Large-cap stocks usually command their industries because they have the scale to drive market trends. The flip side though is that their sheer size can limit growth as expanding further becomes an increasingly challenging task.
This is precisely where StockStory comes in - our job is to find you high-quality companies that can win regardless of the conditions. That said, here is one large-cap stock with attractive long-term potential and two whose momentum may slow.
Two Large-Cap Stocks to Sell:
Equifax (EFX)
Market Cap: $31.17 billion
Holding detailed financial records on over 800 million consumers worldwide and dating back to 1899, Equifax (NYSE: EFX) is a global data analytics company that collects, analyzes, and sells consumer and business credit information to lenders, employers, and other businesses.
Why Is EFX Not Exciting?
- Costs have risen faster than its revenue over the last five years, causing its adjusted operating margin to decline by 6.3 percentage points
- Incremental sales over the last five years were less profitable as its 4.5% annual earnings per share growth lagged its revenue gains
- ROIC of 10.9% reflects management’s challenges in identifying attractive investment opportunities, and its decreasing returns suggest its historical profit centers are aging
Equifax is trading at $251.77 per share, or 30.1x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than EFX.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)
Market Cap: $31.94 billion
Born from the 2015 split of the iconic Silicon Valley pioneer Hewlett-Packard, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) provides edge-to-cloud technology solutions that help businesses capture, analyze, and act upon their data across hybrid IT environments.
Why Are We Hesitant About HPE?
- Annual sales growth of 4.2% over the last five years lagged behind its business services peers as its large revenue base made it difficult to generate incremental demand
- Performance over the past two years shows its incremental sales were much less profitable, as its earnings per share fell by 7.5% annually
- Underwhelming 2.9% return on capital reflects management’s difficulties in finding profitable growth opportunities
At $24.20 per share, Hewlett Packard Enterprise trades at 10.7x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including HPE in your portfolio.
One Large-Cap Stock to Buy:
ServiceNow (NOW)
Market Cap: $190.6 billion
Built on a single code base that processes over 4 billion workflow transactions daily, ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) provides a cloud-based platform that helps organizations automate and digitize workflows across departments, from IT and HR to customer service and security.
Why Do We Love NOW?
- Current remaining performance obligations (cRPO) have averaged 22.9% growth over the last year, showing it has a pipeline of unfulfilled contracts that will support revenue in the future
- Software platform has product-market fit given the rapid recovery of its customer acquisition costs
- NOW is a free cash flow machine with the flexibility to invest in growth initiatives or return capital to shareholders
ServiceNow’s stock price of $917.12 implies a valuation ratio of 13.4x forward price-to-sales. Is now a good time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions
When Trump unveiled his aggressive tariff plan in April 2025, markets tanked as investors feared a full-blown trade war. But those who panicked and sold missed the subsequent rebound that’s already erased most losses.
Don’t let fear keep you from great opportunities and take a look at Top 5 Growth Stocks for this month. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today
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