How CSCO Outperformed FTNT in Our Backtest (2020–2025)
How did Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Fortinet (FTNT) fare under JumpstartSignal's 5-stage screening pipeline across our full 2012–2025 walk-forward backtest? We flagged CSCO 1 time (5 signal days, first signal in 2025) and FTNT 4 times (9 signal days, first signal in 2020). Every entry price, return, and SPY comparison below is from the frozen backtest snapshot.
Head-to-Head Stats
CSCO 🏆 SPOTLIGHT Cisco Systems · Technology
FTNT 🏆 SPOTLIGHT Fortinet · Technology
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.
CSCO Signal Clusters
| Entry Date | Entry Price | Return | SPY Return | Alpha vs SPY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 14, 2025 | $68.66 | +14% | +4% | +10% |
FTNT Signal Clusters
| Entry Date | Entry Price | Return | SPY Return | Alpha vs SPY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 8, 2020 | $29.27 | +178% | +134% | +43% |
| Oct 19, 2021 | $66.38 | +22% | +60% | -37% |
| Dec 17, 2021 | $66.77 | +22% | +58% | -36% |
| Mar 4, 2022 | $67.09 | +21% | +68% | -47% |
What This Teaches
Signal frequency is not opinion; it's the pipeline firing or not firing against the same rules. Over the 2012–2025 window, FTNT triggered entries 4× versus 1× for CSCO. The lesson here isn't that one company is better than the other; it's that the template is tuned for a specific kind of setup and this pair shows which stock's price behaviour kept offering that setup.
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FAQ
Is CSCO or FTNT a better momentum stock?
In our 14-year backtest, CSCO had an average alpha of +10% per signal versus -19% for FTNT. CSCO produced 1 SPOTLIGHT or OPPORTUNITY buy-signal cluster vs 4 SPOTLIGHT or OPPORTUNITY buy-signal clusters for FTNT.
When did JumpstartSignal first flag CSCO?
Oct 14, 2025 at an entry price of $68.66 (SPOTLIGHT or OPPORTUNITY buy signal). That signal has returned +14% held to the snapshot date, versus +4% for SPY over the same period.
When did JumpstartSignal first flag FTNT?
Jul 8, 2020 at an entry price of $29.27 (SPOTLIGHT or OPPORTUNITY buy signal). That signal has returned +178% held to the snapshot date, versus +134% 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 R27 walk-forward validated backtest covering 2012–2025 (the 'seo_active' snapshot in our golden archive). Entry prices, returns, and SPY comparisons are computed from Stooq end-of-day OHLCV and frozen at snapshot time. See our methodology for details.