In this article, we will take a look at the most profitable US stocks to buy.
Investing in the stock market can be both exciting and challenging, particularly when the investor has to identify a stock that not only generates healthy margins and delivers strong returns but also sustains its growth momentum. For many, focusing on profitability is a critical strategy, as it highlights the company’s operational strength, competitive moat, and resilience in turbulent market conditions.
As we enter 2026, investors are eager to learn how the year will unfold. An article by Bloomberg, titled “Here’s (Almost) Everything Wall Street Expects in 2026,” published on January 2, notes that all the firms are now acknowledging the risks associated with the artificial intelligence boom. Yet, few recommend stepping back from what they describe as a “revolutionary” technology. The article goes on to cite JPMorgan Wealth Management, which says,
“The biggest risk, to us, is not having exposure to this transformational technology.”
The article highlights that the constraints on the outlook remain the same: geopolitical tensions, trade barriers, and a softening U.S. labor market, the latter a key concern for BCA Research, the most bearish firm highlighted in the article. However, with the AI boom accelerating, easing monetary policy expectations, and solid backing from initiatives such as President Donald Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ and Germany’s fiscal stimulus, market sentiment favors global expansion.
With this outlook in mind, we have compiled a list of the most profitable USA giants to invest in.
A stock market graph. Photo by energepic.com
Our methodology
To compile our list of the 10 most profitable US stocks to buy, we used the Stock Analysis screener to filter for US stocks with a market capitalization of more than $2 billion that reported operating and net profit margins over 20%. From this pool, we shortlisted the top 10 stocks with the highest trailing twelve-month (TTM) net income. These are then ranked in ascending order according to their net income. We also included data on hedge fund holdings in these companies based on Insider Monkey’s database, as of Q3 2025.
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 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).
10. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)
Net Income (TTM): $19.97 billion
Operating Margin (TTM): 33.72%
Number of Hedge Fund holdings: 76
On January 7, BofA Securities increased its price target on Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) to $107 from $100 with an unchanged ‘Buy’ rating on the stock. Ebrahim Poonawala, an analyst at the firm, pointed out that the company’s current valuation is discounted relative to its peers, offering an attractive risk/reward profile.
BofA Securities suggested this valuation gap could narrow in the times ahead if the company’s management achieves superior revenue growth, backed by massive franchise investments already made, while maintaining profitability. The firm also highlighted that growing confidence in execution would enable investors to pay a premium for Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) over some other leading regional banks, noting the bank’s scale advantage and what it describes as “best-in-class execution” under the leadership of CEO Charlie Scharf.
Earlier on January 6, Baird downgraded Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) to Underperform from Neutral and set a price target of $90, which is slightly above the lowest 1-year price target on the street. Despite the company’s solid business model, the firm believes that market sentiment has become overly optimistic, with the stock trading at nearly 13.5 times projected EPS for 2026.
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), headquartered in San Francisco, is a financial services company incorporated in 1852. With four main segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth and Investment Management, the company considers satisfying the clients’ financial needs as its mission.
9. Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)
Net Income (TTM): $23.13 billion
Operating Margin (TTM): 31.76%
Number of Hedge Fund holdings: 183
On January 12, Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) announced the issuance of $4.5 billion in senior notes, according to the latest U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The company plans to utilize the net proceeds to fund general corporate operations and to repay existing loans.
Earlier on January 9, Stacy Rasgon, an analyst at Bernstein, reaffirmed an ‘Outperform’ rating on Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) with a price target of $475. This reaffirmation follows a meeting with the company’s leadership, which sought to reassure investors about intensifying competition in the artificial intelligence market. According to the analyst report, investors have raised concerns in recent months about emerging challenges to the company’s AI-dominant position, including rising competition and customer-owned tooling (COT).
After a session with the company’s executive named Charlie, Bernstein emerged with “more conviction than ever” that these worries are “hugely overblown” and that Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)’s leadership position in the ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) appears secure in times ahead.
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO), headquartered in Palo Alto, California, is a developer and supplier of semiconductor devices and infrastructure software solutions. Founded in 1961, the company operates in two segments: Semiconductor Solutions and Infrastructure Software.
8. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
Net Income (TTM): $25.12 billion
Operating Margin (TTM): 30.20%
Number of Hedge Fund holdings: 103
On January 9, Lee Hambright at Bernstein raised the price target on Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) to $208 from $193 and kept the ‘Market Perform’ rating unchanged, according to TheFly.
The firm noted that U.S. healthcare stocks have shown improved performance over the last few months, following a low point in September 2025. With clearer visibility into macroeconomic uncertainties that have challenged healthcare stocks throughout 2025, Bernstein has a more favorable outlook for 2026.
Three days earlier, on January 6, Stifel also raised the price target on Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) to $205 from $190, keeping a ‘Hold’ rating on the stock. This upward revision in target follows the company’s completion of its approximately $3.05 billion acquisition of Halda Therapeutics on December 29, 2025.
Stifel highlighted that the Halda acquisition is projected to be dilutive to Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE:JNJ) adjusted earnings per share by a total of $0.20, with $0.10 of the impact in each of 2025 and 2026.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is a global healthcare company focused on innovative medicines and medical technologies. Headquartered in New Jersey, the company serves a wide clientele, including retailers, wholesalers, healthcare professionals, and hospitals.
7. Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)
Net Income (TTM): $28.25 billion
Operating Margin (TTM): 35.29%
Number of Hedge Fund holdings: 111
On January 14, Evercore ISI maintained its ‘Outperform’ rating on Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) with a price target of $63, which reflects an upside potential of 21%. This reaffirmation follows the bank’s fourth-quarter earnings report, in which the company delivered an EPS of $0.98, surpassing both the firm’s estimates and Wall Street’s estimates by $0.03 and $0.04, respectively. Additionally, the bank achieved a revenue growth of 7% and an expense growth of 4%.
Overall, Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) posted strong performance across all its business segments. Despite the earnings beat, the stock declined 2.4% in pre-market trading to $53.23, according to Investing.com. This suggests market concerns, rather than company-specific factors.
Looking ahead, Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) appears confident about 2026, anticipating sustained growth across key financial metrics through expansion and innovation. As stated by CFO Alastair Borthwick,
“We are investing for growth all the time.”
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) is a North Carolina-based provider of various financial products and services. Founded in 1784, the bank operates through four segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM), Global Banking, and Global Markets.
6. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)
Net Income (TTM): $55.68 billion
Operating Margin (TTM): 41.85%
Number of Hedge Fund holdings: 120
On January 14, CICC began coverage on JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) with an ‘Outperform’ rating and a price target of $355, according to TheFly. Slightly above the consensus median price target of $350, the unchanged price target suggests an upside potential of nearly 13%.
Just a day earlier, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) reported its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 financial results, delivering strong performance across all segments. With an EPS of $5.23, the company outperformed analyst projections of $4.86 by 7.61%. Throughout the earnings call, management highlighted the company’s sustained strength in a competitive banking space. That said, the bank maintains solid capital levels while expanding both its loan and deposit offerings.
Looking ahead, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) expects to achieve approximately $103 billion in net interest income and approximately $95 billion excluding Markets. The bank remains committed to preserving its market leadership through investments in technology modernization and strategic partnerships.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is a New York-based financial services company operating through three segments: Consumer & Community Banking, Commercial & Investment Banking, and Asset & Wealth Management.
5. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)
Net Income (TTM): $58.53 billion
Operating Margin (TTM): 40.08%
Number of Hedge Fund holdings: 273
According to Bloomberg’s Kurt Wagner report, on January 14, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) confirmed plans to cut over 1,000 jobs from the Reality Labs division. This is an attempt to reallocate resources from virtual reality and metaverse products to AI wearables and phone features.
As inferred from an internal post by Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, reviewed by Bloomberg, the job cuts are projected to affect nearly 10% of employees within the group. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) will sustain its development efforts around the metaverse, but will focus on mobile phones, while less aggressively investing in VR headsets and features, Bloomberg states.
Earlier on January 12, BofA Securities reaffirmed its Buy rating on Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) with an unchanged price target of $810. This came after the company’s announcement of long-term partnerships with three nuclear energy companies, namely Vistra, TerraPower, and Oklo. The firm believes these collaborations act as strategic moves to combat power availability issues for data center expansion.
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is a California-based company that develops social media applications. Dedicated to connecting people and growing businesses, the company has two segments: Family of Apps (FoA) and Reality Labs (RL).
4. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Net Income (TTM): $99.2 billion
Operating Margin (TTM): 63.17%
Number of Hedge Fund holdings: 234
On January 14, Reuters’ Liz Lee and Liam Mo reported that NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) denied reports that Chinese customers would need to pay upfront for H200 chips, stating that it “would never require customers to pay for products they do not receive.” This follows the Reuters story on January 8, which claimed that the company has imposed strict terms on Chinese customers pursuing its AI chips, requiring full upfront payment.
Earlier on January 8, Piper Sandler maintained an ‘Overweight’ rating on NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), with an unchanged $225 price target. The firm named the company its top large-cap data center pick for the calendar year. From continued technological leadership to expanding strategic partnerships and a comprehensive software stack, the firm cited several reasons for its bullish stance.
Piper Sandler also noted the company’s solid valuation at nearly 24.5 times price-to-earnings ratio on a next-twelve-months basis. The firm is confident in NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)’s anticipated performance gains from its Vera Rubin rack, which is projected to deliver meaningful returns in the latter half of this year.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) is a California-based company that delivers graphics, high-performance computing, and networking solutions. Founded in 1993, the giant operates through Compute & Networking and Graphics segments.
3. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Net Income (TTM): $104.91 billion
Operating Margin (TTM): 48.87%
Number of Hedge Fund holdings: 312
On January 14, Morgan Stanley maintained an ‘Overweight’ rating on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), keeping an unchanged price target of $650. This reaffirmation, suggesting an upside potential of nearly 38%, follows its fourth-quarter 2025 CIO Survey.
While indicating favorable software spending plans, the survey outlined expectations of software spending growth to increase by 9 basis points YoY, from 3.7% in 2025 to 3.8% in 2026. That said, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is poised to benefit from this strengthening environment as CIOs anticipate 7.3% growth for the company in 2026, 100 basis points higher than the second-quarter 2025 survey.
What’s even more interesting is that Microsoft Azure continues to win the support of CIOs, with it being the most preferred public cloud vendor as it hosts an impressive 53% of application workloads. The survey highlights that the business is projected to maintain this position over the upcoming three years, thanks to the acceleration of broader public cloud adoption.
Overall, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a consensus Buy, with nearly all analysts covering the stock assigning a Buy or equivalent rating. With a median price target of $631, the stock has an upside potential of 34.06%.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a Washington-based company operating through Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and Personal Computing segments. Founded in 1975, the company provides software, services, devices, and solutions worldwide.
2. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Net Income (TTM): $112.01 billion
Operating Margin (TTM): 31.65%
Number of Hedge Fund holdings: 166
On January 6, UBS reaffirmed its Neutral rating on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) with a price target of $280, which suggests a potential upside of nearly 7%. This follows the evaluation of recent App Store performance, indicating an approximately 7% deceleration in App Store growth for the December 2025 quarter. This is lower than the 12% and 10% levels experienced in the June and September 2025 quarters, respectively.
On the same day, BofA Securities also maintained the Buy rating and $325 price target on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). This bullish stance is driven by the company’s solid capital returns, potential leadership in AI, and optionality from emerging products and markets.
BofA Securities noted that although this was the weakest quarterly revenue growth in nearly 11 quarters since FY23, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) reported a 6.8% YoY growth in the fiscal first quarter of 2026, thanks to developer revenue data from SensorTower. Additionally, total downloads across iPhone and iPad platforms surged 1.5% YoY to 8.9 billion in the same period.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a California-based giant that designs, manufactures, and markets electronic devices, including smartphones, personal computers, tablets, and wearables. Founded in 1976, the company offers iPhone, Mac, iPad, and AirPods, among others.
1. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Net Income (TTM): $124.25 billion
Operating Margin (TTM): 30.51%
Number of Hedge Fund holdings: 243
On January 12, Ken Gawrelski, an analyst at Wells Fargo, increased the price target on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) to $350 from $268 and kept an ‘Equal Weight’ rating on the stock. Slightly higher than the consensus 1-year median price target of $340, the revised price target reflects an upside potential of around 4%.
According to TheFly, the firm is reevaluating guidance across the board, given the missed positive inflection in 2025. Wells Fargo is increasing estimates for search and GCP due to strong momentum, yet the EPS remains modest relative to the consensus. The firm believes multiple re-rating is largely complete.
Later on January 13, John Blackledge from TD Cowen raised the price target on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) to $355 from $350, while maintaining a ‘Buy’ on the stock. This follows the firm’s analysis, based on its U.S. Ad Buyer Survey, which shows that Google Search delivers the highest ROI and the strongest measurement among digital advertising platforms.
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is a global technology company that provides web-based search, consumer content, enterprise solutions, software engines, and advertising through its subsidiaries. Incorporated in 1998, the company’s segments include Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets. The powerhouse is dedicated to making the world’s information universally accessible and useful.
While we acknowledge the potential of GOOGL to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than GOOGL and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None.
