5 Most Popular Small Cap Stocks to Buy

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1. TIC Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:TIC)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 41

Market Cap as of May 19: $1.97 billion

Topping our list of the Best Small Cap Stocks is TIC Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:TIC). It is a leading provider of tech-enabled Testing, Inspection, Certification, and Compliance (TICC) services and critical asset integrity solutions.

On May 7, JPMorgan raised its price target on TIC Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:TIC) from $7 to $9, but kept its ‘Underweight’ rating on the shares. The move comes despite TIC reporting mixed results for its Q1 2026 a day earlier.

TIC Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:TIC) reported an adjusted loss of $0.10 per share for its first quarter, compared to estimates of a profit of $0.02 per share. However, the company managed to grow its revenue by more than 108% YoY to $488 million and exceeded expectations by over $12 million. Moreover, its adjusted EBITDA of $57.7 million for the quarter was also up by over 123% compared to last year, primarily reflecting the inclusion of NV5 results.

TIC Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:TIC) reaffirmed its prior full-year 2026 guidance of $2.15 billion to $2.25 billion of revenue and $330 million to $355 million of adjusted EBITDA. Moreover, the company is targeting to deliver $3+ billion in revenue, 18%+ Adjusted EBITDA margin, and 85%+ Free Cash Flow Conversion by 2029.

While we acknowledge the potential of TIC 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 TIC and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: Top 12 Undervalued Dividend Stocks to Buy Now and 10 Best US Stocks to Invest in According to Billionaires

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