Refreshed quarterly · last refresh October 26, 2026 · next November 15, 2026

Top 50 S&P 500 companies

The 50 companies with the strongest long-term business record, out of the 496 we could score in the S&P 500 (America's 500 biggest listed companies). Built for patient, long-term readers, so it changes only a few times a year.

For information only. This list describes companies' financial numbers. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any stock, and it says nothing about future prices. Read our disclaimer.

How to read the scores

Each company is compared only with companies in the same industry group (for example, banks with banks). Scores run from 0 to 100: 70 means it beat about 70% of its peers on that area.

See exactly how we score →

The six areas

  • Profitability: how much of each sale it keeps as profit, over 5 years
  • Consistency: how steady its results have been, year after year
  • Cash flow: how much real cash the business brings in
  • Balance sheet: how much it owes compared with what it owns
  • Growth: how fast sales and profits grew over 3 to 5 years
  • Valuation: the share price compared with profits and cash, versus peers and its own past

Changes at the last refresh

This is the first list under our long-term method. After each quarterly refresh, this box shows which companies joined or left.

Swipe the table sideways to see all columns →

# Company Score ProfitabilityConsistencyCash flowGrowthValuationBalance sheet Price vs sector Price vs own history Size
1Deckers BrandsDECK · Consumer Discretionary80797474828890Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$11B
2Vici PropertiesVICI · Real Estate77895674809463Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$26B
3Texas Pacific Land CorporationTPL · Energy75986871822799Higher than sectorPricier than its usual$23B
4Adobe Inc.ADBE · Information Technology74867177549549Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$103B
5CF IndustriesCF · Materials74953789549083Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$18B
6ZoetisZTS · Health Care74907660569054Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$33B
7ResMedRMD · Health Care73796860816489Similar to sectorCheaper than its usual$36B
8NvidiaNVDA · Information Technology73913764986388Similar to sectorCheaper than its usual$5,084B
9CopartCPRT · Industrials73747060618298Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$27B
10Veeva SystemsVEEV · Health Care72757375853797Similar to sectorCheaper than its usual$52B
11PaychexPAYX · Industrials72936182607345Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$42B
12Booking HoldingsBKNG · Consumer Discretionary72854491927532Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$117B
13Lululemon AthleticaLULU · Consumer Discretionary71756448769861Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$12B
14EOG ResourcesEOG · Energy70865261607887Lower than sectorNear its usual$86B
15IncyteINCY · Health Care70813949918779Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$24B
16AppLovinAPP · Communication Services70974162845276Similar to sectorCheaper than its usual$87B
17IntuitINTU · Information Technology70636570728963Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$92B
18Arista NetworksANET · Information Technology69785777892889Higher than sectorPricier than its usual$217B
19Rollins, Inc.ROL · Industrials69767166775853Similar to sectorCheaper than its usual$17B
20MicrosoftMSFT · Information Technology69817749705765Similar to sectorCheaper than its usual$3,895B
21Arch Capital GroupACGL · Financials686631n/a918492Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$35B
22NewmontNEM · Materials68773761787893Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$115B
23NextEra EnergyNEE · Utilities68923584857224Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$172B
24Simon Property GroupSPG · Real Estate68954674636449Similar to sectorCheaper than its usual$68B
25Jack Henry & AssociatesJKHY · Financials686992n/a394597Similar to sectorCheaper than its usual$11B
26Automatic Data ProcessingADP · Industrials68886471595554Similar to sectorNear its usual$120B
27NetflixNFLX · Communication Services68756462736171Similar to sectorCheaper than its usual$270B
28Fair IsaacFICO · Information Technology68866664657721Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$18B
29Coca-Cola Company (The)KO · Consumer Staples68876366773271Higher than sectorNear its usual$399B
30Meta PlatformsMETA · Communication Services67876156704182Similar to sectorNear its usual$1,637B
31Alphabet Inc.GOOG · Communication Services67847152693584Similar to sectorCheaper than its usual$3,916B
32Erie IndemnityERIE · Financials676071n/a7048100Similar to sectorCheaper than its usual$12B
33AmerenAEE · Utilities67727965625556Similar to sectorNear its usual$30B
34Intuitive SurgicalISRG · Health Care67746450903495Similar to sectorCheaper than its usual$157B
35CME GroupCME · Financials677363n/a694095Similar to sectorCheaper than its usual$110B
36ComcastCMCSA · Communication Services66667357569343Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$80B
37Edison InternationalEIX · Utilities66684856769749Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$22B
38Monster BeverageMNST · Consumer Staples66835564791998Higher than sectorPricier than its usual$90B
39Travelers Companies (The)TRV · Financials665079n/a676876Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$82B
40Brown & BrownBRO · Financials665688n/a645959Similar to sectorCheaper than its usual$24B
41Vertex PharmaceuticalsVRTX · Health Care66883975683494Similar to sectorPricier than its usual$134B
42Chipotle Mexican GrillCMG · Consumer Discretionary66625973766167Similar to sectorCheaper than its usual$35B
43FortinetFTNT · Information Technology65855470812963Higher than sectorPricier than its usual$132B
44Philip Morris InternationalPM · Consumer Staples65974483782841Higher than sectorPricier than its usual$311B
45Snap-onSNA · Industrials65716082266691Similar to sectorPricier than its usual$18B
46DexcomDXCM · Health Care65695346846776Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$29B
47American TowerAMT · Real Estate65786585397427Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$88B
48T. Rowe PriceTROW · Financials658550n/a237099Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$22B
49Extra Space StorageEXR · Real Estate65805763675260Similar to sectorNear its usual$30B
50APA CorporationAPA · Energy65863388408448Lower than sectorNear its usual$18B

Well-known companies, always shown for reference with the same scores. Many rank outside the Top 50 because their shares already cost more than peers' (valuation) or because heavy investment, such as building AI data centres, lowers their free cash flow.

Big Tech

Rank of 496CompanyScoreProfitabilityConsistencyCash flowGrowthValuationBalance sheetPrice vs sectorPrice vs own historySize
8NvidiaNVDA · Information Technology73913764986388Similar to sectorCheaper than its usual$5,084B
20MicrosoftMSFT · Information Technology69817749705765Similar to sectorCheaper than its usual$3,895B
30Meta PlatformsMETA · Communication Services67876156704182Similar to sectorNear its usual$1,637B
31Alphabet Inc.GOOG · Communication Services67847152693584Similar to sectorCheaper than its usual$3,916B
114Oracle CorporationORCL · Information Technology59717344526331Similar to sectorCheaper than its usual$382B
161Apple Inc.AAPL · Information Technology57775857453948Similar to sectorPricier than its usual$5,075B
273AmazonAMZN · Consumer Discretionary50447416724641Similar to sectorCheaper than its usual$2,675B
433Tesla, Inc.TSLA · Consumer Discretionary3825453653584Higher than sectorPricier than its usual$1,471B

Chipmakers

Rank of 496CompanyScoreProfitabilityConsistencyCash flowGrowthValuationBalance sheetPrice vs sectorPrice vs own historySize
54BroadcomAVGO · Information Technology64775084823353Similar to sectorPricier than its usual$1,536B
56Micron TechnologyMU · Information Technology64783223977589Lower than sectorCheaper than its usual$993B
86KLA CorporationKLAC · Information Technology61845565623257Higher than sectorPricier than its usual$190B
89Lam ResearchLRCX · Information Technology61776056583578Similar to sectorPricier than its usual$288B
165Applied MaterialsAMAT · Information Technology56706745463073Higher than sectorPricier than its usual$299B
190QualcommQCOM · Information Technology54674155307160Lower than sectorNear its usual$188B
278Analog DevicesADI · Information Technology50515278323550Similar to sectorPricier than its usual$190B
297Texas InstrumentsTXN · Information Technology49783551134458Similar to sectorPricier than its usual$260B
410Advanced Micro DevicesAMD · Information Technology41343536681572Higher than sectorPricier than its usual$844B
495IntelINTC · Information Technology239206132337Higher than sectorNear its usual$460B

"Price vs sector" compares the share price with the company's profits, cash flow and sales, relative to similar companies: lower means investors currently pay less per dollar of profit than for its peers. "Price vs own history" compares today's price-to-earnings with the company's usual level over recent years. A lower price is not automatically good or bad. Size is total stock market value. Data: Finnhub (company financials), Wikipedia (S&P 500 list). Figures may be out of date or contain errors. Tap a column heading to sort.