Reason: All four names remain flat-to-negative on 1-year change with negative 1-year alpha - still the genuinely broken cohort on the desk this cycle. TJX has deteriorated further: RSI now 22.7 (was 25.4), it has flipped from golden-cross to death-cross, and 1-year change has turned negative at -1.46% (was +2.2%) with 1-year alpha -21.33. WMT and COST remain below their 200-day (vs 200-day -13.1%, -1.5%); YUM is the least-bad of the four but still lagging (1-year alpha -14.1).

Tape Read

$TJX: price $135.12, RSI 22.7 (more deeply oversold than 25.4 last cycle), now death-crossed (flipped from golden-cross), trend strong-down, regime pullback, thesis unrated, 7D -3.83%, 30D -16.4%, -20.52% off its 52-week high — 12.9% below its 200-day average (vs 200-day -12.9, worse than -9.5%), 1-year change has turned negative at -1.46% (was +2.2%), 1-year alpha -21.33 (worse than -19.62): the deterioration has deepened since last cycle, at its 200-day level of $155.06. $WMT: price $103.09, RSI 33.2, death-crossed, trend strong-down, regime pullback, thesis unrated, 7D -0.58%, -23.73% off its high — 13.1% below its 200-day (vs 200-day -13.1), 1-year change +7.26%, 1-year alpha -12.61: watch $118.58 (its 200-day). $COST: price $945.47, RSI 48.1, death-crossed, trend strong-down, regime basing, thesis unrated, 7D -0.21%, -13.77% off its high — 1.5% below its 200-day (vs 200-day -1.5), 1-year change roughly flat at +0.05%, 1-year alpha -19.82: flat year, sitting right at its 200-day of $959.94. $YUM: price $153.86, RSI 53.5, death-crossed, trend weak-up, regime basing, thesis unrated, 7D +0.56%, -9.57% off its high — 0.6% below its 200-day (vs 200-day -0.6), 1-year change +5.77%, 1-year alpha -14.1: near-flat and lagging the market, the least-bad print in the group. Source: full-scan pre-computed summaries as of the 2026-08-28 close — retail.

• $TJX — PASS: RSI 22.7 (deeper oversold), flipped to death-cross, 12.9% below its 200-day, 1-year change now -1.46%, 1-year alpha -21.33 — the deterioration has deepened; watch $155.06.
• $WMT — PASS: RSI 33.2, 13.1% below its 200-day, 1-year change +7.26%, 1-year alpha -12.61 — trend under test; watch $118.58.
• $COST — PASS: 1-year change roughly flat (+0.05%), 1-year alpha -19.82, sitting right at its 200-day ($959.94) — a genuinely flat/negative year.
• $YUM — PASS: 1-year change +5.77%, 1-year alpha -14.1 — near-flat and lagging despite a modest positive week, the least-bad of the four.

Lead pick: No name in this basket clears a promote, and the cohort has gotten worse, not better, since last cycle. $TJX is the clearest deterioration — its RSI is more deeply oversold, its trend has flipped from golden-cross to death-cross, and its 1-year change has crossed into negative territory. This remains the desk's genuinely broken cohort per the long-horizon rule: every name is flat-to-negative on 1-year change with a materially negative 1-year alpha, and three of the four (WMT, COST, TJX) sit below their 200-day average.

Sources

• Tape data (price/RSI/SMA/returns/1-year change/1-year alpha): full-scan pre-computed summaries as of the 2026-08-28 close — retail.