By Philip van Doorn
These stocks have declined this year, while the consensus estimates for the companies' earnings per share have soared
These companies rank high among the S&amp;P 500 for increases in rolling consensus 12-month earnings estimates, even though the stocks have declined this year.
The S&amp;P 500 has gained 7.4% so far this year, but much of that gain has been driven by a small number of companies, and nearly half of the stocks in the large-cap U.S. benchmark index are down so far for 2026. But among some of this year's decliners, there are compelling numbers that might highlight attractive entry points for long-term investors.
Christine Idzelis explained how the S&amp;P 500's SPX gain during the second quarter has been driven by a handful of companies.
According to LSEG's numbers updated through Tuesday, the 20 companies with the largest gains in market capitalization so far in 2026 have added a combined $5.45 trillion in market cap, while the remaining 480 companies in the S&amp;P 500 have had their combined market cap decline by $738 billion.
The S&amp;P 500 is weighted by market capitalization, which magnifies the effect of this year's gains for some of its largest companies. These include Alphabet (GOOGL), whose market cap has increased by $893 billion, and Nvidia (NVDA), whose market cap has grown by $811 billion.
And the party may well continue rolling along in the same fashion.
Ari H. Wald, a technical analyst at Oppenheimer, wrote in a report on Saturday that he expected the momentum trade for stocks to continue to work for investors.
&#34;It's not what's working that gives us concern, it's what's not working,&#34; he wrote, and the italics were his. And he reiterated his advice given in April: &#34;Don't sell the winners, sell the losers.&#34;
So much for the concerns of traders and short-term investors. What about long-term investors looking for bargains, or contrarian ideas, or stocks that appear to be priced at more attractive entry points than they were at the end of 2025?
A contrarian stock screen
We can identify candidates by screening the S&amp;P 500 for stocks of companies for which rolling 12-month earnings-per-share estimates have increased significantly, even as share prices have declined this year.
A stock's forward price/earnings ratio is its price divided by analysts' consensus 12-month earnings-per-share estimate. As companies report their quarterly financial results and as some of the companies provide guidance for what to expect over coming quarters, analysts typically increase their earnings estimates, which supports share-price increases over the long term.
Starting with the 195 components of the S&amp;P 500 that have declined at least 5% this year, we removed two companies for which consensus 12-month EPS estimates were negative as of Dec. 31. Then we sorted the remaining 193 companies by how much consensus EPS estimates had risen this year through Tuesday.
Here are the 15 stocks in the S&amp;P 500 among those that have declined at least 5% this year whose consensus EPS estimates among analysts polled by LSEG have increased the most during 2026. To the right are projected compound annual growth rates for the companies' revenue and earnings per share from 2026 through 2028. The growth projections are based on consensus estimates for calendar years, as adjusted by LSEG for companies whose fiscal reporting periods don't match the calendar.
Here are the S&amp;P 500's sectors listed alphabetically, with forward P/E along with revenue and EPS growth projections, so you can see how the numbers compare with those for the 15 stocks:
Some of the 15 companies, including Palantir (PLTR), trade at high forward P/E valuations. But they might also have very high growth projections. Palantir's forward P/E has declined significantly this year because the rolling 12-month EPS estimate has increased so much. And Palantir's projected sales and earnings CAGR from 2026 through 2028 are considerably higher than those for the S&amp;P 500 information technology sector.
Schwab (SCHW) stands out with a forward P/E that is lower than that of the financial services sector, and with revenue and EPS CAGR projections that are much higher than those for the sector.
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05-20-26 1005ET

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This article identifies 15 S&P 500 stocks that have declined this year despite rising earnings estimates, presenting potential opportunities for long-term investors. The S&P 500 has gained 7.4% in 2026, driven by a few companies, while many others have seen market cap declines. Analysts suggest these stocks may offer attractive entry points, with some, like Palantir, showing high growth projections despite high valuations.

- The S&P 500 has increased by 7.4% in 2026, largely driven by a few companies, while nearly half of its constituents have seen stock declines.  
- Among these decliners, significant increases in earnings estimates suggest potential long-term investment opportunities, especially for companies like Palantir and Schwab.  
- A technical analyst argues that the momentum trade will persist, prompting a focus on identifying stocks with rising earnings expectations despite falling prices.

Dow Jones

S&P 500

Palantir Tech

SPDR S&P 500

Direxion Daily PLTR Bull 2X Shares

VG Growth

iShares Core S&P 500

GraniteShares 2x Long PLTR Daily ETF

VG S&P 500

Roundhill PLTR WeeklyPay ETF

Leverage Shares 2X Long PLTR Daily ETF

Ultr S&P 500 Pro

Defiance Leveraged Long +Income PLTR ETF

Leverage Shares 2x Cpd Acclrtd PLTRMnETF

iShares Core S&P US Value

VG Value

VG Mga Cap 300 Grw

Pro UltrPro S&Pro 500

VG Mga Cap 300 Val

Avantis US Large Cap Value ETF

Alphabet

Alphabet - C

NVIDIA

Oppenheimer

Charles Schwab

NVIDIA Corporation

SCHWAB(CHARLES)CORP 5.95% DEP SHS REP 1/40 NON CUM PERP PF D

SCHWAB(CHARLES)CORP 4.450% DEP SHS REP 1/40TH N-CUM PFD SERJ

These 15 S&P 500 stocks could be contrarian ways to play the market's uneven rally