It's that time of year again when I put forth my annual list of top 10 stocks to buy. The Markets are near an all-time high, and investors are enthusiastic about continued growth in 2026.
I found it harder than usual to pick my stocks since valuations are high, and I was more careful to include several value stocks in addition to the growth stocks I tend to focus on. These are all stocks that have long-term value, because no matter what happens in the coming year, it's important to have strong convictions in your portfolio's ability to perform over many years.
Without further ado, I present 10 top stocks to buy for 2026.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Lemonade
Lemonade (LMND 1.76%) has been on an incredible streak over the past few years, as its machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven algorithms are finally demonstrating the results they were created to generate. It's taken a few years, but loss ratios are declining, and net losses are narrowing. Growth is accelerating, and management expects to reach profitability on the basis of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) next year before doing so by generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in 2027. There's still plenty of time to buy into this insurance technology growth story.
2. SoFi
SoFi Technologies (SOFI 4.10%) is up 77% year to date as we get closer to the end of 2025, and it's just getting started. The digital bank is reporting accelerating growth and record add-ons of 905,000 in the third quarter. It's rolling out new products and resonating with its target market of young professionals, and its strategy to cross-sell this population as they age with SoFi is already yielding results. 2026 should be another terrific year for this young bank.
NASDAQ: SOFI
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3. Nu Holdings
Nu Holdings (NU 3.35%) is digital bank headquartered in Brazil and also serving Mexico and Colombia. It recently got approved for a banking charter in Mexico and the U.S., and it's applying for one now in Brazil, where it's been operating under a different legal status. This opens up new doors in new regions, and Nu has incredible opportunities in 2026 and beyond.
4. American Express
American Express (AXP 1.31%) is a value stock that's beating the market in 2025. Its affluent clientele is still spending, and the company is reaching new, younger customers with its fully refreshed rewards program. No matter what happens with the economy in 2026, it's well positioned to keep growing now and for years to come.
NYSE: AXP
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5. Walmart
Walmart (WMT +0.86%) is another value stock that's trouncing the market this year. It's attracting more business as a discount retailer in the high-inflation climate, and it's also resonating with more affluent customers as they switch down, many of whom are being introduced to it through its growing e-commerce business. If the economy sours in 2026, Walmart is still the retail king for essentials, and will likely keep reporting growing sales.
6. MercadoLibre
MercadoLibre (MELI 6.58%) has massive e-commerce and fintech businesses in Latin America. It's creating and benefiting from a shift to technology in its regions, which lag behind the U.S. by about a decade. It continues to report high growth in both segments, with increasing active customer counts and high profitability. It's a no-brainer for long-term growth.
7. Taiwan Semiconductor
Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM 4.44%) is enjoying growth fueled by AI today, but it services several tech industries and has tailwinds from all kinds of innovation. It manufactures the chips designed by the largest and best-known chips companies, and it recently opened its first U.S.-based facility, which alleviates some of the concerns about tariffs.
NYSE: TSM
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8. Urban Outfitters
This might seem as if it doesn't quite fit in here, but Urban Outfitters (URBN 1.47%) has been demonstrating fabulous performance despite the challenging macroenvironment for apparel retailers, with increasing comparable sales and net income. And even though the stock is up nearly 50% this year, it trades at a low P/E ratio of 15.
9. Alphabet
Alphabet (GOOG 1.52%) has a wide economic moat in its Google search engine, which controls about 90% of the space. That gives it incredible leverage, and it has a thriving ad business powered more and more by advancements in AI. But it's offering its AI services to searchers as well, and it has a varied set of businesses that make it a powerhouse tech company.
10. Amazon
Amazon (AMZN 1.43%) stock has trailed the market this year despite the company reporting double-digit sales increases and an accelerating cloud business. Management sees a simple equation in company spend shifting to the cloud over the next decade or two, which could be a windfall for Amazon Web Services as the largest cloud company in the world. Expect Amazon to pull more tricks out of its sleeve this year, and for growth to finally be reflected in its stock price.
