Forward P/E ratios have pulled back as the market trades sideways and analysts bump up earnings forecasts. But we're still sitting one standard deviation above the historical mean.

Cheaper ≠ cheap.

Valuation compression doesn't mean you've reached value. It just means you're less expensive than you were at the peak. When the long-term average is your floor, not your ceiling, you're still paying a premium for future growth that may or may not materialize.

Context matters. Mean reversion works both ways.