In this article, we explore the 7 Must-Buy Non-Tech Stocks to Invest in Now.
The technology sector has been in the thick of a downturn for much of the period from late 2025 through March 30, 2026. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite peaked at its all-time closing high on October 29, 2025, before a confluence of headwinds began battering the index. The biggest of them all is the escalating hostilities in the Middle East, which have heated Brent crude oil price to past $114 per barrel as of this writing.
This has reignited inflation concerns and hardened expectations of a prolonged high-rate environment. Another key headwind is the landmark jury verdict that held Meta and Alphabet liable for negligence in failing to protect young users on their platforms. By the close of trading on Friday, March 27, the Nasdaq confirmed a correction, sitting more than 12.56% below its record high, and 12.19% below its 2026 peak.
Because of the scale of the decline, analysts are wondering whether this is the worst downturn they have witnessed in the tech sector. In a March 27 Barron’s roundtable, Ben Reitzes, head of technology research at Melius Research, said the current environment was “like nothing I’ve ever seen, and I was an analyst in the dot-com bubble.”
The forum broadly concluded that the tech investing landscape had been upended. It noted that some tech giants have gone from the marquee artificial-intelligence play to dead money in a matter of months, while platforms once celebrated for their asset-light business models now carry industrial-scale capital expenditure burdens just to stay competitive in AI.
Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group, was equally direct. He told Reuters that “the Mag 7 is no longer the leaders they once were.” He added that large-cap tech had been “weakening on a relative basis since late October.”
For David Sekera, CFA, Chief US Market Strategist at Morningstar, the S&P 500 is in negative territory year to date because it was dragged down by its high weightings in the three worst-performing sectors, which are technology, financials, and consumer cyclical. He highlighted that tech losses were the primary drag on growth.
Sekera advised investors not to panic but readjust and redeploy capital to non-tech stocks. In this light, this article explores some of the must-buy non-tech names.
Our Methodology
To identify the 7 must-buy non-tech stocks to invest in now, we used the Finviz stock screener and other online sources to compile an initial group of US-listed equities that are not tech pure-plays. From this pool, we focused on stocks that are up by more than 30% year-to-date (as of March 30), are rated as Strong Buys by analysts, and are popular among elite hedge funds. We determined the stocks’ popularity using hedge fund holdings data from Q4 2025 13F filings available in Insider Monkey’s database. The final list is ranked in ascending order by the number of hedge funds holding stakes in the stocks. Where stocks had the same number of hedge fund investors, we used the year-to-date gains to break the tie.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research shows 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).
Must-Buy Non-Tech Stocks to Invest in Now
7. Petroleo Brasileiro (NYSE:PBR)
Year-to-Date Gains: 74.24%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 40
Petroleo Brasileiro (NYSE:PBR) is among the must-buy non-tech stocks to invest in now. On March 26, UBS boosted its price target on Petroleo Brasileiro (NYSE:PBR) to $22 from $14.60 while reiterating a Buy rating on the stock.
The equity research firm pointed to the company’s strong cash generation and solid dividend yield as factors for its renewed bullish stance on the stock. It sees the company delivering dividend yields in the range of 11% to 12% for the next two years.
Additionally, UBS cited higher gasoline and diesel prices as positive for the state-run Brazilian oil and gas giant. But even without fuel price increases, the firm projects that Petroleo Brasileiro, which is also called Petrobras, would pay a dividend yield of around 10% in 2026.
On the same day that UBS raised its price target on Petrobras, Reuters reported that the company had made a new discovery of high-quality oil in the Campos Basin pre-salt area. The report stated that Petrobras made the discovery at an exploratory well in an area off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state.
On March 17, Petrobras disclosed in regulatory filings that it would purchase Petronas’ stake in two offshore fields in Brazil’s Campos Basin. This acquisition would give it complete control of these assets, which have a combined output of around 55,000 barrels per day.
Petroleo Brasileiro (NYSE:PBR) is a Brazilian multinational corporation engaged in the petroleum business. The company explores, produces, and sells oil and gas to domestic and international customers. It also operates refineries and offers logistics services. Moreover, the company produces fertilizer. Petroleo Brasileiro is majority state-owned and is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro.
6. Bunge Global SA (NYSE:BG)
Year-to-Date Gains: 38.95%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 43
Bunge Global SA (NYSE:BG) is among the must-buy non-tech stocks to invest in now. On March 17, Bunge Global SA (NYSE:BG) announced a debt offering for $1.2 billion. The global agribusiness and food company said the offering involved senior unsecured notes in two tranches.
The first part comprised $500 million of notes at 4.800% notes due 2033. The second part involved $700 million of notes at 5.150% due 2036. The company tapped SMBC Nikko Securities America, Citigroup Global Markets, and J.P. Morgan Securities and other firms to help with the debt offering.
Bunge said it planned to use the proceeds from the offering for various purposes, including repayment of debt, share buybacks, capital expenditures, and working capital. The company closed 2025 with $1.17 billion of cash and cash equivalents.
At its 2026 Investor Day event on March 10, Bunge outlined its strategic priorities for the years ahead. The discussion touched on matters such as portfolio optimization, capital allocation, and integration of Viterra, the company that Bunge acquired recently.
Among other things, the management outlined a plan to maintain shareholder capital returns at a minimum of 50% of excess free cash flow. This plan is a combination of dividends and share buybacks. As part of this target, Bunge’s board has approved $3 billion for a new repurchase program.
On earnings, Bunge aims to reach $15 of EPS by the end of 2030. The company’s adjusted EPS was $7.57 in 2025.
As part of the portfolio optimization efforts, Bunge acquired certain protein businesses from International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) in early March. It said the acquired businesses would complement its existing protein portfolio and allow it to offer customers a more diverse range of solutions.
Bunge Global SA (NYSE:BG) is a global agribusiness and food company. It’s engaged in businesses such as food processing, grain trading, and fertilizer production. The company is deeply involved in the soybeans business, where it processes, distributes, and markets soybeans and related products around the world.
While we acknowledge the potential of BG 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 BG and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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