9 Best Stocks To Buy Now For August 2026

The S&P 500 gained nearly 8% in the first half of 2026. S&P 500 companies have consistently surpassed consensus estimates. In the stock outlooks for major financial institutions, they have noted the strong earnings trend and expect it to continue, pushing the market higher. Hence, the best stocks to buy now focus on large- and mid-cap companies with impressive earnings outlooks. Nine top large- and mid-cap stocks are poised for significant growth. These selections are based on stringent criteria, including high expected EPS and revenue growth, strong free cash flow, reasonable forward PE ratios and strong analyst ratings. Many of these companies, spanning technology, energy and biotech, are benefiting from surging AI demand, offering diverse opportunities for portfolio expansion.

The S&P 500 gained nearly 8% in the first half of 2026, despite geopolitical tensions, lingering inflation and an energy supply shock. Investors have looked past the negatives to the focus on the one positive that can consistently move markets: earnings.

According to Factset, S&P 500 companies have beat consensus estimates by an average 9.2% over the past four quarters. Stock market outlooks from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab have noted the strong earnings trend and expect it to continue, pushing the S&P 500 even higher by year end. For that reason, the best stocks to buy now focus on large- and mid-cap companies with impressive earnings outlooks.

The nine qualifying companies with the highest expected EPS growth rates are introduced in the table below.

A review of each business follows. Metrics are sourced from company reports and StockAnalysis.com. For more investing ideas, see Best index funds 2026 and Best dividend stocks.

U.S.-based Micron makes computer memory and data storage products that are used in AI data centers and a broad range of products.

Analysts expect Micron Technology to report a 785% EPS gain for fiscal year 2026, which ends on August 31. Micron reported a 538% EPS in the prior year.

The earnings momentum has been good for MU shareholders. The stock price is up 630% over the past year. That doesn’t mean the window of opportunity has passed, however. The consensus price target still implies 75% upside for MU over the next 12 months.

In the last earnings call, Micron Chairman, President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said, “we are only in the early innings” with respect to AI. Mehrotra predicted MU would increasingly see growth driven by AI-capable smartphones, PCs and other consumer devices, alongside ongoing data center demand.

Kodiak Gas provides contract compression services to oil and gas producers. Compression increases the pressure of natural gas so it can be moved through pipelines. The company has also moved into the data center power business.

Analysts expect Kodiak Gas to increase EPS by 99% in 2026. The gain is supported by strength in the compression business, the 2026 acquisition of Distributed Power Solutions, and the new strategic focus on supplying on-site power to AI data centers.

The DPS acquisition provided Kodiak exposure to digital infrastructure companies. Subsequently, Kodiak announced a multi-year partnership with energy tech provider Baker Hughes to target AI power demand with 1.8 gigawatts of behind-the-meter power.

Nvidia designs and sells graphics processing units for AI, high-performance computing, robotics, automotive, gaming and other applications. The company was an early breakout winner in the AI race and now owns an estimated 80% of the AI GPU market by revenue.

For the fiscal year ending on January 31, 2027, analysts expect Nvidia to report an 88% EPS increase over the prior year. That follows 59% growth in fiscal year 2026 and 130% growth in fiscal year 2025.

Nvidia turned a first-mover advantage into a recurring growth driver with a substantial competitive moat. The company delivers high-performance products plus an ecosystem of software and development tools that keeps customers coming back. As long as Nvidia continues its pace of innovation, which has historically been effective, competitors will have a tough time making significant inroads against Nvidia’s general-purpose GPUs.

Broadcom makes semiconductor-based devices for networking, connectivity, servers, broadband and industrial applications. The company has also emerged as a preferred design partner on custom AI chips, called ASICs.

The consensus EPS growth estimate for Broadcom is 70% for the fiscal year ending on October 31, 2026. New partnerships with major tech players including Google, Meta and OpenAI are driving the optimism. Broadcom works with these companies to design ASICs that are optimized for specific workloads. Examples include Google’s Tensor Processing Unit and Meta’s Meta Training and Inference Accelerator chips.

In March 2026, Broadcom predicted its AI chip revenue would reach $56 billion this fiscal year and grow to $100 billion in fiscal year 2027.

Celestica designs and builds technology hardware. Its Connectivity & Cloud Solutions business makes AI hardware, cloud computing systems and networking switches. The company also provides hardware manufacturing and supply chain services for aerospace, defense, industrial, health technology and capital equipment customers through its Advanced Technology Solutions operation.

Celestica is expected to deliver 70% EPS growth in 2026, following a gain of 56% in 2025. The company’s exposure to AI infrastructure spending is the catalyst. Specifically, strong demand for networking switches and a new AI program with a hyperscaler customer were highlights in the most recent quarter.

CLS has a history of beating consensus estimates and raising its guidance. Over the last four quarters, the company has outperformed the consensus by at least 3.8%.

Alamos Gold is a Canadian gold producer with high-quality, long-life assets in Canada and Mexico.

Analysts expect Alamos Gold to report 61% EPS growth in 2026. It would be the fourth consecutive double-digit EPS gain for the company. Those gains, ranging from 53% to 89%, have been driven by acquisitions, organic growth, exploration and margin expansion.

The company is a proven explorer with high-quality, long-life assets and a deep pipeline of projects. Over the past seven years, its mineral reserves have increased 64%, net of depletions. The company had projected a double-digit production gain for 2026, but that outlook was significantly disrupted by seismic events at the company’s Young-Davidson mine. Other assets in the portfolio are expanding production with attractive cost profiles.

Workiva operates an enterprise software platform used to automate financial reporting across connected documents and data sources, gather and track sustainability data and support audit and risk assessments.

Workiva is projected to increase its 2026 EPS by 63% from 2025, after an 89% EPS gain in the prior year. The performance would establish the company’s transition into profitability after more than a decade of double-digit revenue gains.

Investor perception of subscription-based software companies has driven the WK stock price down nearly 34% this year. But despite fears that AI would make software platforms obsolete, Workiva continues to announce large customer wins and deliver impressive gross margins. As of the first quarter of 2026, the company’s gross retention rate was 97%—a strong indication that the value proposition of its platform still stands.

Neurocrine Biosciences discovers and develops treatments addressing neurological, neuroendocrine and neuropsychiatric disorders. Medicines include Ingrezza (for movement disorders) and Crenessity (for congenital adrenal hyperplasia). The company also licenses its elagolix compound to AbbVie for commercialization.

Neurocrine Biosciences is expected to increase 2026 EPS by nearly 60% over the prior year. The momentum is driven by the commercial success of Ingrezza and, to a lesser degree, Crenessity. Ingrezza has contributed to several consecutive years of double-digit revenue and free cash flow growth.

Longer-term, the company should benefit from its robust pipeline and the recent acquisition of Soleno Therapeutics. The acquisition included hyperphagia treatment Vykat XR, which has patent protections available through the mid-2040s.

Applovin operates an advertising platform for mobile games. The company’s technology uses AI to analyze data and identify users that are more likely to engage with an app or buy products.

Applovin is projected to produce 2026 EPS growth of 56%, after increasing EPS from $1.92 to $10.64 between 2023 and 2025. The latest earnings boost is expected to come from the continued rollout of its self-service ad platform and an expansion into e-commerce advertising.

Applovin formerly operated two businesses, a portfolio of game studios and the advertising platform. The game studios were divested last year, but not before providing essential data to train the company’s AI advertising algorithms. Now a pure-play ad tech company, Applovin produces free cash flow margins above 70%.

Earnings are driving a strong stock market, and they can do the same for your portfolio. And if you have enough exposure in technology right now, you can find growth in other industries. Gold, biotech and ad tech are three highlighted here. Remember to match the opportunity to your own risk tolerance and investing timeline—that’s how to make the growth work for you.