The S&P 500 (^GSPC) is home to the biggest and most well-known companies in the market, making it a go-to index for investors seeking stability. But not all large-cap stocks are created equal - some are struggling with slowing growth, declining margins, or increased competition.
Picking the right S&P 500 stocks requires more than just buying big names, and that’s where StockStory comes in. That said, here is one S&P 500 stock that is leading the market forward and two that may struggle.
Two Stocks to Sell:
Kraft Heinz (KHC)
Market Cap: $27.72 billion
The result of a 2015 mega-merger between Kraft and Heinz, Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ: KHC) is a packaged foods giant whose products span coffee to cheese to packaged meat.
Why Do We Avoid KHC?
- Declining unit sales over the past two years show it’s struggled to move its products and had to rely on price increases
- Efficiency has decreased over the last year as its operating margin fell by 34.6 percentage points
- ROIC of 1.2% reflects management’s challenges in identifying attractive investment opportunities, and its decreasing returns suggest its historical profit centers are aging
Kraft Heinz’s stock price of $23.44 implies a valuation ratio of 9.5x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including KHC in your portfolio.
Keysight (KEYS)
Market Cap: $35.62 billion
Spun off from Hewlett-Packard in 2014, Keysight (NYSE: KEYS) offers electronic measurement products for use in various sectors.
Why Does KEYS Give Us Pause?
- New orders were hard to come by as its average backlog growth of 1.1% over the past two years underwhelmed
- Earnings per share fell by 7.3% annually over the last two years while its revenue was flat, showing each sale was less profitable
- Shrinking returns on capital suggest that increasing competition is eating into the company’s profitability
Keysight is trading at $207.32 per share, or 25.6x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than KEYS.
One Stock to Buy:
S&P Global (SPGI)
Market Cap: $164.1 billion
Tracing its roots back to 1860 when it published the first railroad industry manual, S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) provides credit ratings, market intelligence, commodity data, automotive analytics, and financial indices that help investors and businesses make decisions.
Why Should You Buy SPGI?
- Annual revenue growth of 10.6% over the last two years was above the sector average and underscores its products and services value to customers
- Share repurchases have increased shareholder returns as its annual earnings per share growth of 20% exceeded its revenue gains over the last two years
- Industry-leading 25.8% return on equity demonstrates management’s skill in finding high-return investments
At $542.83 per share, S&P Global trades at 28x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our full research report, it’s free.
High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions
Your portfolio can’t afford to be based on yesterday’s story. The risk in a handful of heavily crowded stocks is rising daily.
The names generating the next wave of massive growth are right here in our Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. 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).
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