Have you ever watched a stock absolutely crush the market all year, only to realize it’s still trading at a discount that makes your eyes pop? That weird mix of excitement and disbelief is exactly what I felt digging through the numbers this Thanksgiving week.
While everyone else argues about politics at the dinner table, I’m over here quietly adding to my watchlist. Because right now, in late 2025, there are S&P 500 names that have sprinted ahead of the index by 20%, 50%, even 170%… and somehow still look cheap heading into 2026.
These aren’t the usual suspects everyone fights over. They’re not the mega-cap tech darlings trading at nosebleed multiples. They’re solid, cash-churning businesses the market rewarded handsomely this year — yet still priced like nobody believes the party will continue.
The Sweet Spot Every Smart Investor Is Hunting Right Now
Here’s the simple screen that uncovered this year’s hidden gems: S&P 500 stocks up at least 20% year-to-date, trading below 20x forward earnings (well under the index average), and carrying a consensus buy rating from Wall Street.
Think about that combination for a second. Strong price momentum + shrinking valuation + analysts cheering from the sidelines. In my experience, that’s the exact recipe for stocks that keep surprising to the upside when most people have already written them off as “fully priced.”
Micron Technology: The 174% Rocket Still Trading Like It’s 2023
Let’s start with the one that makes value investors do a double-take. Micron Technology is up roughly 174% in 2025. Read that again. One hundred and seventy-four percent. That kind of move usually comes with a valuation that scares grandmothers.
Except Micron’s forward P/E sits at just 12.
Twelve.
I had to check three different data sources because it felt like a typo. This is the same company powering the memory chips behind the entire AI build-out. Data centers can’t get enough high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and Micron is one of the few names capable of delivering it at scale.
“We believe [the DRAM shortage] is going to move us firmly into uncharted territory from an earnings standpoint, and we think the stock has yet to fully price in the upside that’s coming.”
— Joseph Moore, Morgan Stanley (top pick reiteration, November 2025)
When an analyst who literally lives and breathes semiconductors calls something “uncharted territory,” I listen. Especially when the stock is cheaper than the market on a forward basis despite tripling this year.
Perhaps the most interesting part? The memory cycle is just getting started. AI training clusters are projected to keep doubling in size for years. Each doubling needs exponentially more memory bandwidth. Micron spent the last down-cycle sharpening its technology edge, and now it’s shipping HBM3E like it’s going out of style.
Bottom line: if you missed the first 174%, the next leg could be even bigger — and you’re still paying a value price for it.
CVS Health: From Dog to Darling (And Still on Sale)
A few years ago, CVS was the poster child for everything wrong with healthcare stocks. Pharmacy reimbursement pressure, opioid lawsuits, a bloated Aetna integration — you name it, the stock had it.
Fast-forward to today and shares are up over 78% in 2025 alone. Management finally turned the corner on insurance profitability, front-store comps are stabilizing, and the company raised guidance again in October.
Yet the forward P/E? A ridiculous 11.
- Consensus price target implies another 16% upside from current levels
- Nearly every covering analyst rates it Buy or Strong Buy
- Dividend yield north of 4% while you wait
Look, I’m not saying the road will be perfectly smooth. The Caremark PBM business faces some contract transitions that management called out as “modestly lower growth” for a couple years. But at 11x forward earnings, the market has already priced in way worse than modest.
Sometimes the best opportunities hide in plain sight — inside companies everyone loved to hate six months ago.
The Other Names Quietly Crushing It
Beyond the headliners, a handful of other stocks passed the same rigorous screen and deserve a serious look:
- AbbVie – Still the king of immunology, trading cheaper than it has in years despite Humira cliff fears proving overblown
- Medtronic – Medical devices finally inflecting higher with new product cycles; diabetes and cardiovascular both accelerating
- Vistra – Yes, the nuclear/AI power play everyone suddenly loves, but still under 18x forward earnings after a massive run
- Newmont – Gold at all-time highs and this premier miner generates free cash flow like it’s going out of style
Each of these names shares the same DNA: strong operational momentum, improving fundamentals, and a valuation the market refuses to give full credit for — yet.
Why This Setup Matters More Than Ever in 2026
Here’s the part that keeps me up at night (in a good way). As we head into 2026, the easy money from multiple expansion may be largely played out in the mega-cap growth darlings. The next leg higher probably comes from earnings actually delivering.
And guess which companies are best positioned to surprise on the earnings front? The ones that spent 2024–2025 fixing their businesses while the market looked elsewhere.
In other words, exactly the names on this list.
I’ve been doing this long enough to know that when a stock is up huge and still cheap, one of two things happens: either the market was right to ignore it (rare), or earnings keep growing into the valuation and the multiple eventually expands anyway (much more common).
Given the analyst love and the fundamental tailwinds, I know which side I’m betting on.
How to Think About Positioning Right Now
None of this is a recommendation to go all-in tomorrow morning. Markets love to shake out the impatient. But if you, like me, believe 2026 will reward companies that can actually grow earnings — not just ride the wave of lower rates — then building exposure to this cohort makes a ton of sense.
Start small if you need to. Dollar-cost average. Take profits on the way up if it helps you sleep. But don’t let the “it’s already up so much” story keep you on the sidelines forever. Some of the best investments I’ve ever made looked expensive on the way to being cheap at much higher prices.
The beautiful thing about these particular names? They come with catalysts that stretch years into the future — AI memory demand, aging demographics driving healthcare spend, the electrification of everything needing more power.
2025 rewarded them for surviving the tough times. 2026 and beyond could reward them for thriving.
Maybe skip the political debates this holiday season. There’s a much more profitable conversation happening in the markets right now — and these stocks are whispering that the best gains might still be ahead.
Happy hunting.
