Haverhill Financial Research · First edition · Last updated October 23, 2026
How the Hundred works
The Haverhill Hundred is our ranked list of the 100 companies we rate most highly right now. When a company joins, climbs, slips or drops off, we publish exactly why.
How a stock gets on. Three tests: a business with a durable advantage, a balance sheet that can carry it through a downturn, and a share price that looks low for its quality.
Ranked 1 to 100. Every stock holds a rank that moves as our conviction changes. A new name only joins when it beats one already on the list, so every addition means a removal.
Our ratings. Buy means we see meaningful upside from today's price. Hold means a business we rate highly at a price that already reflects much of it. A stock we rate Sell does not belong on the list.
Our reasoning, explained. Every stock comes with a short note on why it earned its place. Broadcom (#4) also has a full research report with a 12-month price target.
This edition: 62 Buy and 38 Hold. Ranks 1 to 30 are free below; ranks 31 to 100 are for Amber members.
Ranks 1 to 30
Rank | Stock | Rating | Why it's on the list |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | GOOGL Alphabet | Buy | Search, YouTube and Google Cloud fund one of the strongest AI positions in the market, and the shares still look cheap for that quality. |
2 | MSFT Microsoft | Hold | Azure and Microsoft 365 give it recurring revenue few companies can match, but the price already assumes its heavy AI spending pays off. |
3 | META Meta Platforms | Buy | Facebook and Instagram are two of the largest ad platforms in the world, and AI is making their ads more effective. |
4 | AVGO Broadcom | Buy | The main supplier of custom AI chips to the largest tech companies. Full report: $430 price target. |
5 | ZTS Zoetis | Buy | The global leader in animal medicines and vaccines; pet-care spending is steady and the shares have fallen further than the business. |
6 | BR Broadridge Financial | Buy | Runs proxy voting and trade processing for much of Wall Street, on long contracts that customers rarely leave. |
7 | FICO Fair Isaac | Buy | The FICO Score is the standard for US lending decisions; worries about new competition have pulled the price well below what the franchise earns. |
8 | TXN Texas Instruments | Buy | Low-cost analog chipmaker with its own 300mm factories; free cash flow should rise as its building program winds down. |
9 | TSCO Tractor Supply | Hold | Rural-lifestyle retailer with needs-based sales and a large loyalty program; the shares already price in years of steady store growth. |
10 | ZBH Zimmer Biomet | Buy | A leader in hip and knee replacements, with aging populations supporting procedure volumes for years. |
11 | GEHC GE HealthCare | Buy | A large installed base of scanners earns recurring service revenue, and the price assumes little recovery. |
12 | OTIS Otis Worldwide | Hold | Maintains the world's largest base of elevators and earns most of its profit from service contracts; a fine business at a full price. |
13 | NXPI NXP Semiconductors | Buy | A leading supplier of car and industrial chips, positioned for the next upturn in auto production. |
14 | CPRT Copart | Hold | The dominant online salvage-car auction network; the moat is real, but the premium valuation leaves little room for upside. |
15 | LOW Lowe's | Hold | The second-largest US home-improvement chain; we want to see the housing recovery arrive before paying up for it. |
16 | HSY Hershey | Buy | America's leading chocolate brands; cocoa costs easing from record highs should help margins recover. |
17 | MDLZ Mondelez International | Buy | Global snacks leader (Oreo, Cadbury, Ritz) with most sales outside the US and the same cocoa relief ahead. |
18 | SNPS Synopsys | Hold | One of two companies whose design software nearly every advanced chip depends on; the price already reflects that position. |
19 | ADI Analog Devices | Buy | High-margin analog and mixed-signal chips for industrial, auto and data-center customers. |
20 | TYL Tyler Technologies | Buy | The largest software provider to US local governments, on long contracts, with clients steadily moving to the cloud. |
21 | LMT Lockheed Martin | Hold | A multiyear F-35 and missile backlog, but program charges have dented margins; we are waiting for cleaner execution. |
22 | TDG TransDigm | Buy | Sole-source aircraft parts with strong pricing in the aftermarket, where most of its profit comes from. |
23 | NU Nu Holdings | Buy | Latin America's largest digital bank, growing profit fast at a high return on equity. |
24 | PEP PepsiCo | Hold | Frito-Lay and global beverages; volumes are still soft, so we want proof the cost program is working first. |
25 | ROL Rollins | Hold | Orkin pest control: recurring, recession-resistant revenue, already priced like one of the market's safest growers. |
26 | AZO AutoZone | Buy | An aging US car fleet keeps parts demand steady, and buybacks shrink the share count every year. |
27 | CLX Clorox | Hold | Household brands people keep buying, but volumes are still recovering from its systems overhaul. |
28 | LPLA LPL Financial | Buy | The largest US independent broker-dealer, steadily adding advisors and client assets. |
29 | VRSK Verisk Analytics | Hold | Insurance data and analytics woven into insurers' daily work; a premium business at a premium price. |
30 | DHR Danaher | Buy | Life-science tools leader with recurring consumables sales as biotech and drug-production demand recovers. |
Changes since October 11
Two moves in this update, both within ranks 31 to 100. No ratings changed.
Amazon moves up seven places and stays a Hold. AWS growth sped up to 37% last quarter and operating income rose 43%, so the business is stronger than when we first ranked it. The rating stays at Hold because the price still leaves a smaller margin of safety. More in our Amazon analysis.
NVIDIA moves up five places and stays a Buy. Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon all reported sharply higher capital spending, and results from Super Micro and Lam Research show demand for AI hardware is still rising.
The names that sat between each stock's old and new position move down one place.
Not financial advice. Haverhill ratings (Buy, Hold, Sell) are our research opinion on each company. They are the same for every reader and never tailored to any individual. They are not personalized investment advice or a recommendation that any individual buy, sell or hold a security. Rankings reflect our current research conviction and change as our views do. Do your own research and consider speaking with a licensed financial professional before investing. The author does not hold positions in any stock on the Hundred.
Ranks 31 to 100 are for Amber members
Seventy more names that passed the same three tests, each with a Haverhill rating and the reasoning behind it, plus a note every time one moves. Amber is $15 a month or $150 a year.
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