In Monday’s trading, investors went risk-off. How do I know? Well, this Barron’s headline from Tuesday morning says it all: Dow Gets Defensive as Americans Head to the Polls.
However, what really tells me that investors went defensive yesterday is Barchart’s list of the top 200 bullish price surprises from Monday’s trading.
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I’m not a tech guy, so it was nice to see so many names I prefer as long-term investments. That hasn’t been the case for more than a year, as AI-related tech stocks have owned the markets.
Looking at the list from several different metrics, I’ve found all kinds of stocks I’d be willing to own for the long haul. That’s a refreshing change.
Let’s get into it.
Top 10 by Standard Deviation
I see at least five stocks that I’d consider owning for the next 3-5 years. The two that interest me most are IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) and Boston Beer (SAM). The former because of its growth and the latter for value.
IDEXX reported its Q3 2026 results yesterday before the markets opened. The pet healthcare company reported revenue of $1.21 billion, up 10% from a year ago and $20 million above Wall Street’s estimate. On the bottom line, it crushed it, with earnings per share of $4.01, up 22% from Q3 2025 on a comparable basis and 28 cents above the consensus estimate.
Equally important, the company raised its 2026 guidance. On the top line, it expects organic growth of 9.3% to 10.0%, with EPS of $15.06, up 25 cents from its previous guidance.
The only issue is that yesterday’s nearly 22% gain has made its shares more expensive. They now trade at 44 times the 2026 estimate. That’s a lot for 10% revenue growth.
However, Idexx's historical multiple is working in its favour. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, the average P/E multiple over the past decade is 71.69x, with a high of 127.84x in July 2021, and a low of 41.05x in April 2025.
I’d say it’s a GARP (growth at a reasonable price) stock worth owning despite the 22% jump.
As for Boston Beer, it’s no mystery why its stock has gotten pummeled in recent years — SAM has lost 58% of its value in the past five years — consumers aren’t buying as much of its products as they once did.
In late October, Boston Beer reported a reasonably strong third quarter, with EPS of $4.37, seven cents above the analyst estimate, and 2.8% above Q3 2025. Sure, revenues fell 3.2% year over year to $520.1 million, below consensus, but gross margin improved 90 basis points to 51.7% despite cost headwinds.
Trading at 21.7 times the company’s EPS estimate of $9.75 at the midpoint, it isn’t expensive. Further, in early September, its market cap was 4.38x its levered free cash flow, a 10-year low. It’s now up slightly, around 5.64x, but still well below the 10-year average.
I believe the business will improve once inflation eases and consumers feel less pressure about spending on something discretionary like beer.
When that is, I couldn’t tell you.
Top 10 by Market Cap
You can argue that if you bought these 10 companies and held them for the next 10 years, you’d do just fine. Over the past 10 years, these 10 delivered an annualized total return of 14.8%, which includes the worst performer, Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD), at -1.3%, and the best performer, Costco (COST), at 22.4%.
I remain steadfast in my belief that Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) is the best stock you can own if you don’t want to pay fees. Greg Abel continues to put his stamp on the company that wouldn’t exist without Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. I’m confident the Canadian-born chief executive will deliver for shareholders.
Two other companies I would definitely consider if you don’t already own them are Costco and Brookfield (BN).
Business schools will study Costco's business model for decades. The high-margin membership fees, combined with low-margin pricing and a relentless focus on customer service and employee satisfaction, make for a sustainable business that’s never been truly duplicated.
Full disclosure: My wife and I shop there a lot, and we don’t have kids. I can’t imagine someone with multiple children not shopping there. Sure, its demographic is higher income than Walmart (WMT), but even lower-income consumers should be able to find products at Costco worth buying in bulk. It’s a beautiful business.
My only hesitation right now is its valuation. Its P/E ratio of 61.3x is higher than the 10-year average of 46.9x, and not that far from the 10-year high of 77.1x in February 2025. If you buy at current prices, you’ll want to be patient and let the business catch up to the premium valuation.
As for Brookfield, like its alternative asset manager peers, it has faced a variety of concerns over the past year: potential private credit losses, higher bond yields, macroeconomic worries, and weakness in private market valuations.
When you invest in alternative asset managers, it’s important to understand that the business is highly cyclical. One reason big firms like Brookfield diversify revenue streams, rather than focus on a single area, is to protect against cyclicality. Even then, it’s not immune to changing investor sentiment.
Despite the stock losing nearly 10% over the past year, analysts remain quite enthusiastic about its business. Of the 13 that cover it, according to MarketWatch, rate it a Buy, with a $53.55 target price, nearly 30% higher than its current share price.
It’s an excellent long-term buy.
Top 10 by Volume
The top 10 by volume produces a more diverse group of companies.
Walmart is an excellent choice for navigating volatile times, as we're currently facing election uncertainty. Even at a high valuation, I’d opt for Costco over Walmart. They’re better run, in my opinion. I wouldn’t touch Rivian (RIVN) with a 10-foot pole, despite its good products.
One thing all but Walmart and CRH (CRH) have in common is that they’ve struggled in the past five years, averaging a 50% loss in that time, much, much worse than the S&P 500, up 61.2%.
Clearly, these eight made the bullish price surprise list because investors were willing to go fishing for deep value yesterday.
Newell Rubbermaid (NWL) gained 15% on Monday with volume three times the 30-day average. The company behind brands such as Rubbermaid, Sharpie, Coleman, Paper Mate, and Elmer’s has struggled for years to dig itself out of the mess created by buying way too many brands.
It’s been a while since I’ve talked about meme stocks. NWL has meme written all over it. It hit an all-time low of $3.07 a year ago. Up 83% since November, you’d be a fool to have bought a year ago on a whim and a prayer and not taken profits.
Of the eight misery stocks, the only one I would consider buying now is VF (VFC). It’s got an excellent leader in CEO Bracken Darrell, who was recruited in June 2023 after more than 10 years running Logitech (LOGI).
Although it’s been a long three years fixing everything that ailed the apparel conglomerate, it’s getting closer to the turnaround is nearing its end, and it's now focused on getting Vans to positive revenue growth.
As Darrell stated in its Q2 2027 conference call, Vans’ global direct-to-consumer sales were “positive for the first time in almost five years as our product engine shows up in our channels first.”
On Nov. 1, 2020, VFC stock hit an all-time high of $100.25. It can get back there in 3-5 years. That said, I wouldn’t buy VFC if you’re at all risk-averse. Volatility remains.
On the date of publication, Will Ashworth had a position in: BRK.B . All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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