The Quintessential Five 'Strong Buy' Stocks for 2026

After both 2024 and 2025 were dominated by stock multiple expansion and extreme concentration in a handful of U.S. mega-cap tech stocks, as 2026 approaches, I believe the equity market is entering a new regime—one driven by asymmetry rather than euphoria. With the cost of capital structurally higher, valuations below global averages may again matter, offering a margin of safety largely ignored in recent years.Claim 50% Off TipRanks Premium and Invest with Confidence Unlock hedge-fund level data and powerful investing tools designed to help you make smarter, sharper decisions Stay ahead of the market with the latest news and analysis so your portfolio is always positioned for maximum potential In this context, returns are more likely to come from exposure—both direct and indirect—to the few remaining engines of real growth, namely AI (artificial intelligence) infrastructure, selective commodities, and domestic rate-cut cycles in emerging markets. Importantly, companies with high operating leverage in these regions can translate relatively modest macro improvements into disproportionate earnings expansion. Taken together, this framework aims to maximize expected returns without relying on further multiple expansion in U.S. equities, offering a rational response to a market in which beta has become expensive, and alpha must be built ahead of capital flows. Within this context, I have selected five stocks — Vertiv Holdings (VRT), Alibaba (BABA), Nu Holdings (NU), MercadoLibre (MELI), and Amazon (AMZN) — which I believe are best positioned to capture this setup and deliver meaningful upside over the year ahead. While none of these names look optically cheap on headline multiples, their upside is driven by earnings normalization and operating leverage rather than valuation expansion—precisely the type of setup that tends to work when capital is expensive, and expectations remain anchored.