12 Best Dow Stocks to Invest In Right Now

In this article, we will look at the 12 Best Dow Stocks to Invest In Right Now.

Investors often think that great stocks need to be discovered through extreme research or by sifting through obscure companies. This isn’t always true. Great stocks are often companies that show excellence in their underlying business, often dominating their sector peers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average represents 30 companies that include some of America’s finest businesses. So when it comes to looking for great stocks, the DOW is probably the best place to begin.

Since these are already among the best businesses in the country, the challenge then becomes identifying the best of the best. This is achieved by going through their competitive industry positioning today, along with their earnings growth and valuation.

For example, the stock of a great business may be struggling today because the underlying business is going through a rough patch, creating an opportunity for investors to buy at an attractive valuation. Others may be showing great business strength but trading at extreme valuations or at the peak of the earnings cycle.

Similarly, stock market volatility may result in depressed stock prices, which, in turn, create similar opportunities. Jay Woods, Chief Market Strategist at Freedom Capital Markets, expects this volatility to hit the market soon, and investors should be ready. He said while speaking to the Schwab Network:

I think we’re going to hit some turbulence in the coming weeks… we’re dealing with inflationary fears, we still have elevated gas prices, the housing market hasn’t fixed itself… and I think we’re going to hit some stumbles.

Investors need to be ready to pounce on opportunities like these. To discover such value opportunities, we decided to look at the DOW stocks that are the best to invest in right now.

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Our Methodology

To come up with our list of 12 best Dow stocks to invest in right now, we started with the list of the 30 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average index. We then filtered out companies with at least a 10% potential upside according to analysts. These companies are also popular among hedge funds, and we have ordered our list in ascending order by the number of hedge funds currently invested in them.

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. Insider Monkey’s quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 599.2% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 372 percentage points (see more details here).

Note: All share price data is as of market close on July 5, 2026.

12. Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 71

On July 3, Joseph Civello, an analyst at Truist Financial, reiterated a Buy rating on Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE) and set a price target of $47. The analyst update follows the company’s quarterly earnings report announced on June 30. The company reported revenue of $11 billion, which beat the Wall Street consensus of $10.85 billion. The earnings per share came in at $0.20, which exceeded analysts’ estimates of $0.12. Despite comfortably beating Wall Street estimates, investors should note that the company’s Q4 revenues were down 1% on a reported basis and 4% on a currency-neutral basis. Moreover, the company recognized a one-time $986 million benefit tied to tariff claims, which lifted reported profit and gross margin.

Going forward, for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, NKE expects revenue to decline in the low- to mid-single digits, with gross profit margin slightly positive.

Management was asked about future growth drivers, and CEO Elliot Hill said the company’s strength in sports remains a key competitive advantage supporting the broader brand. He reiterated that the Sportswear segment plans to introduce more than a dozen new footwear styles in the second half of fiscal 2027.

NIKE Inc. (NYSE:NKE) is a global sportswear company that designs, develops, markets, and sells casual and athletic footwear, equipment, apparel, and accessories. The company’s portfolio consists of brands such as NIKE, Chuck Taylor, One Star, Jordan, and Jumpman.

11. Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ:HON)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 75

According to a report released on July 1, BMO Capital analyst Daniel DiCicco reiterated a Buy rating on Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ:HON) with a price target of $253. The price target reflects a further 10% upside from current levels. The firm’s assigned price target is slightly below the median Wall Street analyst price target of $254, based on 27 analysts covering the stock.

Adding to the day’s analyst activity, Citi also revised its outlook on HON. In contrast to BMO Capital, Andrew Kaplowitz from Citi lowered the firm’s price target on Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ:HON) from $269.40 to $260. However, the analyst kept a Buy rating on the stock. The downward-revised price target is still higher than the median Wall Street analysts’ price target of $254 based on 27 analysts covering the stock. The firm’s price target suggests an additional 13% upside from here on.

Citi updated its outlook on Honeywell following the company’s recent spinoff. The firm believes HON’s more focused automation business is now better positioned for future growth. It expects the company to deliver steadier and more predictable sales growth over the long term.

Honeywell International Inc. (NASDAQ:HON) operates across multiple business areas, including industrial automation, aerospace technologies, building automation, and energy and sustainable solutions. The company operates across Europe, the United States, and other international markets.

10. Boeing Co (NYSE:BA)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 99

During the last few trading sessions, Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) stock has seen positive momentum. On July 1, Citi analyst John Godyn assigned a Buy rating to Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) and set a target price of $260. The analyst’s price target suggests a further 14.7% upside, which sits just below the median Wall Street analyst upside of 21.4%.

On July 2, the Government Accountability Office, in its annual assessment of US weapons programs, said Boeing has reduced some of the technical challenges that have delayed its delivery of two jets that will serve as Air Force One. The company is expected to deliver the first modified jet by 2028. It has improved several key areas, including the aircraft’s environmental control system, cabin pressure issues, and the hiring and retention of more qualified mechanics.

However, the planes still need more detailed work, including final interior designs for the aircraft, wiring, installation, and fixing structural defects. Moreover, repairs of stress corrosion cracks are still in progress and are expected to be finished this year. Despite the progress, BA is still three years behind its original delivery schedule. While delays in two jets may seem immaterial, they point to an execution risk and a lack of management quality for shareholders.

Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, and launch systems and services worldwide. The company operates through three segments. These include Commercial Airplanes, Defense, Space & Security, and Global Services. The company was incorporated in 1916 and is based in Arlington, Virginia.

9. Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 99

Based on a report released on June 29, Morgan Stanley analyst Simeon Gutman maintained a Buy rating on Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) along with the price target of $140. The firm’s price target implies an additional 25% upside from here on. This upside is equal to the median Wall Street analysts’ upside estimate, based on 45 analysts covering the stock.

On July 2, Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) announced that it will hold its annual Walmart Wellness Day on July 25. The company said the event will offer free health screenings and assessments, along with low-cost immunizations, vision screenings, and pharmacist consultations at stores across the U.S. Though the event looks irrelevant from a shareholder’s perspective, it is part of the company’s expansion plans in telehealth. It comes after the company partnered with Teledoc in May, a virtual healthcare provider, to offer health services within Walmart stores.

The event will provide customers with weight management resources, including education on GLP-1 medications, medication support, information on same-day pharmacy delivery, nutrition guidance, and access to virtual healthcare services through its Better Care Services platform. By promoting awareness, Walmart intends to monetize its foot traffic via Teledoc’s services, a new growth avenue for the company.

Walmart Inc. (NASDAQ:WMT) is an omnichannel retailer operating retail and wholesale stores, clubs, e-commerce websites, and mobile applications. It offers an elaborate array of items, from general merchandise and electronics to food, groceries, and more.

8. Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 101

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) started July on a positive note. The stock rose about 4% in premarket trading after Guggenheim upgraded it from Neutral to Buy. John DiFucci of Guggenheim set a price target of $228, representing an additional 37% upside from here. The firm said concerns that artificial intelligence could significantly hurt Salesforce are overdone. It also believes the stock’s current valuation presents an attractive entry point for investors.

DiFucci and his team remarked:

To be clear, this is not a call that CRM will be a beneficiary of AI, but we don’t believe it will decline as implied in the current valuation.

The comment shows how software stocks have been beaten down this year so far, and analysts have started to spot attractive valuation opportunities. Earlier, on June 23, Anthropic launched Claude Tag, a new feature that brings its AI assistant directly into Salesforce Inc.’s (NYSE:CRM) Slack app. The feature allows Claude to join Slack conversations, complete tasks when prompted, and work across multiple channels. Claude Tag is currently available in Beta for Claude Team and Claude Enterprise. The feature is powered by Claude Opus 4.8. And replaces the earlier Claude in the Slack app that Anthropic launched last year.

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is a global enterprise software company that provides customer relationship management (CRM) and cloud-based business applications across sales, service, marketing, commerce, and data analytics. Its Customer 360 platform, powered by data tools and trusted AI, enables organizations to unify customer data and drive personalized engagement.

7. Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 103

Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) is one of the best Dow stocks to invest in right now. On July 2, Biraj Borkhataria from RBC Capital reiterated a Buy rating on the stock. The firm also assigned a target price of $220. The price target reflects a further 30% upside from current levels.

On a more bullish note, just days after announcing an agreement with Microsoft to power a massive West Texas data center for 20 years, the company plans to explore additional data center deals across the US. The company plans to use its natural gas resources and experience in building large energy projects. This is aimed at supporting the growing electricity demand from Big Tech, driven mainly by AI and data centers.

Moreover, the company sees potential for additional projects in West Texas, which is part of the Permian Basin, a major US oil-producing region. It also contains vast natural gas resources, Jeff Gustavson, the company’s president of new energies, told Reuters in an interview. On a more positive front, CVX plans to expand into other regions, including the Midwest and the Gulf Coast, which are major energy production and shipping hubs.

While highlighting the company’s expansion plans, Gustavson remarked,

If we can put the right pieces together to ​meet our return thresholds, you ​can see more announcements ⁠over time.

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) operates as a fully integrated energy company, producing crude oil and natural gas, manufacturing fuels, lubricants, and petrochemicals, and developing technologies to improve efficiency across its operations and the broader energy industry.

6. Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 119

On July 2, Ric Prentiss, an analyst at Raymond James, lowered the firm’s price target on Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) to $111 from $119 and kept an Outperform rating on the stock. The firm cited survey data, industry checks, and recent Comcast commentary that indicate softer theme park attendance and weaker summer demand.

Despite the downward revision to the price target, Disney saw strong momentum over the July 4 holiday, providing DIS investors with renewed reasons for optimism. The new movie Toy Story 5 was expected to make around $35 million in the US during the July 4 holiday weekend. It is also performing well in cinemas worldwide, earning about $615 million so far. This shows Disney is seeing strong success in theatres again after relying heavily on streaming during the pandemic years.

At the same time, the entertainment giant’s theme parks are extremely busy, with places like Magic Kingdom and EPCOT close to full capacity. The parks had to turn away large groups because of high demand during the US 250th anniversary celebrations.

Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) is a global entertainment and media company.  It owns and operates television networks, streaming services, theme parks, resorts, and hotels. It also produces and releases movies, TV shows, and other content. The company operates through three main segments. These include Disney Entertainment, ESPN, and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. It was founded by Walter Elias Disney on October 16, 1923, and is headquartered in Burbank, California.

5. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 181

On July 3, Matthew O’Neill of Bank of America Securities reiterated a Buy rating on Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) and set a target price of $410. The firm’s assigned price target implies a further 13% upside from current levels. This upside is close to the median Wall Street analysts’ upside of 11%.

The launch of a new US dollar-backed stablecoin called OUSD has created confusion among several Korean companies that were listed as partners in the project, a South Korean business and financial news publication, ChosunBiz, noted on July 3. The issuer, Open Standard, announced plans to launch OUSD later this year with support from around 140 global companies. These include Visa, Mastercard, BlackRock, Google, Samsung Electronics, and other Korean card issuers. However, some of these companies said they had no formal agreement to join. They were surprised to find that they had already been listed as consortium members despite not having made a formal commitment.

Previously, on June 30, Bloomberg News reported that Visa, Bank of New York Mellon, and Stripe were among the financial firms that had partnered to launch a stablecoin. The partners planned to integrate stablecoin into their systems once it goes live later in 2026.

Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is a payment technology company operating in the United States and internationally. It operates VisaNet, a transaction-processing network that handles the clearing, authorization, and settlement of payments. The company offers its services under various brands, including PLUS, Visa, V PAY, Visa Electron, and Interlink.

4. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 265

On June 30, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) introduced two new artificial intelligence models, Nano Banana 2 Lite and Gemini Omni Flash AI. The new models are designed to expand GOOGL’s AI image and video capabilities. According to the company, Nano Banana 2 Lite is its most cost-efficient Gemini Image generation model, while Gemini Omni Flash is built for high-quality video generation and conversational video editing.

The tech giant, Alphabet, highlighted in a release:

With these two models, developers can build comprehensive, end-to-end multimedia experiences that connect rapid image generation with video creation and editing. Whether your workflow requires generating thousands of images or editing multi-turn video sequences, you now have two new models to build faster, iterate seamlessly, and bring your creative vision to life.

Nano Banana 2 can generate images from text in about four seconds. The model costs $0.034 per 1,000 images, making it well suited for rapid image creation and prototyping. It is available through developer platforms, as well as AI mode in Search, NotebookLM, Google Flow, Google Ads, the Gemini app, Google Photos, and Stitch.

Meanwhile, Gemini Omni Flash, which was first announced at Google I/O, is now available to developers through the Google AI Studio and Gemini API. The model is optimized for high-quality video generation and editing and is priced at $0.10 per second of video output, matching the cost of Veo 3.1 Fast.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is a holding company that operates Google services, including search engines, ad platforms, Internet browsers, devices, mapping software, app stores, video streaming, and more. The company also offers cloud infrastructure and platform services, collaboration tools, and other services for enterprise customers, as well as healthcare-related services and internet services.

3. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 275

NVIDIA Corporation’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) product roadmap came into question briefly after a recent report from research firm SemiAnalysis reported that due to difficulties in manufacturing a key circuit board, Nvidia’s Kyber rack-scale architecture, a server system that packs 144 of NVDA’s most powerful chips into a single unit, has been delayed by more than 12 months. While the launch was originally set for 2027, the report claimed that the delay now pushed the expected delivery to 2028. This setback thus raised questions about the AI giant’s product roadmap.

However, NVIDIA later junked these rumors, clarified that there would be no such delays, and that the product roadmap is intact. That said, NVIDIA’s execution has recently been under close scrutiny. There are concerns that Nvidia’s aggressive product release schedule is becoming harder to sustain as manufacturing challenges increase. The company also scrapped a backup plan that would have combined two current-generation racks to achieve similar power because customers rejected the design as awkward and costly.

Any execution issues or delays could potentially allow competitors such as Advanced Micro Devices and Google to compete more effectively in the high-end AI market. Despite these concerns, Nvidia’s current-generation Rubin systems are in full production and will begin shipping this fall to eight cloud providers.

Bank of America Securities analyst Vivek Arya also sent out an update on Nvidia on July 8. While he didn’t directly address the SemiAnalysis claims, he reiterated his $350 price target, which should give investors some confidence. In fact, he claims in his report that investors are overestimating the memory cost pressure while underestimating Nvidia’s pricing power:

We believe investors overstate [high bandwidth memory] cost pressure while underestimating NVDA’s pricing power… We expect upcoming Nvidia earnings to reinforce its moats in products, pricing, and supply chain.

Vivek Arya’s comments should soothe investor nerves heading into the Q2 earnings season.

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is a fabless semiconductor and AI computing company that designs GPUs, AI accelerators, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), and system-on-a-chip units. Through its CUDA ecosystem, the company enables industries ranging from autonomous vehicles to scientific research by advancing AI, accelerated computing, and data center infrastructure.

2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 282

On July 1, Jefferies highlighted Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Amazon as two of the biggest beneficiaries of continued growth in cloud computing. Based on a survey of 40 U.S. Chief Information Officers, the firm now expects cloud spending to grow 10.1% in 2026, slightly faster than its previous forecast. Nearly 95% of respondents said they expect to increase their cloud budgets next year. Among them, 53% expect single-digit growth, while 43% forecast double-digit growth. Only 3% expect their cloud spending to decrease.

Jefferies analysts stated in a note to clients:

Cloud spend will modestly accelerate to 10.1% in ’26 vs. 9.6% in ’25 based on survey data, vs. our previous cloud survey, which implied a slight deceleration. ~95% of respondents expect their cloud budgets to grow y/y in ’26. 53% expect their cloud budgets to grow by single digits, while 43% anticipate a double-digit increase. Only 3% of survey respondents anticipate a marginal decrease in ’26 cloud spend, consistent w/our previous survey.

The survey also pointed to continued growth in cloud adoption. By the end of 2027, 85% of respondents expect more than half of their IT workloads to run on the cloud, compared with 75% today. Moreover, 53% expect cloud workloads to account for more than 80% of their IT operations by 2027. While analysts point to continued growth opportunities, the market continues to see Microsoft as a software stock at risk of AI disruption, as evident from the -18.7% YTD performance of the stock.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a global technology company that develops and sells a wide range of software, cloud services, devices, and business solutions, serving both individual users and enterprise customers worldwide. Its flagship products include Windows, Microsoft 365, Azure, LinkedIn, and Xbox.

1. Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 353

According to a report released on July 2, Monness analyst Brian White reiterated a Buy rating on Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) while increasing the price target. The analyst raised the firm’s price target on the stock from $241.7 to $315. The upward revised price target implies an additional 29% upside from current levels.

Adding to the positive outlook, Wells Fargo also raised its price target on Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) on the same day. Ken Gawrelski from Wells Fargo slightly increased the firm’s price target on the shares from $312 to $313 and reaffirmed a Buy rating. The analyst’s assigned price target is close to the median Wall Street price target of $320, based on estimates from 70 analysts covering the stock.

On July 2, the company’s top hardware executive said in an interview with CNBC that Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is focusing on developing its own chips for key consumer devices. It believes this will improve the integration between hardware and software, especially for AI-powered experiences.

The head of devices and services at Amazon, Panos Panay, commented:

“We do make our own end-to-end silicon for the devices that we ship.” He added that Amazon’s custom silicon is in devices such as the Echo Show 8, Echo Show 11, and Fire TV.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) operates across e-commerce, digital content, advertising, and cloud computing. Its online and offline stores offer both in-house and third-party products, while its Amazon Web Services (AWS) division runs one of the world’s largest data center networks.

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