In this article, we will take a look at the 10 Best Inflation-Hedge Stocks to Buy for 2026.
Moderate inflation is usually seen as positive for equities because it often comes alongside economic growth, stronger corporate profits, and rising stock prices. Things tend to become more difficult for investors when economies start overheating, and inflation moves too high. According to a report by Hartford Funds, inflation climbed above 9% in 2022, a level not seen in decades. That spike shook global asset markets and investor confidence before easing to 2.7% by the end of 2025.
Research showed that equities outpaced inflation 90% of the time when inflation remained low, meaning below 3% on average, and continued rising. The picture changed when inflation stayed above 3% and kept increasing. In those periods, equity performance was no better than a coin toss.
Equities overall have struggled during periods of high and rising inflation, but some sectors have historically held up better than others. One example is the energy sector, which includes oil and gas companies. These firms beat inflation 74% of the time and generated an average annual real return of 12.9%. The reason is fairly straightforward. Energy companies are closely tied to energy prices, which are a major part of inflation indexes. When inflation rises, those companies have generally benefited as well.
The situation has often been different for information technology stocks. Much of their expected profit growth is tied to cash flows far into the future. When inflation increases, those future earnings can lose value in today’s terms. Consumer staples companies have generally performed better in comparison because their cash flows are usually concentrated over the shorter term.
Given this, we will take a look at some of the best inflation-hedge stocks to buy now.
Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash
Our Methodology:
For this list, we reviewed several reliable media sources and selected companies from sectors that tend to perform well during inflation. From there, we picked companies that have recently reported noteworthy developments likely to impact investor sentiment. These companies are also popular among elite funds and analysts.
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. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 27
On May 4, Truist raised its price recommendation on Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) to $40 from $36. It reiterated a Hold rating on the stock. The update came as part of a broader research note covering midstream energy companies after Q1 results. The firm said the quarter benefited from spread optimization, which helped drive stronger financial results and higher guidance. At the same time, the analyst noted that future upside looks less certain because of commodity price volatility, existing hedges, and the expected narrowing of Waha/Katy/HSC spreads. That change is expected as 4.6Bcf/d of Permian takeaway capacity comes online.
On May 4, TD Cowen analyst Jason Gabelman also raised the firm’s price goal on Enterprise Products to $39 from $38 while keeping a Hold rating on the shares. The firm updated its model after Q1 results, noting that the company indicated about 10% of its LPG export capacity would capture spot margins.
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) provides midstream energy services for producers and consumers of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil, refined products, and petrochemicals.
9. Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 37
On May 8, Citi raised its price recommendation on Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) to $191 from $182. It maintained a Neutral rating on the stock.
During the Q1 2026 earnings call, CEO John Akers said the company generated fiscal year-to-date net income of $985 million, or $5.92 per diluted share. He also said Atmos grew its earnings-per-share guidance range to between $8.40 and $8.50. Akers spent part of the call discussing the company’s infrastructure investment plans, saying capital expenditures totaled $2 billion during the first half of the fiscal year, with more than 89% of that amount going toward improving the safety and reliability of its distribution, transmission, and underground storage systems.
On customer growth, Akers asserted the company added more than 51,000 new customers over the 12 months ended March 31, 2026. Texas accounted for more than 39,000 of those additions. He also pointed to ongoing growth in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. During the second quarter, the company completed Phase 2 of its Line WA project, which included installing roughly 44 miles of 36-inch pipeline west of Fort Worth. Akers said the expansion was aimed at meeting rising demand across the DFW Metroplex.
Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) is a natural gas-only distributor serving more than 3.3 million customers across over 1,400 communities in eight states, mainly in the southern U.S. The company also operates pipeline and storage assets, including intrastate natural gas pipeline systems in Texas.
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