Yahoo Finance reported on November 5 that the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 3.4%, or more than 1,800 points, while the S&P 500 fell 4.4% and the Nasdaq Composite sank 5.5% into correction territory. Chip stocks took the brunt of the damage, as the leading AI chipmaker fell 9% to pace Dow decliners and another chip designer plunged 17%, the outlet reported.
The slide erased the gains from a day earlier, when the Dow had jumped nearly 1,600 points after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, Yahoo Finance wrote on November 4. Even so, the blue-chip index finished Thursday just 1.9% below its record closing high of 54,349 from early August.
The Dow’s Safe-Haven Run Cracks
For most of the week, the Dow had looked like the sheltered corner of the market. Yahoo Finance reported on November 2 that the Dow edged up 0.4% while the Nasdaq dropped roughly 1% as investors rotated out of technology names and into consumer cyclical and financial services shares. One household consumer brand has divided opinion lately, and we covered why a well-known TV host is staying away from the sneaker maker after losing money on it.
On Thursday, that cushion gave way, as the focus turned to what a Democratic Congress could mean for the AI buildout, and for the data centers driving it in particular. Data center power and infrastructure stocks fell by double digits, and the Nasdaq 100 was recently more than 10% below its October closing high. The reversal was fast. Shay Boloor, chief market strategist at an equity research firm, pointed out that the VIX volatility index posted its biggest one-day jump in more than two years. It took the Nasdaq just six minutes to erase its entire post-election rally.
A Jobs Report Steadies the Tape
Friday brought a partial rebound. Yahoo Finance reported on November 6 that the US added 165,000 jobs in October, and the Nasdaq gained 1.9% while the S&P 500 rose 1% and the Dow added 0.1%. You might also be interested in reading our piece on why a billionaire money manager and a TV host both still like the iPhone maker.
The stronger jobs data lifted Treasury yields and kept Federal Reserve policy at the center of market attention, Reuters reported on November 6, as the price-weighted index of 30 major US companies held roughly flat.
Our Methodology
For this article, we used Finviz to screen the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and calculated each stock’s average upside potential, based on analysts’ average price target. We picked the 10 stocks with the lowest upside potential and ranked them in descending order of upside. We also list each stock’s short interest and number of hedge fund holders as of Q2 2026.
Note: All data was sourced on November 6, 2026.
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 strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 612% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 375 percentage points (see more details here).
10 Worst Dow Stocks To Buy
10. Visa (NYSE:V)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 194
Short Interest: 1.21%
Average Upside Potential: 7%
A 15% revenue gain at Visa’s scale explains why it keeps showing up on lists of dependable compounders. Payments volume, cross-border volume and processed transactions all kept growing in the fiscal fourth quarter, and cross-border volume was the fastest of the three at 14%, so international spending is adding to a business already driven by everyday card use.
Net revenue growth was broad, with service revenue, data processing revenue and international transaction revenue all higher for the year. Earnings kept pace with the top line, and the board raised the quarterly dividend 16%. Visa also kept buying back stock in the quarter and ended it with a large repurchase authorization still available, which gives management room to keep trimming the share count while it funds growth.
Chief Executive Ryan McInerney called fiscal 2026 a milestone year. The next step is a planned $2.4 billion cash purchase of BioCatch, an anti-fraud provider, which management expects to close by the end of the fiscal second quarter of 2027. The deal would add fraud-detection tools to the security services Visa already sells to banks and merchants, widening the set of services that earn fees beyond moving money.
Learn more from our analysis on Visa (NYSE:V) here: Visa (V): Are Bigger Client Rebates Worth the Valuation?
9. IBM (NYSE:IBM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 74
Short Interest: 2.11%
Average Upside Potential: 5%
IBM’s third quarter showed its software business speeding up. Software revenue rose 8%, led by Red Hat’s hybrid cloud products and a 19% jump in data products, and the company said revenue growth accelerated and exceeded expectations for the period.
The profit side improved too. Operating pre-tax margin widened, and free cash flow of $3.0 billion was higher than a year earlier. Management responded by raising its full-year free cash flow outlook to growth of more than $1 billion, while holding its revenue growth range steady at the level it gave earlier in the year.
Chief Executive Arvind Krishna said clients are now using what he calls Super Intelligence to reshape entire operating models rather than solve narrow problems. Chief Financial Officer James Kavanaugh credited demand across the portfolio and strong operational execution for the quarter. Infrastructure revenue and transaction processing software also rose, so the improvement reached beyond a single product line. Hybrid cloud, data, and transaction processing software all grew, while consulting held steady. Operating cash flow also rose from a year earlier, and IBM kept returning cash to shareholders through its dividend.
Our analysis on IBM (NYSE:IBM) is available here: IBM (IBM) Saw Mainframes Fall 42%. Is That Already Priced In at 18 Times Earnings?
8. Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 83
Short Interest: 0.95%
Average Upside Potential: 5%
Volume, not price, drove the surprise at Procter & Gamble. Organic sales rose 4% in the fiscal first quarter, and organic volume alone added 2.4 points, so shoppers were buying more product rather than simply paying more for it. Pricing contributed very little to the gain, and management said the quarter reflected sharper execution across the business.
Cost savings helped cushion higher commodity costs. Core operating margin included gross productivity savings of 250 basis points, and core earnings per share came in at $2.00, ahead of the year-earlier figure. Management kept its full-year organic sales, earnings and cash return guidance in place, and the company still expects to turn most of its adjusted profit into free cash flow.
Chief Executive Shailesh Jejurikar said the results reflect sharper execution of the company’s strategy of delighting consumers with superior products at a superior value. The company has also completed its purchase of Thorne, a premium wellness brand, and widened its full-year sales growth forecast to reflect the deal, which adds a health and supplements business to a portfolio built around everyday household and beauty brands.
Here is our analysis on Procter & Gamble: Procter & Gamble (PG) Expects 1% to 3% Organic Growth, Is That Enough?
7. Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 90
Short Interest: 1.16%
Average Upside Potential: 3%
Coca-Cola is selling more drinks, not just charging more for them. Global unit case volume grew 5% in the third quarter, while pricing and mix played a small role in the 7% increase in organic revenue. The company also gained value share in nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverages, a sign that shoppers are choosing its brands over rivals.
Profit followed the volume. Comparable earnings per share grew 11%, and the operating margin widened to 33.4% from 32.0% a year earlier. Growth came across brands, with Coca-Cola Zero Sugar volume up 16% and the flagship Trademark Coca-Cola brand also growing, led by India, China, Mexico and Brazil. Unit case volume also rose in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and in Latin America, where it grew faster than the company average.
Management responded by raising its full-year guidance. Chief Executive Henrique Braun said the quarter shows the system’s sustained momentum, giving the company confidence in its updated outlook. Year-to-date free cash flow reached $11.4 billion, which funds both marketing investment and shareholder payouts. Music partnerships, including festival activations across Europe, also helped drive volume growth in that region.
Check out our analysis on Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) here: Can Coca-Cola (KO) Stock Support 28 Times Earnings?
6. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 117
Short Interest: 0.70%
Average Upside Potential: 3%
Management at Johnson & Johnson now sees a clearer path to double-digit growth by the end of the decade, and the third quarter gave it a reason to say so. Sales rose 5.9%, and the company raised its 2026 outlook to reported sales of about $101.2 billion and adjusted earnings of $11.10 per share at the midpoint.
The pipeline is supplying the momentum. Positive Phase 3 results in multiple myeloma arrived during the quarter, approval came for Imaavy in warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia, and Rybrevant Faspro won priority review. Each adds a possible growth leg beyond the medicines that already sell, and the company said its focused portfolio is gathering momentum. It also added to the pipeline through the acquisition of Firefly Bio and a collaboration with Sail Biomedicines.
Medical devices have their own catalyst. Ottava, billed as the world’s first soft-tissue surgical robot built into the operating table, received market authorization. Chief Executive Joaquin Duato described it as one of the company’s most transformative medtech innovations, and he said the quarter showed sequential growth picking up from the previous one.
You can read our analysis on Johnson & Johnson here: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Drugs Lift Guidance, but Is 23 Times Earnings Fair?
5. Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 111
Short Interest: 1.70%
Average Upside Potential: 2%
Advertising and online sales are changing what a Walmart dollar earns. Global eCommerce sales rose 23% in the fiscal second quarter, and global advertising grew 38%, with the US Walmart Connect ad business up 43% excluding Vizio.
Operating income rose 28.8%, boosted by tariff refunds that the retailer said it would put back into lower prices. Management raised its sales and operating income growth guidance for the year, and said it will keep prioritizing investment in price during the second half. Operating cash flow reached $19.7 billion for the first half of the year, which helps fund those price cuts.
Walmart US also posted strong growth across digital. Walmart International also grew, with Sam’s Club China reaching record membership counts and Flipkart’s advertising business expanding. Sam’s Club US showed steady membership growth and more transactions, and nearly half of Walmart’s marketplace business now flows through its fulfillment services, which gives outside sellers a reason to stay on the platform. Walmart reports its next quarter later this month, when investors will see how the price investments and the digital businesses are working together.
Our analysis on Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) can be found here: Walmart (WMT): Can Suppliers Keep Funding Its Inventory Growth?
4. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 169
Short Interest: 0.90%
Average Upside Potential: -1%
A new CEO, a record September quarter and a fresh iPhone lineup have given Apple momentum into the holidays. Revenue reached $114.5 billion, up 12%, and iPhone sales set a September-quarter record. Services hit an all-time high, and the installed base of active devices reached a record in every major product category and region.
Profit was strong as well. Diluted earnings per share rose 14%, and the company generated $28 billion in operating cash flow during the quarter and returned $28 billion to shareholders. Chief Financial Officer Kevan Parekh said fiscal 2026 capped a year of double-digit earnings growth and all-time record revenue.
Chief Executive John Ternus pointed to the lineup carrying Apple into the holiday season: the iPhone Duo, which he called the most transformational iPhone since the original, the iPhone 18 Pro models, the first Macs with touch, and an all-new Siri AI. Apple also reported a September-quarter record for iPhone upgraders worldwide, and said it gained Mac share globally. Apple also said it grew in the vast majority of the markets it tracks, with September-quarter revenue records in the Americas, Europe, Greater China and the rest of Asia Pacific.
Read our analysis on Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) here: Apple (AAPL): Can Longer iPhone Ownership Still Produce More Profit per Customer?
3. Travelers (NYSE:TRV)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 50
Short Interest: 2.79%
Average Upside Potential: -3%
Underwriting discipline is paying off at Travelers. Core income reached $9.18 per diluted share in the third quarter, a core return on equity of 22.1%, and the underlying combined ratio came in at 84.1%. Underwriting results were strong across all three of the insurer’s segments.
Even with higher catastrophe losses from severe wind and hail storms, the company produced strong results, helped by favorable development on prior-year reserves and higher net investment income. New business hit a third-quarter record, which shows the insurer is still winning customers as it prices carefully, and renewal pricing remained orderly. Premiums held steady even after the sale of the Canadian operations earlier in the year, and grew when that sale is excluded. Management said retention and returns reflected excellent execution. The company reported underwriting income of $1.4 billion before taxes, and underlying underwriting income was even higher.
Cash is flowing back to owners. Travelers returned excess capital to shareholders during the quarter, including $1.5 billion of share repurchases. Chief Executive Alan Schnitzer said the results reflected very strong underwriting performance and that the momentum gives him real confidence heading into 2027 and beyond.
2. Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 66
Short Interest: 2.48%
Average Upside Potential: -5%
Seventeen Amgen products grew at least 10% in the third quarter, and the same number now run at more than $1 billion a year. Total revenue rose 8%, driven by volume growth rather than price, which points to demand for the medicines rather than a one-time boost.
Newer drugs are carrying the climb. Imdelltra, a medicine for small cell lung cancer, grew 128% from a year earlier, while Repatha and Evenity each grew by more than a third. Uplizna sales nearly tripled, and Tezspire and Blincyto also posted double-digit gains, so growth is coming from several therapeutic areas at once. Non-GAAP operating margin edged higher even as operating expenses rose, and the GAAP operating margin climbed 9.9 percentage points. The company also advanced important clinical programs during the quarter.
Profit grew faster than sales, with non-GAAP earnings per share up 14%, and the company generated $3.7 billion of free cash flow in the quarter. Chief Executive Robert Bradway said the strength of the commercial portfolio, together with important clinical advances and a promising late-stage pipeline, reinforces confidence in durable growth well into the next decade.
Our analysis on Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) is here: Amgen (AMGN) Sales Grew 10%, but Can Earnings Catch Up to the Price?
1. Nike (NYSE:NKE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 56
Short Interest: 8.82%
Average Upside Potential: -8%
Gross margin is climbing at Nike even as sales shrink, the early sign of a turnaround that bulls are watching. Gross margin expanded 60 basis points to 42.8% in the fiscal first quarter, helped by lower warehousing and logistics costs, while selling and administrative expense fell 3%. Management said the quarter matched its expectations. Chief Executive Elliott Hill added that Nike is taking deliberate actions to strengthen Nike Sportswear, Jordan Brand and Greater China for the long term.
The company is also cutting costs on purpose. Its new operating model, called Pace, is expected to deliver about $2.5 billion in cumulative savings through fiscal 2031. Hill said the Sport Offense is producing measurable progress across priority sports, and wholesale revenue grew in North America.
Nike returned about $610 million to shareholders through dividends in the quarter, and ended it with $8.4 billion in cash and short-term investments. Chief Financial Officer Dave Denton said results were supported by the improved gross margin and disciplined cost management, and that the company will keep strengthening its product portfolio, improving productivity and allocating resources with discipline.
Read more in our analysis on Nike (NYSE:NKE) here: Is Nike’s (NKE) Turnaround Worth Betting On?
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