11
The Best Stocks To Buy Now
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Compare the Best Stocks To Buy
The Best Stocks to Buy Now
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD)
Best for semiconductor enthusiasts
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD)
Forward P/E
P/E
1-year return
AMD is one of the darlings of the semiconductor industry.
The stock has been ablaze with excitement surrounding artificial intelligence stocks. Intel is one of AMD’s primary competitors. But the Santa Clara, California-based company has managed to dig in its heels and gain market share in the CPU, GPU and data processing space. The firm continues to grow in key markets, mainly high-performance computing, gaming and AI. Revenue growth has been solid. AMD’s third-quarter revenue from the 2025 fiscal year was up more than 36% year over year.
Regarding competition pressure, Nvidia still reigns supreme in the AI GPU space—limiting AMD in that lucrative market. The company also relies on the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) for its chip production.
- Consistent gains in market share in the CPU space
- Financial momentum
- Growth in key AI markets
- A high P/E that sparks valuation concerns
- Exposure to geopolitical risks because of its international supply chain
- Nvidia’s dominance in the GPU space
Applovin Corp. (APP)
Best for gaming enthusiasts
Applovin Corp. (APP)
Forward P/E
P/E
1-year return
This company’s name sounds too close to McLovin’s character from “Superbad.” But it does provide a valuable business solution to gaming app companies.
Applovin works with mobile application developers, mainly those within the gaming sector, to help them optimize their advertising dollars. Each time someone downloads the app, APP generates revenue and helps the company find an advertiser.
One of the major cons of the stock is that it may have already reached its meteoric height, and the company’s debt-to-equity ratio is high.
APP is expected to have a great year in 2026, with analysts predicting growth of nearly 35%.
- Spectacular gains in 2025
- Solid revenue growth
- Well-positioned in AI-driven advertising
- Overvaluation risk
- The company’s revenue is tied to the cyclical sector (e.g., advertising and gaming)
- APP is not a member of the S&P 500
Broadcom (AVGO)
Best for AI workloads
Broadcom (AVGO)
Forward P/E
P/E
1-year return
AVGO is a “picks and shovels” stock. In other words, you can be exposed to other Big Tech names like Alphabet or OpenAI. Those “big shot” companies partner with Broadcom.
AVGO holds the majority of the market share for application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Broadcom has also been very strategic in acquisitions; AVGO acquired VMware in 2023 for $69 billion, a move that expanded Broadcom’s reach into cloud computing and virtualization.
Sales will continue a hot streak, expected to grow nearly 35% in the 2026 fiscal year. For AVGO’s 2025 fiscal year, the company has been able to beat earnings per share (EPS) expectations in the first three quarters.
A potential con: Broadcom is very exposed to the smartphone market. In the past, Apple has represented 20% of AVGO’s net revenue. And now Apple is creating its own Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chips. This will likely impact Broadcom as a supplier, although AVGO does still maintain some licensing deals with the company that Steve Jobs built.
- Strategic acquisitions to diversify the business
- A big player in ASICs
- Overreliance on Apple
- High stock valuation
Incyte Corp. (INCY)
Best stock for healthcare
Incyte Corp. (INCY)
Forward P/E
P/E
1-Year Return
Pharma stocks are a great defensive posture when the economy slows. That’s because there are always medical needs, especially with aging populations and rising chronic diseases.
Delaware-based biopharmaceutical company Incyte focuses on serious medical conditions (e.g., cancer, autoimmune disorders, etc.).
With Incyte’s drug portfolio, its star performer is Jakafi® (ruxolitinib). It’s a drug that can treat bone marrow diseases and also polycythemia vera, a condition where the body makes too many blood cells. With the patent, there is no generic drug for Jakafi available at this time.
Jakafi is such a top performer that in Incyte’s Q3 of fiscal year 2025, it represented 58% of the company’s revenue. The company’s Q3 revenue came in at $1.37 billion.
Analysts predict a promising road ahead for Incyte, predicting sales growth of at least 11%.
- Strong revenue growth, with three consecutive quarters beating earnings expectations in fiscal 2025
- Low debt-equity ratio
- Continued investment in growth and R&D pipeline
- Jakafi is the company’s core revenue driver
- The patent for Jakafi is expected to end in 2028
- No dividend payment
Methodology: How we score our products
The top stocks listed above all meet the following criteria and are traded on major U.S. stock exchanges:
- Analyst Consensus of “Buy” or Better: A high number of “buy” ratings from analysts suggest the stock is expected to outperform the broader market.
- Market Capitalization of $10 Billion or More: Companies with a market cap of over $10 billion typically dominate their industries and possess competitive advantages. Smaller companies, with market caps under $10 billion, tend to receive less attention from the media and analysts and carry higher investment risks.
- Altimeter Overall Grade of “B” or Higher: Only stocks rated “B” or above by Altimeter are included. This grade reflects factors like profitability, earnings stability, valuation and growth expectations. Stocks that score “B” or better rank in the top quarter of over 5,000 companies in Altimeter’s database, signaling strong potential for improving returns and favorable valuations.
- Positive Earnings-Per-Share Growth: For our analysis, we looked at stocks that had delivered positive EPS growth over the past five years, which is an indicator of strong financial and profitability performance. We also screened for stocks that had positive projected EPS growth for 2026.
Top Performing Stocks This Year
While the highest returns might look flashy, it’s important to remember that a stock’s performance is backward-looking and not an indicator of future returns. That’s why we curated a shortlist of stocks above based on methodologies to screen for risks and future projections.
But it’s only natural to be curious about the heavy hitters that are performing well this year. That’s why listed below are the top performing stocks in the S&P 500 based on year-to-date returns.
What To Look for When Buying Stocks
When shopping for stocks, it’s important to do your due diligence with research and understand key metrics in the decision-making process.
You can easily find a company’s financial statements on Yahoo Finance and Google Finance. From there, you can examine metrics and data within those reports, such as revenue, profit margins and earnings.
Metrics help investors gain insight into a company’s overall financial health. You’ll also want to consider the company’s future growth since that will affect stock appreciation and earnings. Look through reports, stay current on the news and follow expert analysis. Many stock analysts also examine the company’s overall management team and leadership. That way, they can understand how strategic decisions are made.
If you’re new to investing, you’ll want to look for companies with a competitive edge, with the potential for growth and stability. Valuation is also important, where metrics like a stock’s price-to-earnings or price-to-book ratios come into play. When compared to a company’s industry peers, these metrics can help you gauge whether a stock is overvalued or undervalued.
To sum up, before making a stock purchase, apply research and learn What Is the Stock Market.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How long should I hold these stocks?
How long you should hold stocks depends on your objectives and what the market is doing. In general, most investors build wealth by holding stocks long term. Our picks for the best stocks to buy now include a lot of technology and semiconductor stocks. These industries have done extremely well over the past several years and are likely to do so for the next few years at least. But will they still do well in 20 years, or will some of these companies be replaced by the next innovation? You’ll have to keep up with industry trends to know when the best time to sell is and you probably won’t get the timing perfectly right. That’s part of the risk of investing in individual stocks.
How much should I invest in stocks?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. If you’re younger, you have a longer time horizon and can allocate more of your investment portfolio. In other words, you have some wiggle room to be riskier, allocating up to 70% to 90% of your portfolio to stocks.
As you approach retirement, you need to be slightly more conservative with your investments. It is typically recommended that you trim your stock portfolio allocation to around 60% to 70% by the time you are in your 40s or 50s. As you age, you want to turn more to bonds and cash holdings for stability and lower risk tolerance.
If you still need more help, a financial advisor can help you tailor your strategy based on your specific needs and circumstances.
Disclosures
- [1]INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED • ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED • MAY LOSE VALUE
[2]Other fees, such as exchange fees, may apply. Please view our fee disclosure to view a full listing of fees.