Mid-cap stocks often strike the right balance between having proven business models and market opportunities that can support $100 billion corporations. However, they face intense competition from scaled industry giants and can be disrupted by new innovative players vying for a slice of the pie.
This is precisely where StockStory comes in - we do the heavy lifting to identify companies with solid fundamentals so you can invest with confidence. That said, here are three mid-cap stocks to swipe left on and some alternatives you should look into instead.
Zoom (ZM)
Market Cap: $27.3 billion
Once the verb that defined remote work during the pandemic ("let's Zoom later"), Zoom (NASDAQ: ZM) provides a cloud-based platform for video meetings, phone calls, team chat, and collaboration tools that helps businesses and individuals connect virtually.
Why Do We Avoid ZM?
- Customers had second thoughts about committing to its platform over the last year as its average billings growth of 3.9% underwhelmed
- Competitive market dynamics make it difficult to retain customers, leading to a weak 98% net revenue retention rate
- Demand will likely be soft over the next 12 months as Wall Street’s estimates imply tepid growth of 3.6%
Zoom’s stock price of $92.17 implies a valuation ratio of 5.5x forward price-to-sales. To fully understand why you should be careful with ZM, check out our full research report (it’s free).
Crown Holdings (CCK)
Market Cap: $12.65 billion
Formerly Crown Cork & Seal, Crown Holdings (NYSE: CCK) produces packaging products for consumer marketing companies, including food, beverage, household, and industrial products.
Why Is CCK Not Exciting?
- Constant currency growth was below our standards over the past two years, suggesting it might need to invest in product improvements to get back on track
- Estimated sales growth of 5.2% for the next 12 months is soft and implies weaker demand
- Gross margin of 20.5% reflects its high production costs
At $112.89 per share, Crown Holdings trades at 14x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including CCK in your portfolio.
Webster Financial (WBS)
Market Cap: $11.79 billion
Founded during the Great Depression in 1935 and evolving into a major Northeastern financial institution, Webster Financial (NYSE: WBS) is a bank holding company that provides commercial banking, consumer banking, and employee benefits solutions through its Webster Bank and HSA Bank division.
Why Does WBS Give Us Pause?
- Sales trends were unexciting over the last two years as its 3.7% annual growth was below the typical banking company
- Overall productivity is expected to decrease over the next year as Wall Street thinks its efficiency ratio will degrade by 2.4 percentage points
- Incremental sales over the last two years were less profitable as its earnings per share were flat while its revenue grew
Webster Financial is trading at $72.35 per share, or 1.2x forward P/B. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than WBS.
Stocks We Like More
The market’s up big this year - but there’s a catch. Just 4 stocks account for half the S&P 500’s entire gain. That kind of concentration makes investors nervous, and for good reason. While everyone piles into the same crowded names, smart investors are hunting quality where no one’s looking - and paying a fraction of the price. Check out the high-quality names we’ve flagged in our Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 244% over the last five years (as of June 30, 2025).
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.
