ADBE vs CMCSA: Buy Signal vs Watchlist-Only
How did Adobe (ADBE) and Comcast (CMCSA) fare under JumpstartSignal's 5-stage screening pipeline across our full 2012–2025 walk-forward backtest? We flagged ADBE 2 times (5 signal days, first signal in 2015) and CMCSA 26 times (544 signal days, first signal in 2012). Every entry price, return, and SPY comparison below is from the frozen backtest snapshot.
📌 Note: CMCSA only ever reached our MONITOR watchlist tier, it was never promoted to a SPOTLIGHT or OPPORTUNITY buy signal. ADBE did reach SPOTLIGHT or OPPORTUNITY. That asymmetry is the story of this comparison.
Head-to-Head Stats
ADBE ✅ OPPORTUNITY Adobe · Technology
CMCSA 📌 MONITOR Comcast · Communication Services
Per-Signal Returns
Each bar below shows the best return from one signal cluster, held from the entry date through Feb 1, 2026. The SPY return over the same period is shown alongside each entry, alpha is the gap between the two.
ADBE Signal Clusters
| Entry Date | Entry Price | Return | SPY Return | Alpha vs SPY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2, 2015 | $82.26 | +256% | +305% | -48% |
| Dec 15, 2015 | $94.02 | +212% | +297% | -85% |
CMCSA Signal Clusters
| Entry Date | Entry Price | Return | SPY Return | Alpha vs SPY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26, 2012 | $10.52 | +183% | +524% | -341% |
| Jun 12, 2012 | $10.43 | +185% | +562% | -377% |
| Mar 25, 2013 | $14.72 | +102% | +452% | -350% |
| May 1, 2013 | $14.84 | +100% | +440% | -340% |
| Jul 15, 2013 | $15.46 | +92% | +405% | -312% |
| Sep 17, 2013 | $15.56 | +91% | +400% | -308% |
| Feb 12, 2014 | $19.28 | +54% | +358% | -303% |
| May 7, 2014 | $18.43 | +61% | +347% | -285% |
| Aug 19, 2014 | $19.74 | +51% | +321% | -270% |
| Sep 3, 2014 | $19.87 | +50% | +316% | -266% |
| Dec 1, 2014 | $20.33 | +46% | +307% | -260% |
| May 4, 2015 | $21.56 | +38% | +289% | -251% |
| Jun 4, 2015 | $21.53 | +38% | +292% | -254% |
| Mar 18, 2016 | $22.01 | +35% | +296% | -261% |
| Jun 22, 2016 | $23.38 | +27% | +285% | -258% |
| Nov 28, 2016 | $25.70 | +16% | +262% | -246% |
| May 7, 2019 | $33.60 | -12% | +164% | -176% |
| Jun 14, 2019 | $33.41 | -11% | +163% | -174% |
| Oct 25, 2019 | $36.15 | -18% | +148% | -166% |
| Nov 14, 2019 | $36.23 | -18% | +143% | -161% |
| Jan 10, 2020 | $36.03 | -17% | +130% | -147% |
| Feb 7, 2020 | $35.77 | -17% | +124% | -140% |
| Apr 29, 2021 | $46.19 | -36% | +76% | -111% |
| Jun 1, 2021 | $46.39 | -36% | +75% | -111% |
| Aug 4, 2023 | $39.06 | -24% | +58% | -82% |
| Jan 19, 2024 | $38.26 | -22% | +46% | -68% |
What This Teaches
Stock screening is about frequency, not preference. CMCSA was flagged 26× and ADBE was flagged 2× because CMCSA's weekly closes repeatedly matched the confluence we score for. That's why we publish the full record: the absence of a signal on a great company is as instructive as a signal on a mediocre one.
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FAQ
Did JumpstartSignal ever buy CMCSA?
No. CMCSA only ever cleared our weekly MONITOR tier, a watchlist of stocks matching some but not all of our buy criteria. MONITOR signals are published for research context, not executed as trades; only SPOTLIGHT and OPPORTUNITY signals enter the backtested portfolio. ADBE, by contrast, did reach SPOTLIGHT or OPPORTUNITY in our pipeline; that asymmetry is the core story of this page.
Is ADBE or CMCSA a better momentum stock?
These two are not directly comparable as momentum buys. ADBE reached our buy tiers and averaged -67% alpha per buy signal across 2 clusters. CMCSA only ever cleared the MONITOR watchlist (26 clusters, never promoted to a buy), so it has no buy-tier alpha. MONITOR signals are watch-only and not comparable to executed buy signals.
When did JumpstartSignal first flag ADBE?
Oct 2, 2015 at an entry price of $82.26 (SPOTLIGHT or OPPORTUNITY buy signal). That signal has returned +256% held to the snapshot date, versus +305% for SPY over the same period.
When did JumpstartSignal first flag CMCSA?
Apr 26, 2012 at an entry price of $10.52 (MONITOR watchlist tier only). That signal has returned +183% held to the snapshot date, versus +524% for SPY.
Does this mean one stock is a buy and the other isn't?
No. Historical signal frequency and past returns are not buy recommendations. Our pipeline identifies entries that would have matched the template historically. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Use these pages as methodology research, not investment advice.
Where does the underlying data come from?
All entries on this page come from the R30 walk-forward validated backtest covering 2012-2025 (the 'seo_active' snapshot in our golden archive). Entry prices, returns, and SPY comparisons are computed from end-of-day OHLCV and frozen at snapshot time. See our methodology for details.