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The outlook for U.S. stocks in 2026 continues to be very bright as a result of the further likely decrease in interest rates by the Federal Reserve, rising corporate profits, large AI related investments, and continued strong consumer spending.

The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, Core PCE (excluding food and energy), is currently at 2.8%, slightly above its target of 2.0% despite the introduction of tariffs during 2025. The S&P 500 (with dividends included) has closed higher in over 80% of the 83 years since 1942, and it has achieved an average annual return of 10% over the past 100 years.

Following the buy and hold strategy of Warren Buffett, I am recommending 8 of the 10 stocks I recommended in both 2024 and 2025. In 2025, 9 of the 10 stocks rose in value, and the equally weighted portfolio increased by 19.5% as compared to 16.4% for the S&P 500 (in 2024, the portfolio increased by 42.3% as compared to 21.8% for the S&P 500).

My List of 10 Stocks for 2026

1. Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL): Its forward P/E = 30.
2. Amazon (AMZN): Its forward P/E = 31.
3. Apple (AAPL): Its forward P/E = 33.
4. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) (BRK-B): Its forward P/E = 23.
5. Broadcom (AVGO): Its forward P/E = 35.
6. Eli Lilly (LLY): Its forward P/E = 34.
7. Meta Platforms (META): Its forward P/E = 23.
8. Microsoft (MSFT): Its forward P/E = 29.
9. Nvidia (NVDA): Its forward P/E = 27.
10. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO): Its forward P/E = 22.

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