Stock splits are exciting events that investors enjoy. While they aren't as common as they used to be due to the rise of fractional shares, not every brokerage offers this feature. Furthermore, companies like to use stock options as a form of compensation, so keeping stock prices lower makes this easier. After a stock split is announced, companies often see their share prices pop due to the excitement surrounding the event.
This is just a one-time pop, so it's not a great investment thesis. However, companies only get expensive stock prices one way: By their stock going up. Stocks go up because the underlying company is doing well, so looking for companies that are close to splitting their stock can be a smart investment strategy.
I've got five stock splits that could occur in 2026, but there's no guarantee that any of them will announce a split.
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1. Microsoft
Microsoft (MSFT 0.43%) has the lowest stock price on this list, at just under $500 per share. Still, that's fairly high for most tech companies. Microsoft hasn't split its stock since 2003, so one is long overdue.
Microsoft has seen its stock price rise in response to its central role in the artificial intelligence buildout, and has been a key provider of computing power thanks to its cloud computing services. It's also a huge investor in OpenAI, which could cause its investment in OpenAI to rise if it goes public. That would be another catalyst for Microsoft's stock to rise in 2026, making it a great stock to consider buying now in addition to a potential stock split.
NASDAQ: MSFT
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2. MercadoLibre
MercadoLibre (MELI 6.66%) has the highest stock price on this list, at about $2,000 per share. MercadoLibre has never split its stock before, and has been above the $1,000 per share threshold for many years. This makes me a bit skeptical that it will ever split its stock, but it could have a change of heart in 2026.
Regardless, MercadoLibre has been an absolute monster of a company. It built out an e-commerce network in Latin America rivaling Amazon, and also built a payments infrastructure to support it. It's an incredible company that has had a sluggish 2025, and I think it could be ripe for a rebound in 2026, regardless of whether it announces a stock split or not.
3. Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs (GS 4.43%) has a stock price of around $850. However, one factor investors must consider is its inclusion in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Dow Jones is a price-weighted index, not a market-cap-weighted one. This means that Goldman Sachs is the largest component in the index, accounting for about 11% of its total weighting.
NYSE: GS
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This could be taken one of two ways. First, Goldman may enjoy being the largest company in this important index, and might not want to give that up by splitting its stock. Second, it may become too large a component and needs to split its stock to be a more reasonable component of the index.
I don't know which scenario is more likely, but with Goldman's high stock price, a split could come sooner than later.
4. Caterpillar
Everything I just said about Goldman is true for Caterpillar (CAT 0.97%). It's the second-largest component and has a stock price of about $600. It makes up nearly 8% of the Dow Jones index. This means that Microsoft, Goldman, and Caterpillar account for about 25% of the total index's weighting despite being 10% of the companies included.
That's a significant weighting, and Caterpillar may or may not enjoy being that critical to the index's success.
5. Costco
Last is Costco Wholesale (COST +1.24%). Costco's stock is down a bit from its all-time high, but it is still valued at about $900 per share. Its last stock split was 25 years ago in 2000, and it's long overdue for one. Costco isn't a member of the Dow Jones index, but it may want to become one.
NASDAQ: COST
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If it wants to be included, Costco will need to split its stock. I think this might happen in 2026, making Costco a strong candidate for a stock split.
