The international quarterly reporting season kicked off a few days ago, and over the next few weeks this will be a focal point for share investors. This will be a crucial period for the direction of the sharemarket over the near-term, particularly in the US where much of the strength has come from this year. Despite some risk of earnings disappointment, there are still opportunities to be found. We've seen some stunning gains from a relatively narrow group, while many other parts of the market haven't risen nearly as much. While people have been obsessing over AI and how exciting it might be, many other great companies have been ignored and overlooked.