6 MONTHS UPDATE
Article published May 11, 2026 · 188 days ago
Updated November 6, 2026
6 Months Later — Nov 6, 2026
U.S. News & World Report's "Best Stocks to Buy for 2026" list has returned +7.5% on average over the first six months since publication in May 2026. The S&P 500 fell -0.3% over the same window, putting the picks ahead by 7.8 percentage points.
Seven of the ten stocks are outperforming the index. NetApp (NTAP) leads with a +43.4% gain, accounting for much of the portfolio's edge over the broader market.
The three underperformers have not erased the gains from the top half. At the halfway point of the year, the picks are tracking well ahead of the benchmark they were measured against.
3 Months Later — Aug 7, 2026
U.S. News & World Report's ten stock picks for 2026 have returned an average of 13.7% three months after publication, outpacing the S&P 500's 4.8% gain by 8.9 percentage points.
Half the list is now beating the market. Five of the ten picks are outperforming the index over the same period.
HPE is the standout, up 69.8% since the list was published in May. That single position accounts for a significant portion of the portfolio's overall gain.
The other nine picks are performing more modestly. Even with HPE's outsized contribution, the portfolio as a whole is still ahead of the benchmark by a meaningful margin at this early checkpoint.
3 Days Later — May 14, 2026
U.S. News & World Report's ten picks for 2026 are up an average of 0.2% three days after publication, lagging the S&P 500's 1.4% gain over the same window. Only three of the ten recommendations are currently outperforming the broader market.
HPE stands out with an 8.9% gain, the strongest performance in the portfolio. The other nine picks show more modest movement, pulling the overall average below the benchmark.
Three days represents an extremely short tracking window. Early price action often reflects short-term volatility rather than the fundamental thesis behind longer-term stock picks.
Full progress so far — every tracked pick ↓
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