While the S&P 500 (^GSPC) includes industry leaders, not every stock in the index is a winner. Some companies are past their prime, weighed down by poor execution, weak financials, or structural headwinds.
Even among blue-chip stocks, not all investments are created equal - which is why we built StockStory to help you navigate the market. Keeping that in mind, here are two S&P 500 stocks that could deliver good returns and one that may struggle.
One Stock to Sell:
Fiserv (FISV)
Market Cap: $33.1 billion
Powering over 1 billion accounts and processing more than 12,000 financial transactions per second globally, Fiserv (NASDAQ: FISV) provides payment processing and financial technology solutions that enable merchants, banks, and credit unions to accept payments and manage financial transactions.
Why Do We Think Twice About FISV?
- The company has faced growth challenges as its 5.3% annual revenue increases over the last two years fell short of other financials companies
- Earnings growth underperformed the sector average over the last two years as its EPS grew by just 7% annually
- Underwhelming 9.4% return on equity reflects management’s difficulties in finding profitable growth opportunities
Fiserv is trading at $61.59 per share, or 7.6x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with FISV, check out our full research report (it’s free).
Two Stocks to Watch:
Seagate (STX)
Market Cap: $91.78 billion
One of two remaining major hard drive manufacturers after decades of industry consolidation, Seagate (NASDAQ: STX) manufactures hard disk drives and solid state drives that store data in data centers, cloud systems, and consumer devices.
Why Do We Like STX?
- Market share has increased this cycle as its 24.7% annual revenue growth over the last two years was exceptional
- Estimated revenue growth of 28.2% for the next 12 months implies demand will accelerate from its two-year trend
- Operating margin increased by 8 percentage points over the last five years as it refined its cost structure
Seagate’s stock price of $406.36 implies a valuation ratio of 25.3x forward P/E. Is now the time to initiate a position? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO)
Market Cap: $32.94 billion
Creator of the three-digit number that can determine whether you get a mortgage or credit card, Fair Isaac Corporation (NYSE: FICO) develops analytics software and the widely used FICO Score, which is the standard measure of consumer credit risk in the United States.
Why Will FICO Beat the Market?
- Performance over the past two years was turbocharged by share buybacks, which enabled its earnings per share to grow faster than its revenue
- Impressive free cash flow profitability enables the company to fund new investments or reward investors with share buybacks/dividends
- Returns on capital are climbing as management makes more lucrative bets
At $1,375 per share, Fair Isaac Corporation trades at 28.9x forward P/E. Is now the right time to buy? See for yourself in our full research report, it’s free.
Stocks We Like Even 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 6 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-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.
