In this article, we will look at the 10 Best Debt-Free S&P 500 Stocks to Buy Now.
Debt-free S&P 500 stocks are getting more attention as investors look for companies that can keep operating without depending heavily on borrowing. That matters in a market where interest rates, refinancing costs, and credit conditions can significantly affect earnings quality.
Invesco says the quality factor focuses on companies that are “highly profitable, carry low levels of debt, and generate stable earnings,” traits that can be “more resilient during periods of economic stress or rising inflation.” The firm also notes that the S&P 500 Quality Index screens for “strong profitability, clean accounting, and solid balance sheets.” MFS makes the same point in a broader quality framework, saying “disciplined capital allocation, resilient earnings power, and balance sheet strength” support “superior compounding.” State Street adds that quality investing focuses on companies with “low debt, stable earnings and high profitability,” especially when “a company’s ability to service debt and provide visibility on earnings becomes more important.”
Against this backdrop, debt-free S&P 500 stocks deserve a closer look. With that in mind, let us now take a look at the 10 Best Debt-Free S&P 500 Stocks to Buy Now.
Our Methodology
We used the Finviz stock screener to identify S&P 500 stocks whose enterprise value (EV) is lower than their market capitalization. An EV-to-market-cap ratio of 1.0 or below typically indicates that a company has little to no debt. We then limited our final selection to stocks that have recently reported noteworthy developments likely to influence investor sentiment. These stocks are also popular among analysts and elite hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 498.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 303 percentage points (see more details here).
10. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)
On May 27, 2026, Wedbush raised the firm’s price target on Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) to $300 from $225 and maintained an Outperform rating on the shares. Wedbush cited increased confidence in the company’s platformization story and the “strong reception” of the CyberArk acquisition. The firm also said Palo Alto’s “accelerating cross-sell momentum” is being underestimated by the Street and that recent field checks support its view that AI will be the biggest growth catalyst for cybersecurity in the past 20 years.
On the same day, Benchmark raised the firm’s price target on Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) to $270 from $200 and maintained a Buy rating on the shares ahead of the company’s fiscal Q3 report due after the market close on Tuesday, June 2. Benchmark said Palo Alto is “highly likely to modestly top” Q3 consensus expectations across next-generation security annual recurring revenue, total revenue, operating income, margin, and free cash flow margin.
Berenberg analyst Rahul Chopra also raised the firm’s price target on Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) to $290 from $215 and maintained a Buy rating, saying cybersecurity stocks have rallied strongly since the end of April as market sentiment has “inflected sharply.” Berenberg said Palo Alto “screens as a quality compounder” and is well positioned to capture wallet share from rising AI security budgets and benefit from vendor consolidation.
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) provides cybersecurity solutions across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Japan.
9. Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG)
On May 27, 2026, Goldman Sachs lowered the firm’s price target on Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) to $558 from $621 and maintained a Buy rating on the shares. Goldman Sachs said MedTech has gone through one of its weakest periods in 15-20 years across performance, valuation, and outlook revisions, with pressure from sector rotation, slower growth, reimbursement and competitive risks, and aging investment narratives.
On May 18, 2026, BofA lowered the firm’s price target on Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) to $520 from $650 and maintained a Buy rating on the shares. BofA said it updated several price targets after hosting 34 medtech companies in Las Vegas, citing “the new reality of medtech valuations” in a year marked by fewer product cycles, ACA and utilization worries, post-war inflation pressure, and “data centers over healthcare.”
Last month, Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) reported Q1 adjusted EPS of $2.50, ahead of the consensus estimate of $2.11. Revenue totaled $2.77B, above the consensus estimate of $2.62B. Worldwide procedures across da Vinci and Ion grew approximately 17% year-over-year, with da Vinci procedures up approximately 16% and Ion procedures up approximately 39%. The company placed 431 da Vinci surgical systems, compared with 367 in the first quarter of 2025, and placed 52 Ion endoluminal systems, compared with 49 last year.
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISRG) develops, manufactures, and markets products that support minimally invasive care in the United States and internationally.
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