Published: July 29, 2025

Latest Update: January 21, 2026

Just as nature follows repeating patterns, so too does the financial world. Some cycles unfold over short periods, while others stretch across years or even decades. Recognizing and understanding these cycles can provide a powerful advantage when navigating the markets.

Market cycles help us anticipate potential turning points, providing insights into where stocks, sectors, or entire markets may be heading next. At its core, a cycle is simply a repeating event—measured in the market by the time between peaks.

From Nature to Markets: The Power of Cycles

To search for any ticker, enter the ticker symbol or company name in the “Search for Ticker” field on the upper right of your program site.

The site directs you to the Asset Details page, where you can view your available TradeSmith indicators and assess the ticker’s chart, statistics, financials, and other technical and fundamental metrics.

To review your Trade Cycles indicators, click the Trade Cycles tab.

The Trade Cycle indicators and features are organized under the Annual Pattern, Statistics, and Cycles tabs on the upper left of the Trade Cycles tab.

Screenshot taken from a Trade Cycles account on Jan. 21, 2026.

Let’s focus on the Cycles tab.

In this example, we will look at the cycles chart for Eli Lilly & Co (LLY).

 Screenshot taken from a Trade Cycles account on Jan. 21, 2026.

Eli Lilly & Co (LLY) is in the Health Indictor Green Zone (Long-term), has a medium risk with a Volatility Quotient (VQ) of about 24%, and is in an uptrend.

The Health Indicator Green Zone (Long-term) indicates that the security is in a healthy state and moving well within its VQ range. If you were bullish on Eli Lilly & Co (LLY), you may buy the stock when considering our TradeSmith indicators or other technical and fundamental metrics on the Asset Details page.

Note: TradeSmith is not recommending that you buy Eli Lilly & Co (LLY). This ticker is an example for educational purposes only.

Let’s see what our cycle analysis has to say about Eli Lilly & Co (LLY).

According to our cycles, Eli Lilly & Co (LLY) is in a valley turn area from Jan. 26 to Feb. 6, 2026, with a Medium conviction level.

 Screenshot taken from a Trade Cycles account on Jan. 21, 2026.

The peak and valley areas are highlighted on our charts and graphs. 

• Peaks (tops) are displayed in orange: indicates that the price may move lower. 
• Valleys (bottoms) are displayed in blue: indicates that the price may move higher. 

You can determine whether the security is in a current peak (top) or valley (bottom) and forecast upcoming peaks and valleys several months or years in advance. 

The peaks and valleys display the potential turn area, NOT how high an asset will rise or fall.  

You may see the various time cycles that make up the composite cycle. In our example of Eli Lilly (LLY), the short-term and middle-term cycles make up the composite cycle. That’s the purple wavy line you see moving up and down and across the chart. You can view the short-term and middle-term cycles and their matching peaks and valleys separately.

Here are the individual cycles and their periods: 

• Short-term: 20-40 trading days 
• Middle term: 41-100 trading days 
• Long-term: 101-300 trading days 
• Very long-term: 301+ trading days 

If you’re a trader with shorter-term investment goals, you may prefer to see only the short-term cycle and review its peaks and valleys. 

Pro Tip: Please make sure your cycle matches the peaks & valleys. For example, if you are looking at the composite cycle, ensure the peaks & valleys are also set to composite. 

Our conviction level tells you how many individual cycles agree on the turn area. When more individual cycles agree on a turn, the higher its conviction level and the higher the probability that the event will occur.

When evaluating potential trades, avoid basing your decision on just one indicator. Instead, consider all available indicators to gain a comprehensive view of the market, enabling you to make more informed, strategic decisions. 

Need Help? 

Our Customer Success team is ready to assist: 

• Phone: 1-866-385-2076 (toll-free) 
• Email: [email protected] 

*Note—The tabs and features you see on your TradeSmith Finance site will vary based on your subscription(s) and subscription level(s).