At the start of a new year, we all like to make positive moves that may serve us well in the coming months and over the long run. That's the point of New Year's resolutions. Well, today, it's a great idea to make boosting diversification within your portfolio one of your resolutions. This decision to expand your exposure across industries may lift your performance during good times and limit your losses during tough times.
With this in mind, let's check out my top five stocks to buy in early 2026. Four have proven their earnings strength over time, and the fifth represents a compelling recovery story.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Amazon
Amazon (AMZN +0.27%) is a great way to safely bet on one of today's hottest investment themes: artificial intelligence (AI). I consider this stock a safe bet because the company has an impressive earnings track record that's unrelated to the newish area of AI. Over the years, the company's e-commerce and cloud computing units have generated billions of dollars in earnings, and their leadership in these markets suggests this will continue.
NASDAQ: AMZN
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On top of that, Amazon is benefiting from AI by using the technology to increase the efficiency of its e-commerce operations. And the cloud business, Amazon Web Services (AWS), offers a wide range of AI products and services to its customers -- this has resulted in an AWS annual revenue run rate of more than $132 billion.
All of this makes Amazon a fantastic stock to buy and hold right now.
2. Eli Lilly
Eli Lilly (LLY +4.12%) has seen its stock climb in recent years thanks to the company's leadership in a high-growth market: the weight loss drug space. Lilly is a leader here, selling tirzepatide, commercialized as Zepbound for weight loss and Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes. These injectable drugs have become blockbusters and are driving the company's sales growth.
NYSE: LLY
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And more growth may be on the way. Lilly recently submitted its weight loss pill candidate to regulators for review, and a decision may be right around the corner. An approval could offer the stock a lift, but more importantly, this potential product could trigger a new wave of revenue growth for Lilly.
Meanwhile, with the weight loss drug market on track to reach nearly $100 billion by the end of the decade, Lilly today may be in the early days of its growth story.
3. Chewy
You might know Chewy (CHWY 0.53%) well if you're a pet owner. The e-commerce company offers everything your dog, cat, or goldfish might need -- from food to toys and even healthcare. In fact, Chewy has expanded into veterinary services over the past year or so, opening its own vet clinics. This is great because it expands the revenue opportunity and introduces Chewy e-commerce offerings to a new audience.
NYSE: CHWY
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Chewy has delivered growth and reached profitability in recent years, and what I like in particular is the fact that pet owners keep coming back to the retailer for their recurrent needs. We can see this through Autoship -- a service that automatically reorders and delivers your favorite products to your doorstep. Autoship sales now represent 84% of Chewy's total sales. This offers us visibility on revenue to come.
Trading at 26x forward earnings estimates, down from more than 36x last year, Chewy offers us a fantastic buying opportunity.
4. Apple
Apple (AAPL 0.83%) has slightly underperformed the S&P 500 over the past year -- and hasn't delivered the massive gains we've seen from other tech stocks such as Nvidia or Broadcom, for example.
NASDAQ: AAPL
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As investors seek to rotate into potential AI winners that haven't yet soared, they may turn to Apple. The company was slower than others to launch AI features across its devices, but this system, known as Apple Intelligence, now is active. This should keep Apple's already loyal fan base on board and potentially spending more on services.
And speaking of services, this represents a major growth area for the company. Apple has reported record service revenue quarter after quarter as users sign on for extras like entertainment or digital storage.
All of this makes now a great time to get in on this tech giant that may be embarking on a new era of growth.
5. Moderna
Moderna (MRNA +0.65%) is the recovery story I mentioned earlier. Once a stock market star as seller of a leading coronavirus vaccine, the decline in vaccine sales put pressure on everything from earnings to stock performance. The biotech company depends on sales of the coronavirus vaccine -- its first product -- and its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine -- its second product. And sales of both have been disappointing.
NASDAQ: MRNA
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But there's reason to be optimistic about renewed growth down the road. Moderna has a solid pipeline, including compelling late-stage candidates, and expects to increase its seasonal vaccine franchise from three products today (two coronavirus and one RSV) to six by 2028. The company also is making progress on cost cuts and aims to reach cash breakeven in that year too.
Moderna still carries a certain amount of risk, so it may not be the best choice for a cautious investor. But aggressive growth investors may readily add a few shares of this potential biotech winner to their portfolios for 2026 and beyond.
