Micro-Cap Markets

The Russell Microcap Index is up 58.5% over the past year, but August 6 was an earnings-driven bloodbath for individual micro-caps. ThredUp (TDUP) got cut in half after dropping guidance, while Oportun Financial (OPRT) surged 33% on a Q2 beat. Here's how all seven benchmark indexes performed and the top 5 winners and losers in the $50M–$500M range.

MDB Capital Holdings (NASDAQ: MDBH) is a publicly traded venture platform whose portfolio of equity stakes — including eXoZymes and Paulex Bio — plus $22.3M in net assets may exceed its entire $32M market cap. With PatentVest, its AI-enabled IP intelligence subsidiary, planning a spin-off and a Paulex Bio IPO targeted for September 2026, the next 12 months could test whether the sum of the parts exceeds the whole.

Thermal Energy International (TSX-V: TMG, OTCQB: TMGEF) has grown revenue every year since 2022 under long-tenured CEO Bill Crossland, with recent quarters showing 62% revenue growth and tripled adjusted EBITDA. At under 1x EV/Revenue, the market has not yet priced in the multi-year growth trend.

The Russell Microcap Index launched in 2005 and has become the gold-standard benchmark for U.S. micro-cap stocks. Here's what investors need to know about its origins, methodology, track record, and the types of companies it holds.

Most investors think there are dozens of micro-cap indexes. There aren't. Here's the definitive breakdown of the seven benchmarks that actually matter — what they cover, how they differ, and which one is the gold standard.

The Russell Microcap Index is up 58.5% over the past year. The Russell Top 50 — the mega-cap benchmark — is up 2.0% over the same period. This is not a trade. It is a regime change. Here is what is driving it and what it means for investors in this space.

Diginex (NASDAQ: DGNX) — market cap under $30 million — has a signed definitive agreement to acquire Resulticks for $1.5 billion in an all-share deal. The hard deadline is July 31. No further extensions. Here's what's actually happening.

A ~$280M market-cap defense tech firm just landed exclusive U.S. rights to manufacture and sell Israel's combat-proven HARPY, HAROP, and Mini HARPY loitering munitions to the Department of War. Revenue is already up 107% year over year — this is a micro-cap with a real order book, not a story stock.

LIXTE Biotechnology, a clinical-stage cancer drug developer, just completed a reverse merger with NOMAD Transportable Power Systems and is renaming itself NOMAD Power Solutions. Here's how to tell a legitimate sector pivot from a shell dressed up in a hot narrative.

FTSE Russell's June 2026 reconstitution just added a wave of new names — Star Equity, Health In Tech, AIB Data Centers, and more — to the Russell Microcap Index. Here's the mechanic behind the headline, and why it moves the stock before it moves the business.

Real numbers on this year's micro-cap rally — and a historical pattern worth knowing before you chase it.

A plain-English guide to how Wall Street really defines micro-cap stocks — and why the real numbers matter more than the hype.