17(b) of the Securities Act, explained for traders

The one rule that makes the whole public record exist.

Disclosures and the law5 min read

What the OTC Markets stock promotion flag means

The megaphone, the skull and crossbones, and what each means.

Disclosures and the law4 min read

What is an investor awareness campaign?

The company-side view of a paid promotion, and how to read it.

Research and data

What our record shows about promoted stocks, and what to check before you go near one.

3 guides

Research and data9 min read

How to trade paid stock promotions

What traders look at around a disclosed campaign, and the exit problem.

Research and data4 min read

What happens to a stock after a paid promotion?

Our record, measured: the run, the fade and how often it holds.

Research and data5 min read

Red flags in promoted stocks

A seven-point research checklist before you go near one.

Reference

Definitions for every term the guides and the data use.

1 guide

Reference4 min read

Stock promotion glossary

Plain definitions for every term the guides and the data use.