Netflix (NFLX 0.71%) popped in early November after announcing a 10-for-1 stock split. With the split now complete, investors can buy one share of Netflix for around $100 rather than $1,000. However, there are also 10 times as many Netflix shares outstanding, so the value, or market capitalization, of the company, wasn't impacted by the stock split.
Still, stock splits carry several benefits, including increasing Netflix's chances of being added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, acting as a vote of confidence that management believes the stock price can grow over time, making it easier to trade options on a stock (which are typically in 100-share increments), and removing a psychological barrier that some investors may feel when buying stocks that are too high in price. For these reasons, stock splits generally garner favorable reactions from investors.
Here's why Meta Platforms (META +3.39%), ASML (ASML 2.70%), and Eli Lilly (LLY 2.18%) could issue stock splits in 2026, and why all three growth stocks are top buys in December.
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Meta Platforms
Prediction: 5-for-1 stock split
In October, I predicted that Netflix and Meta Platforms would be Wall Street's two most promising stock splits in 2026. With Netflix's stock split in the books, the argument for Meta's split rings louder than ever.
Meta is the only member of the "Magnificent Seven" or "Ten Titans" to have never issued a stock split. And with 2026 marking the 14th year since the company's initial public offering, Meta is due for a split.
NASDAQ: META
Key Data Points
Meta generates stable cash flow from its family of apps -- Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and Messenger. Digital advertising can ebb and flow with the broader economy, but Meta's analytics and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered algorithms help connect advertisers with potential buyers -- making its apps highly effective platforms for targeted advertising. Meta also makes it easy for customers to budget their ad spend, which keeps advertisers engaged even if they reduce their spending.
Advertising is far from a recession-resistant business, but Meta is a recession-resistant company because of its steadily growing engagement, exceptional balance sheet, and high free cash flow. In fact, Meta is such a cash cow that it can afford to lose billions on its Reality Labs division each quarter, invest in long-term AI initiatives, and even increase its dividend while supporting a massive buyback program.
If Meta does split its stock in 2026, it could soon replace Verizon Communications in the Dow.
ASML
Prediction: 10-for-1 stock split
ASML is around an all-time high with a share price of over $1,100 at the time of this writing. I could see ASML following Netflix's lead and issuing a 10-for-1 stock split in 2026.
The most important ingredient for issuing a forward stock split is having a clear runway for future earnings growth. ASML has that in spades.
The company has a monopoly on extreme ultraviolet (EUV) machines used in the lithography step of chip fabrication to print patterns onto silicon wafers. While deep ultraviolet (DUV) machines are used across semiconductor production, it's ASML's EUV machines that are required for the ultra-precise patterns needed for 7-nanometer (nm) and smaller nodes.
NASDAQ: ASML
Key Data Points
Next-generation graphics processing units (GPUs), such as Nvidia's Rubin and Advanced Micro Devices' Instinct MI450, will utilize Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's 3nm and 2nm class processes. ASML's EUV machines, and increasingly its high numerical aperture (high-NA) EUV machines, will play integral roles in fabs that handle AI chip workloads.
In this vein, ASML is a straightforward way to bet on technological advancements in AI chips. ASML wins as long as the overall pie is growing -- it doesn't particularly care if AMD or Broadcom take market share from Nvidia or vice versa. For these reasons, ASML is my top AI stock to buy through 2030, and I could see it becoming Europe's first $1 trillion company by 2035.
Eli Lilly
Prediction: 5-for-1 stock split
Eli Lilly has been a breakout star -- surging over 600% in the last five years and briefly surpassing $1 trillion in market cap last month. Eli Lilly is now the most valuable healthcare company in the world, and the tenth most valuable U.S. company -- behind Berkshire Hathaway and ahead of Walmart.
Eli Lilly's surging stock price is largely driven by the success of its GLP-1 medications, Mounjaro and Zepbound, which impact appetite and blood sugar to treat diabetes and manage weight. Eli Lilly has other drugs in development that could further contribute to earnings growth. Consensus analyst estimates have Eli Lilly generating $23.69 in earnings per share in 2025 and then $32.18 in 2026 -- a 35.8% increase.
Eli Lilly is vulnerable to regulatory approvals, competition, and consumer demand. Another risk is converting research and development spending into profitable drugs. For these reasons, drugmakers can be volatile.
NYSE: LLY
Key Data Points
Still, Eli Lilly stands out as a prime candidate for a stock split in 2026. Its portfolio is diverse enough that it should still be able to grow earnings and reward shareholders over time. Healthcare is one of the most important sectors in the S&P 500 -- making up 9.8% of the index.
Although Eli Lilly's stock price is around the same level as Netflix's pre-split, I could see Eli Lilly splitting by 5 for 1 to avoid its stock price falling into the double digits. After all, it was less than four months ago when Eli Lilly sold off to around $600 a share.
If Eli Lilly does issue a stock split, I could see it replacing Merck in the Dow.
