Thanksgiving is supposed to be about gratitude, turkey, and maybe a little football. But let’s be honest – for a lot of families, it’s also prime time for arguments. Politics usually takes the crown as the most dangerous dinner-table topic, but this year there’s a fresh contender that can get wallets flapping just as fast: stocks.
Picture this. Uncle Bob is convinced electric vehicles are the future. Cousin Sarah thinks airlines are about to get crushed by fuel costs. Your brother-in-law swears the market is one tweet away from chaos. Sound familiar? Good. Because right now Wall Street itself can’t make up its mind about several massive companies, and those splits make for perfect holiday debate fuel.
The Most Polarizing Stocks on Wall Street Right Now
I dug through the S&P 1500 looking specifically for big companies – think $5 billion market cap or more – where at least one in five analysts is screaming “buy” and another one in five is shouting “sell.” These aren’t sleepy utilities; they’re household names with real drama baked in. And honestly? Watching pros argue over them is way more entertaining than the same election re-runs.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) – The Open-Seating Rebellion
Let’s start with everyone’s favorite budget carrier that suddenly decided to blow up its entire identity. Southwest is finally ditching open seating in early 2026, adding assigned seats and even (gasp) premium sections. For decades the airline built a cult following on “bags fly free” and cattle-call boarding. Now it’s chasing extra revenue like every other carrier.
Wall Street is having a full-on identity crisis over it. Roughly 25% of analysts rate it a buy, betting the changes will finally juice profits. Another 25% are hard sells, convinced Southwest is abandoning the low-cost magic that made it special. The stock is up only about 4.5% year-to-date through late November 2025 – embarrassing next to the broader market – and the average price target actually sits slightly below where it trades right now.
Changing open seating is like Coca-Cola getting rid of sugar. Sure, it might make sense financially, but you’re messing with decades of brand loyalty.
In my view, the bears have a point about brand risk, but the bulls aren’t wrong that Southwest has lagged its peers on revenue per seat for years. If the transition is smooth, this could be one of those “painful but necessary” moves that pays off in 2027 and beyond. Either way, bring it up after the second glass of wine and watch the miles-vs-dollars debate explode.
Tesla (TSLA) – Still the Ultimate Love-It-or-Hate-It Stock
No list of controversial stocks would be complete without Elon Musk’s baby. Even in late 2025, Tesla remains the ultimate Wall Street Rorschach test. More than 40% of analysts have buy ratings, dreaming of robotaxis and multi-trillion-dollar energy storage. Almost a quarter are outright sells, pointing to shrinking EV margins, brutal competition, and yes, the CEO’s very public political adventures.
The stock is up only about 4% this year – shocking underperformance for a former market darling – but shareholders did just re-approve Musk’s absurd pay package (again). Average price targets imply another 8%+ drop over the next twelve months. Classic Tesla.
- Bulls say: Robotaxi day will change everything, energy business is massively undervalued, Full Self-Driving subscriptions are coming any day now.
- Bears say: Competition from BYD and legacy automakers is crushing margins, regulatory credits are drying up, and political distractions are scaring institutional money away.
Here’s the thing I find fascinating: Tesla has survived more “death of the company” predictions than I can count. Every single year someone declares the EV party over, and every single year something wild happens – Cybertruck recall fixed, new 4680 ramp, surprise China numbers – and the stock rips again. Maybe not this quarter, maybe not this year, but writing Tesla off completely has been a losing trade for a decade.
That said, the valuation is still bonkers if you think of it as “just a car company.” You’re basically betting the AI and robotics bets pay off on a timeline that would make most venture capitalists blush. Perfect topic to spark a three-hour debate between your tech-bro cousin and your value-investing dad.
Why These Splits Even Happen
Analyst disagreement isn’t random noise. When you see this level of dispersion, it usually means the company sits at a genuine inflection point. Southwest is trying to evolve from scrappy disruptor to mature profit machine. Tesla keeps promising to leap from car maker to AI/energy/robotics conglomerate. Both stories have huge “if” factors.
Real inflection points create massive uncertainty, and uncertainty is where careers are made or broken on Wall Street. The analyst who calls the Southwest turnaround correctly could get promoted to portfolio manager. The one who nails Tesla’s robotaxi timeline becomes the next Cathie Wood (or the next cautionary tale).
Other Names That Could Light the Table on Fire
While Southwest and Tesla are the headliners, plenty of other big stocks are splitting the Street right now. Throw any of these into conversation and watch the sparks fly:
- Carnival Cruise Lines – Post-pandemic revenge travel over or just getting started?
- PayPal – Dead money or quietly rebuilding for a comeback?
- Netflix – Password-sharing crackdown saved the business… or alienated the next generation?
- Intel – Can a new CEO and government subsidies bring chip glory back?
- Boeing – Endless 737 problems or finally turning the corner?
Each one has the same DNA: a real strategic shift, legitimate bull and bear cases, and enough emotional baggage to fill an entire holiday weekend.
How to Use This at Your Family Dinner (Without Starting World War III)
Look, I’m not saying you should turn Thanksgiving into a CNBC shout-fest. But if politics is off-limits this year and the football game is a blowout, stocks can be surprisingly fun neutral ground. Here’s the playbook that’s worked for me:
- Start light: “Hey, did you see what Southwest is doing with seats? Would you pay extra for assigned seating?”
- Let someone bite, then drop the analyst split bomb: “Funny thing – Wall Street is totally divided on whether it’s genius or suicide.”
- Sit back and watch generations clash over brand loyalty vs. profit margins.
Bonus points if you pull up a quick chart on your phone. Nothing gets people animated like seeing a stock they fly every Christmas stuck in neutral for five years.
At the end of the day, these debates are healthy. They force us to think about what actually drives stock prices – narrative, numbers, or just momentum. And unlike politics, nobody’s salvation is on the line. Worst case, someone learns why analysts exist, and maybe plants the seed for their own investing journey.
So this Thanksgiving, if the conversation starts circling the same tired topics, do everyone a favor. Ask whether Tesla is the next Apple or the next Enron. Ask if Southwest just sold its soul for an extra twenty bucks per ticket. The turkey will still be delicious, the pie will still be sweet, and for once the loudest voice at the table might actually teach someone something useful.
Happy Thanksgiving – may your portfolio and your family arguments both be lively, but civil.
