For three years, artificial intelligence (AI) has dominated the conversation on Wall Street -- and with good reason. Empowering software and systems with the tools to make split-second decisions is a potential game changer for a host of global industries.
But there's more than AI stocks fueling Wall Street's robust rally. Investor euphoria regarding stock splits has contributed to lifting the stock market's tide.
Image source: Getty Images.
Investors are enamored with high-profile stock splits
A stock split is an event that allows a publicly traded company to superficially alter their share price and outstanding share count by the same factor. These adjustments are cosmetic in the sense that they don't change a company's market cap or in any way affect underlying operating performance.
Although public companies can adjust their share price higher or lower, investors have demonstrated a willingness to shun the former and flock to the latter. Whereas reverse splits, which increase a company's share price, are often undertaken by struggling businesses that are attempting to avoid delisting from a major stock exchange, forward splits are frequently enacted by companies that are out-innovating and out-executing their peers.
In 2025, five high-profile stock splits were completed, four of which were of the forward-split variety.
Wall Street's blockbuster split this year is streaming services provider Netflix (NFLX +0.46%), which completed a 10-for-1 forward split in mid-November. This marks the third time Netflix has split its shares since going public in 2002, with the action reducing the company's nominal share price from north of $1,100 to around $110, as of the effective date of the split.
NASDAQ: NFLX
Key Data Points
Netflix's competitive edge has fueled the need for stock splits. No streaming company has as much original content as Netflix. Furthermore, its debut of an ad-based tier in late 2022 has attracted 94 million subscribers, as of May 2025.
Before Netflix took the plunge, auto parts supply chain O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY 1.87%) was arguably the stock-split stock of the year. O'Reilly was the first brand-name business to announce its intent to split in 2025. However, it didn't complete its 15-for-1 forward split until June, allowing shareholders to weigh in on the proposed action at the company's annual shareholder meeting in May.
O'Reilly Automotive is benefiting from drivers hanging onto their vehicles for longer than ever before. Additionally, its board of directors is behind one of the most aggressive share-repurchase programs on Wall Street, which has had an undeniably positive impact on O'Reilly Automotive's earnings per share.
Considering how well stock-split stocks have performed, investors are always on the lookout for the next blockbuster split. In 2026, Wall Street's hottest stock-split stock might just be an influential and unique member of the "Magnificent Seven."
This member of the Magnificent Seven can make stock-split waves in the new year
The fabled Magnificent Seven you often hear and read about is comprised of the following companies (listed in order of descending market cap, as of Dec. 15):
- Nvidia
- Apple
- Alphabet
- Microsoft
- Amazon
- Meta Platforms (META 3.79%)
- Tesla
Only 12 publicly traded companies globally have ever achieved a $1 trillion valuation, and the Magnificent Seven account for more than half of this total. These are businesses that are at the forefront of their respective industries, typically possessing well-defined competitive advantages or sustainable moats.
For example, Nvidia accounts for the lion's share of graphics processing units currently deployed in AI-accelerated data centers. Meanwhile, Alphabet's Google is responsible for 90% of global internet search market share, according to GlobalStats, as of November 2025.
These are also businesses with a rich history of stock splits... with one exception.
NASDAQ: META
Key Data Points
Microsoft has completed nine stock splits since its initial public offering in 1986, while Nvidia, Amazon, Alphabet, Tesla, and Apple have all enacted at least one split since the beginning of this decade. The unique company of the bunch -- the only one to have never split its shares -- that's primed to become Wall Street's hottest stock-split in 2026 is social media colossus Meta Platforms.
Meta checks all the right boxes for a blockbuster stock split in 2026
Typically, two criteria need to be met for a company's board of directors to consider a stock split. The first of these two traits is a company's share price. A high nominal share price can make it difficult for investors who can't buy fractional shares to open or add to an existing position.
The other crucial criterion is that a public company have a sizable base of retail investors as shareholders. If institutional investors hold 85% or more of a company's outstanding shares, there's rarely an incentive to complete a stock split. Institutional fund managers don't require a lower nominal share price to invest in a public company.
Meta Platforms' stock has spent much of the year vacillating between $600 and $800 per share, which certainly meets the first point. More importantly, over 29% of its outstanding shares are held by non-institutional investors -- and this figure has been creeping higher in recent quarters. There's a real incentive for Meta's board to make its stock more accessible to everyday investors who can't purchase fractional shares with their broker.
The other prominent catalyst that can fuel the need for a stock split in 2026 is Meta's operational outperformance.
Image source: Getty Images.
Meta is the parent company of some of the world's top social media apps, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Threads, and Facebook Messenger. In September, it attracted 3.54 billion daily active people to its family of apps. Advertisers are aware that Meta offers them the best opportunity to reach a broad audience with their message(s).
Furthermore, Meta Platforms is already enjoying the benefits of incorporating AI applications into its advertising platform. Providing clients access to generative AI solutions enables them to tailor static and video messages to unique users. The expectation is that this will improve ad click-through rates and increase Meta's already impressive ad-pricing power.
The company's balance sheet is also something to admire. Mark Zuckerberg's company closed out September with $44.5 billion in combined cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, and is a cash-generating machine. Meta has the luxury of taking risks and investing in high-growth initiatives that few public companies can match.
In other words, there's ample reason to expect Meta's stock to increase in value over time, which would make its current nominal share price less affordable for retail investors.
The table appears set for Wall Street's most unique member of the Magnificent Seven to become the hottest stock-split stock of 2026.
