Momentum large caps
Query: US large-cap stocks with strong 3-month price momentum and positive EPS growth with forward P/E under 30 · data as of 2026-10-15
Built a 45-name momentum + quality-growth large-cap screen (>$10B market cap, 3M return >10%, positive EPS growth, forward P/E <30), ranked by 3-month return. The list clusters in Energy/refining (MPC, PSX, DINO, PBF), enterprise software & IT services (MSFT, CRM, NOW, SAP, ACN, ESTC), Health Care (TMO, A, REGN, HCA), plus a macro-sensitive gold-miner cohort (AEM, NEM, WPM). Added 26 row insights and a takeaway narrative on sector concentration, extended positioning, and the AI hardware/capex debate.
Large caps (>$10B) with 3-month returns above 10%, positive trailing EPS growth, and forward P/E under 30 — ranked by 3-month momentum. The list skews toward energy refiners (buoyed by strong crude), software/IT services, and gold miners, alongside a defensively-strong Health Care cohort.
Momentum + Quality Growth Large Caps
| Symbol | Security Name | Sector | Industry | Market Cap ($B) | 3M Return | 1M Return | 6M Return | EPS Growth YoY | Forward P/E | P/E (TTM) | % from 150D SMA | Momentum Potential | Rel Volume | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XP | XP Inc. | Financials | Capital Markets | 15.2436 | 80.20% | 52.02% | 44.08% | 15.78% | 12.94 | 15.48 | 61.58% | 91.6 | 1.332 | Brazilian brokerage riding a broad LatAm risk-on wave and falling domestic rate expectations; earnings leverage to retail trading volumes is high, but the ADR remains hostage to BRL swings and Brazilian political headlines. |
| ACN | Accenture plc | Information Technology | Information Technology Services | 137.638 | 57.92% | 19.56% | 18.27% | 5.69% | 15.33 | 17.96 | 29.64% | 74.9 | 1.3061 | — |
| ESTC | Elastic N.V. | Information Technology | Software - Application | 10.2094 | 57.88% | 14.36% | 104.03% | 440.17% | 25.09 | 28.35 | 46.51% | 98.2 | 1.7926 | Search- and observability-driven revenue acceleration is the story, with AI attach rates lifting deal sizes. Valuation now leans on continued consumption growth rather than seat expansion, so any enterprise IT budget wobble would hit the multiple hard. |
| PTC | PTC Inc. | Information Technology | Software - Application | 20.9823 | 55.30% | 47.26% | 39.69% | 95.04% | 21.73 | 18.73 | 37.29% | 98.9 | 1.6647 | — |
| MPC | Marathon Petroleum Corporation | Energy | Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing | 133.9309 | 52.98% | 15.22% | 112.19% | 16.01% | 14.81 | 16.53 | 57.95% | 61.8 | 0.8145 | Refining margins are running hot on strong crude and tight product cracks; the thesis is pure crack-spread leverage, meaning a demand scare or OPEC supply response would reverse the move quickly. Cash return via buybacks remains the offset. |
| U | Unity Software Inc. | Information Technology | Software - Application | 19.0735 | 49.50% | 2.87% | 67.14% | 39.35% | 24.89 | — | 33.95% | 91.2 | 0.9682 | — |
| CRM | Salesforce, Inc. | Information Technology | Software - Application | 203.067 | 44.74% | -1.34% | 36.75% | 20.33% | 15.9 | 28.59 | 27.39% | 93.5 | 0.6731 | Agentic AI narratives plus credible margin expansion have re-rated the enterprise software bellwether. The debate is whether AI monetization offsets seat-based pricing pressure — the forward multiple is no longer cheap enough to forgive a miss. |
| NOW | ServiceNow, Inc. | Information Technology | Software - Application | 153.6009 | 43.91% | 6.26% | 54.05% | 22.67% | 29.68 | 92.86 | 31.48% | 76.6 | 1.045 | Subscription backlog and government/enterprise AI workflow demand keep growth durable, but the valuation leaves little room for error on net-new ACV. Watch federal budget noise as a swing factor. |
| SNAP | Snap Inc. | Communication Services | Internet Content & Information | 10.8913 | 42.16% | 12.59% | 6.98% | 34.01% | 8.3 | — | 21.76% | 60.4 | 1.0474 | — |
| DINO | HF Sinclair Corporation | Energy | Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing | 22.1696 | 41.63% | 9.41% | 110.19% | 218.48% | 13.3 | 11.89 | 53.07% | 75.7 | 0.7173 | Second-order refiner beneficiary of the same crack-spread dynamic as its peers, with self-help via renewable diesel and cost programs. Smaller scale means bigger earnings swings both ways. |
| SAP | SAP SE | Information Technology | Software - Application | 182.9939 | 41.47% | 5.53% | 29.03% | 132.57% | 23.44 | 29.15 | 22.49% | 65.1 | 1.0734 | — |
| PSX | Phillips 66 | Energy | Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing | 115.9504 | 40.55% | 9.28% | 79.30% | 108.18% | 13.61 | 16.5 | 42.13% | 75.9 | 0.8613 | — |
| SSL | Sasol Ltd. | Materials | Specialty Chemicals | 10.2053 | 40.02% | 11.41% | 21.34% | 117.46% | 9.56 | 69.22 | 26.85% | 57.7 | 1.0041 | South African chemicals-and-fuels hybrid tied to coal-to-liquids economics and a weaker rand tailwind; the ADR carries country-risk discount and commodity price sensitivity that make it volatile. |
| PBF | PBF Energy Inc. | Energy | Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing | 10.3115 | 39.14% | 14.57% | 106.20% | 70.29% | 7.69 | 7.62 | 54.60% | 30.7 | 0.8117 | The highest-beta name in the refining cohort — a pure crack-spread call with thin margins of safety. Strong operational leverage cuts both ways if product demand cools. |
| AEM | Agnico Eagle Mines Limited | Materials | Gold | 83.336 | 37.24% | -4.10% | -12.33% | 135.36% | 15.01 | 16.06 | 3.01% | 78.3 | 0.8506 | Senior gold producer with best-in-class jurisdiction profile and a heavy buyback/dividend program. This is a gold-price proxy with operating leverage, so the momentum reverses if real rates or the dollar firm up. |
| MSFT | Microsoft Corporation | Information Technology | Software - Infrastructure | 4,006 | 37.23% | 10.02% | 28.88% | 31.34% | 22.88 | 30.04 | 23.87% | 96.7 | 0.8748 | Azure/AI capex narrative continues to carry the mega-cap complex. The key risk is the market scrutinizing the financing cost of the data-center buildout, which has begun pressuring hardware names more than the platform owner. |
| WDAY | Workday, Inc. | Information Technology | Software - Application | 47.3878 | 35.81% | 4.72% | 57.47% | 31.75% | 15.56 | 61.45 | 29.49% | 70 | 0.8642 | — |
| APA | APA Corporation | Energy | Oil & Gas E&P | 16.5471 | 35.04% | 5.45% | 26.33% | 51.34% | 11.06 | 9.96 | 21.07% | 72 | 0.587 | Pure-play E&P with a Suriname offshore development optionality kicking in alongside North Sea and Egypt production. Oil beta is the driver; execution on the offshore ramp is the catalyst. |
| A | Agilent Technologies, Inc. | Health Care | Diagnostics & Research | 49.4991 | 33.74% | 14.39% | 48.96% | 1.09% | 26.55 | 35.25 | 29.95% | 84.9 | 0.8546 | Life-science tools demand is recovering after a multi-year destocking cycle, and pharma R&D budgets are thawing. Sector-wide tone in Diagnostics & Research has turned constructive, favoring the scaled platform. |
| CACI | CACI International, Inc. | Information Technology | Information Technology Services | 13.5108 | 32.46% | -3.14% | 15.33% | 7.20% | 16.22 | 25.33 | 10.72% | 81.8 | 0.9791 | Government IT services franchise levered to defense/intel modernization budgets; revenue visibility is strong but contract timing and federal budget politics create lumpy bookings. |
| NTAP | NetApp, Inc. | Information Technology | Software - Infrastructure | 42.1712 | 31.31% | 12.37% | 108.18% | 7.59% | 21.44 | 33.81 | 36.12% | 97.4 | 1.118 | — |
| TMO | Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc | Health Care | Diagnostics & Research | 257.5253 | 30.90% | 7.41% | 35.22% | 6.04% | 25.32 | 37.55 | 28.63% | 82.2 | 1.8575 | Tools-and-services bellwether rebounding as biopharma funding normalizes; diversified exposure across diagnostics, life sciences and lab products reduces single-end-market risk versus smaller peers. |
| EL | Estee Lauder Companies, Inc. (T | Consumer Staples | Household & Personal Products | 38.8374 | 30.51% | 12.12% | 42.83% | 116.06% | 27.96 | — | 24.59% | 89 | 1.1712 | Turnaround story as a new CEO reshapes the portfolio and rebuilds margins after a demand slump in China travel retail. Recovery is real but the forward multiple has already priced in a lot of the fix. |
| TEVA | Teva Pharmaceutical Industries | Health Care | Drug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic | 47.9463 | 30.26% | 6.70% | 29.40% | 186.03% | 13.37 | 68.52 | 19.28% | 93 | 1.5526 | Generic-drug turnaround with a big branded migraine/psych franchise; balance sheet deleveraging is the story, though generic price erosion remains a structural headwind. |
| NEM | Newmont Corporation | Materials | Gold | 122.007 | 29.35% | -4.90% | 2.55% | 111.98% | 10.94 | 14.6 | 5.32% | 92.8 | 0.9056 | Largest gold miner with improving cost structure and portfolio divestitures; classic gold-beta position that benefits from central-bank buying and fiscal-deficit concerns, but gives back fast on a dollar rally. |
| SN | SharkNinja, Inc. | Consumer Discretionary | Furnishings, Fixtures & Appliances | 27.4097 | 29.21% | 13.48% | 67.88% | 59.87% | 25.28 | 39.53 | 35.20% | 99.6 | 0.84 | Small-appliance disruptor with strong share gains and expanding shelf space; tariff exposure on Asian manufacturing is the key swing risk to margins. |
| GME | GameStop Corporation | Consumer Discretionary | Specialty Retail | 14.1361 | 28.00% | 27.48% | 11.28% | 218.66% | 20.45 | 20.91 | 26.05% | 88.3 | 1.391 | — |
| WPM | Wheaton Precious Metals Corp | Materials | Gold | 55.6621 | 27.99% | -9.25% | -7.73% | 178.13% | 26.32 | 29.53 | 1.71% | 93.1 | 0.7538 | Royalty/streaming model gives gold-price leverage with no operating cost inflation — among the cleanest ways to get bullion exposure, though growth depends on new streaming deals. |
| HCA | HCA Healthcare, Inc. | Health Care | Medical Care Facilities | 101.4309 | 26.45% | 8.84% | -2.62% | 16.90% | 14.58 | 15.72 | 10.47% | 27.2 | 0.8249 | Hospital operator benefiting from volume recovery and improving payer mix; the sector is gaining defensive leadership as investors rotate toward non-capex domestic demand. |
| W | Wayfair Inc. | Consumer Discretionary | Internet Retail | 15.3308 | 25.33% | 8.42% | 44.78% | 36.38% | 28.84 | — | 29.58% | 98.1 | 1.2914 | Online home-goods retailer swinging toward profitability on cost discipline — a high-beta consumer discretionary recovery bet that lives or dies on housing turnover. |
| UHS | Universal Health Services, Inc. | Health Care | Medical Care Facilities | 11.0423 | 24.09% | 3.39% | 5.10% | 29.93% | 7.77 | 7.65 | 11.69% | 16.9 | 0.6325 | — |
| RGLD | Royal Gold, Inc. | Materials | Gold | 19.7416 | 23.42% | -4.90% | -10.72% | 41.84% | 18.04 | 25.8 | 0.95% | 97.7 | 0.8845 | — |
| RMD | ResMed Inc. | Health Care | Medical Instruments & Supplies | 34.067 | 22.08% | 6.12% | 8.42% | 37.20% | 18.3 | 23.22 | 12.92% | 91.4 | 0.8372 | — |
| REGN | Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Health Care | Biotechnology | 81.9872 | 21.51% | 2.81% | 6.97% | 2.09% | 13.14 | 19.7 | 9.99% | 88.2 | 1.0795 | Biotech with a deep pipeline and durable base-business cash flows; the cheap-looking multiple reflects pipeline patent-cliff anxiety, a classic value-vs-narrative debate. |
| SSNC | SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc | Information Technology | Software - Application | 19.7556 | 21.47% | 4.52% | 18.98% | 4.86% | 10.89 | 24.19 | 16.11% | 93.9 | 0.8626 | — |
| TYL | Tyler Technologies, Inc. | Information Technology | Software - Application | 11.7609 | 20.69% | 4.96% | 13.33% | 19.99% | 23.69 | 47.78 | 11.26% | 58.4 | 0.8967 | — |
| WAT | Waters Corporation | Health Care | Diagnostics & Research | 43.6092 | 20.37% | 6.09% | 39.21% | 0.75% | 26.82 | 113.02 | 20.23% | 87.9 | 1.2555 | — |
| FNV | Franco-Nevada Corporation | Materials | Gold | 42.2855 | 20.18% | -7.14% | -6.20% | 101.43% | 25.6 | 31.53 | 2.24% | 89.9 | 0.7572 | — |
| AU | AngloGold Ashanti PLC | Materials | Gold | 46.3133 | 20.04% | -8.19% | -10.52% | 202.57% | 9.2 | 12.27 | -2.09% | 91.1 | 1.7796 | — |
| DELL | Dell Technologies Inc. | Information Technology | Computer Hardware | 300.9874 | 19.64% | -15.96% | 146.33% | 29.27% | 21.17 | 37.69 | 26.43% | 95.9 | 2.1213 | AI server demand drives the top line, but the name is directly in the crosshairs of the hardware-complex reversal — recent heavy-volume distribution suggests the market is now questioning the financing of AI infrastructure. |
| SHEL | Shell PLC | Energy | Oil & Gas Integrated | 218.4618 | 19.63% | 8.20% | 15.20% | 9.67% | 11.74 | 11.45 | 16.85% | 61.9 | 1.0256 | — |
| TECK | Teck Resources Ltd | Materials | Copper | 33.9495 | 19.58% | 2.32% | 13.93% | 278.80% | 18.27 | 17.91 | 6.91% | 96.4 | 0.7748 | Copper miner with a growth pipeline; the copper electrification demand story is intact, though project execution and a Chinese demand slowdown are the swing factors. |
| CNQ | Canadian Natural Resources Limi | Energy | Oil & Gas E&P | 85.6184 | 19.43% | 3.75% | 14.40% | 77.20% | 13.59 | 12.83 | 12.44% | 57.6 | 0.6691 | — |
| AMGN | Amgen Inc. | Health Care | Drug Manufacturers - General | 234.6505 | 19.19% | 15.33% | 25.89% | 88.53% | 17.79 | 26.92 | 17.25% | 73 | 1.6175 | Large-cap pharma with obesity/oncology pipeline optionality and a deleveraging balance sheet; unlike most of the Health Care cohort it is not cheap on forward earnings, so pipeline news carries the multiple. |
| HMY | Harmony Gold Mining Company Lim | Materials | Gold | 10.7399 | 19.17% | -9.17% | 1.62% | 67.45% | 5.08 | 10.68 | 2.02% | 91.1 | 0.7233 | High-cost South African gold miner with the strongest operational leverage to bullion in the group — the most volatile name here and the first to give back gains when gold cools. |
Takeaway
Momentum with a valuation guardrail
This screen isolates large caps where price momentum, earnings growth and forward valuation line up: 3-month returns above 10%, positive trailing EPS growth, and a forward P/E below 30. Forty-five names clear the bar, and the composition is instructive.
Three clusters dominate:
- Energy / refining (MPC, PSX, DINO, PBF, APA, SHEL, CNQ) — the refining cohort is the standout, riding unusually strong crack spreads on the back of a WTI move that has outpaced most of the commodity complex. Price and fundamentals are aligned here.
- Enterprise software & IT services (MSFT, CRM, NOW, SAP, ACN, PTC, ESTC, WDAY, NTAP, SSNC, CACI) — durable subscription backlogs plus AI monetization narratives; note the mix of mega-caps trading at reasonable forward multiples against higher-multiple growth names.
- Health Care (TMO, A, REGN, AMGN, HCA, UHS, RMD, TEVA, WAT) — the sector has flipped from defensive laggard to leadership block; tools and hospitals are showing broad-based breadth improvement.
Gold miners punch above their weight (AEM, NEM, WPM, FNV, RGLD, AU, HMY) — momentum there is a gold-price proxy with operating leverage rather than an earnings-growth story, so treat the group as macro-sensitive.
Positioning notes. The list is heavily concentrated in Energy, Software and Health Care, which means it carries sector correlation rather than idiosyncratic risk. Several names trade far above their 150-day averages (XP, MPC, PBF, DINO, DELL), so they are extended — pullbacks toward trend support are the higher-quality entries. Finally, the resolution of the current hardware/AI-capex debate matters for the software and computer hardware constituents (DELL especially), where distribution has started to show up on volume.
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