U.S. equities have posted solid gains so far in 2026 despite elevated Treasury yields, oil price volatility, sticky inflation, tariff uncertainty and stretched tech valuations. The Federal Reserve’s latest rate hike, along with prospects of further tightening, has added to concerns over restrictive financial conditions. Still, resilient corporate earnings and robust AI-related spending have supported investor sentiment, keeping the major indexes firmly in positive territory despite persistent macroeconomic and policy headwinds.
Against this backdrop, the traditional approach to stock selection remains a good idea. Sales growth offers a more reliable basis for evaluating stocks than earnings-focused metrics. In this regard, stocks like Brinker International, Inc. EAT, Synopsys, Inc. SNPS and FirstEnergy Corp. FE are worth adding to your portfolio.
Sales growth is an important gauge of a company’s business momentum, highlighting customer demand and its effectiveness in selling products or services. Sustained revenue expansion may indicate favorable industry dynamics, market share gains, pricing strength, successful product introductions, or entry into new markets and customer segments. Rising sales can also enhance operating leverage by allocating fixed costs across a broader revenue base, supporting margin improvement and profitability.
However, sales growth should be evaluated alongside industry conditions, competitive performance, pricing trends, customer mix and the broader economy. The quality of growth also matters: recurring revenues, repeat purchases, volume-led gains and resilient demand are typically more sustainable than temporary increases. Companies that consistently deliver high-quality sales growth are often better positioned to generate stable cash flows, finance expansion, reinforce competitive advantages and create sustainable shareholder returns.
Selecting the Potential Winning Stocks
To shortlist stocks with impressive sales growth and a high cash balance, we have selected 5-Year Historical Sales Growth (%) greater than X-Industry and Cash Flow of more than $500 million as our main screening parameters.
But sales growth and cash strength are not the absolute criteria for selecting stocks. Hence, we have added other factors to arrive at a winning strategy.
P/S Ratio less than X-Industry: This metric determines the value placed on each dollar of a company’s revenues. The lower the ratio, the better it is for picking a stock since the investor is paying less for each unit of sales.
% Change F1 Sales Estimate Revisions (four weeks) greater than X-Industry: Estimate revisions, better than the industry, are often seen to trigger an increase in stock price.
Operating Margin (average last five years) greater than 5%: The operating margin measures how much every dollar of a company's sales translates into profits. A high ratio indicates that the company has good cost control and sales are increasing faster than costs — an optimal situation.
Return on Equity (ROE) greater than 5%: This metric will ensure that sales growth is translated into profits and the company is not hoarding cash. A high ROE means that the company is spending wisely and is, in all likelihood, profitable.
Zacks Rank less than or equal to 2: Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) stocks are known to outperform, irrespective of the market environment. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
3 Stocks With Robust Sales Growth to Bet on
Based in Dallas, TX, Brinker International owns, operates, develops and franchises restaurants under the Chili’s Grill & Bar (Chili’s) and Maggiano’s Little Italy (Maggiano’s) brands. As of June 24, 2026, EAT owned, operated or franchised 1,635 restaurants.
Its expected sales growth rate for fiscal 2027 is 8.1%. Brinker International carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present.
Based in Sunnyvale, CA, Synopsys is a vendor of electronic design automation software and related solutions for the semiconductor and electronics industries. SNPS offers products used across the chip design flow, from design capture and implementation to verification, sign-off and manufacturing.
Its expected sales growth rate for fiscal 2026 is 37.8%. Synopsys currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
Headquartered in Akron, OH, FirstEnergy is a diversified energy company that engages in the transmission, distribution and generation of electricity. FE’s reportable segments are Distribution, Integrated and Stand-Alone Transmission.
Its sales are expected to rise 6.9% in 2026. FE carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present.
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FirstEnergy Corporation (FE): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).