Best Momentum Stocks: October 2026
MoatMap's Momentum factor combines two signals that the academic literature has shown to predict future returns: medium-term price trends (3, 6, and 12-month total returns) and analyst earnings revisions. The 25 stocks below have the strongest combined Momentum scores in the global universe. Momentum is the factor with the shortest half-life: useful for entry timing once a thesis is in place, less useful as a standalone buy signal.
October 2026 edition · data as of ·How we score stocks·See all four pillars
Top 25 Momentum Stocks: October 2026
| # | Stock | Yield | P/E | Score | Q | V | M | Style · Activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Momentum 99: above its moving averages and outperforming the market over 6 months. Quality 74: wide operating margins and ROIC in the top 5% of its sector. Value 3: expensive on sales. | Yield — | P/E 265 | 81 Score | 74 Q | 3 V | 99 M | Premium Grower | |
| 2 | Momentum 99: above its moving averages and near its 52-week high. Quality 54: high gross profitability but a tight balance sheet. Value 15: far above book value. | Yield — | P/E 178 | 73 Score | 54 Q | 15 V | 99 M | Premium Grower | |
| 3 | Momentum 98: above its moving averages and outperforming the market over 6 months. Quality 61: ROIC in the top 20% of its sector and high gross profitability. Value 23: little or no yield. | Yield 0.2% | P/E 47.2 | 86 Score | 61 Q | 23 V | 98 M | Premium Grower | |
| 4 | Momentum 98: above its moving averages and outperforming the market over 6 months. Quality 70: strong free cash flow and wide operating margins. Value 28: expensive on sales. | Yield — | P/E 43.8 | 93 Score | 70 Q | 28 V | 98 M | Premium Grower | |
| 5 | Momentum 96: above its moving averages and outperforming the market over 6 months. Quality 54: ROIC in the top 10% of its sector but weak free cash flow. Value 13: far above book value. | Yield — | P/E 92.3 | 70 Score | 54 Q | 13 V | 96 M | Premium Grower | |
| 6 | Momentum 96: above its moving averages and outperforming the market over 6 months. Quality 68: wide operating margins and strong free cash flow. Value 47: mixed. | Yield 2.3% | P/E 19.6 | 98 Score | 68 Q | 47 V | 96 M | Premium Grower | |
| 7 | Momentum 96: near its 52-week high and above its moving averages. Quality 60: interest well covered and low debt. Value 42: mixed. | Yield 3.0% | P/E 28.1 | 95 Score | 60 Q | 42 V | 96 M | Premium Grower | |
| 8 | Momentum 96: near its 52-week high and outperforming the market over 6 months. Quality 42: low debt but weak free cash flow. Value 37: expensive on EV/EBITDA. | Yield 2.1% | P/E 12.8 | 80 Score | 42 Q | 37 V | 96 M | Hot Air | |
| 9 | Momentum 96: near its 52-week high and above its moving averages. Quality 71: interest well covered and low debt. Value 23: expensive on free cash flow. | Yield 0.9% | P/E 35.2 | 90 Score | 71 Q | 23 V | 96 M | Premium Grower | |
| 10 | Momentum 95: outperforming the market over 6 months and above its moving averages. Quality 65: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector and high return on equity. Value 17: far above book value. | Yield — | P/E 53.8 | 82 Score | 65 Q | 17 V | 95 M | Premium GrowerDir. buy | |
| 11 | Momentum 95: estimates revised up and outperforming the market over 6 months. Value 83: cheap on sales and cheap on EV/EBITDA. Quality 42: F-Score 7/9 but a tight balance sheet. | Yield 0.5% | P/E 18.6 | 99 Score | 42 Q | 83 V | 95 M | Second Wind | |
| 12 | Momentum 95: near its 52-week high and quarterly earnings growing. Quality 51: high return on equity but weak free cash flow. Value 19: expensive on EV/EBITDA. | Yield 1.8% | P/E 18.3 | 72 Score | 51 Q | 19 V | 95 M | Premium Grower | |
| 13 | Momentum 95: quarterly earnings growing and outperforming the market over 6 months. Quality 62: strong free cash flow and low debt. Value 35: little or no yield. | Yield 0.1% | P/E 22.2 | 92 Score | 62 Q | 35 V | 95 M | Premium GrowerBuyback | |
| 14 | Momentum 95: above its moving averages and outperforming the market over 6 months. Quality 62: high return on equity and ROIC in the top 10% of its sector. Value 14: far above book value. | Yield — | P/E 38.8 | 76 Score | 62 Q | 14 V | 95 M | Premium Grower | |
| 15 | Momentum 95: above its moving averages and outperforming the market over 6 months. Quality 55: F-Score 7/9. Value 20: expensive on free cash flow. | Yield 0.6% | P/E 78.2 | 76 Score | 55 Q | 20 V | 95 M | Premium Grower | |
| 16 | Momentum 95: quarterly earnings growing and near its 52-week high. Quality 52: F-Score 8/9 but high debt. Value 31: little or no yield. | Yield 0.3% | P/E 24.0 | 82 Score | 52 Q | 31 V | 95 M | Premium Grower | |
| 17 | Momentum 95: near its 52-week high and outperforming the market over 6 months. Value 55: cheap on sales but little or no yield. Quality 42: wide operating margins but a tight balance sheet. | Yield 0.5% | P/E 48.5 | 91 Score | 42 Q | 55 V | 95 M | Second WindDir. buy | |
| 18 | Momentum 94: near its 52-week high and outperforming the market over 6 months. Quality 49: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector but high debt. Value 8: little or no yield. | Yield 0.0% | P/E 200 | 58 Score | 49 Q | 8 V | 94 M | Hot Air | |
| 19 | Momentum 94: above its moving averages and outperforming the market over 6 months. Quality 40: low returns on capital. Value 35: valuation ratios not meaningful for a financial. | Yield 1.6% | P/E 25.9 | 75 Score | 40 Q | 35 V | 94 M | Hot AirBuyback | |
| 20 | Momentum 94: above its moving averages and outperforming the market over 6 months. Quality 45: F-Score 7/7 but low returns on capital. Value 31: valuation ratios not meaningful for a financial. | Yield 1.4% | P/E 22.5 | 76 Score | 45 Q | 31 V | 94 M | Hot AirBuyback | |
| 21 | Momentum 94: outperforming the market over 6 months and above its moving averages. Quality 45: strong free cash flow but high debt. Value 42: cheap on free cash flow but expensive on EV/EBITDA. | Yield — | P/E — | 85 Score | 45 Q | 42 V | 94 M | Hot Air | |
| 22 | Momentum 94: above its moving averages and outperforming the market over 6 months. Quality 54: interest well covered but a weak F-Score 3/9. Value 28: expensive on EV/EBITDA. | Yield — | P/E 55.7 | 80 Score | 54 Q | 28 V | 94 M | Premium Grower | |
| 23 | Momentum 94: near its 52-week high and quarterly earnings growing. Value 71: a high yield and cheap on EV/EBITDA. Quality 56: high gross profitability but a tight balance sheet. | Yield 5.8% | P/E 12.6 | 99 Score | 56 Q | 71 V | 94 M | Full House | |
| 24 | Momentum 94: near its 52-week high and outperforming the market over 6 months. Quality 62: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector and high return on equity. Value 40: far above book value. | Yield — | P/E 13.8 | 93 Score | 62 Q | 40 V | 94 M | Premium Grower | |
| 25 | Momentum 93: outperforming the market over 6 months and above its moving averages. Quality 47: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector but weak free cash flow. Value 26: far above book value. | Yield 0.5% | P/E 40.9 | 72 Score | 47 Q | 26 V | 93 M | Hot Air |
Ranked by the Momentum factor across every market MoatMap scores, at a minimum market cap of $250M, one line per company. A new edition is generated on the first scoring run of each month.
Why Momentum Persists
Momentum is the factor finance academics couldn't explain away. Jegadeesh and Titman (1993) documented that stocks which outperformed over the previous 6-12 months continued to outperform for the next 6-12 months, a pattern that should not exist in an efficient market. AQR's research over the next two decades showed that momentum has worked across every developed market, every asset class, and every time period back to the 1800s. The pattern is one of the most robust empirical findings in finance.
The mechanism is behavioural and structural. Investors under-react to good news in the short term (analysts revise earnings estimates slowly; positions take time to build), so stocks drift in the direction of new information for months after the news breaks. Then they over-react in the long term (12+ months), which is why momentum works medium-term but reverses long-term. The MoatMap Momentum score sits in that 3-12 month sweet spot.
Momentum is also the factor with the worst tail risk. When trends break (typically at major regime changes or after long bull runs), high-Momentum stocks crash hardest. The 2008-2009 momentum crash and the early-2009 momentum reversal are textbook examples. This is why a pure momentum strategy is volatile, and why combining momentum with Quality and Value has historically delivered better risk-adjusted returns than any single factor alone.
Best use: high Momentum + high Quality is the pattern that works across the most regimes. High Momentum + high Value is the rare 'cheap stock that's also being repriced upward' setup, which produces some of the best single-stock returns when it appears. High Momentum + low Quality is the pattern most likely to crash: be cautious of names that score high here but show weak fundamentals.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are the top-ranked Momentum stocks in 2026?
- The table above ranks the 25 highest-Momentum stocks in MoatMap's universe of 24,000+ stocks by composite Momentum score (3M/6M/12M price trends + earnings revisions). Momentum is best used as an entry-timing signal on stocks that already pass your Quality and Value bars; buying high-Momentum, low-Quality stocks works until it doesn't, and the failures are sharp.
- What does MoatMap's Momentum score measure?
- Momentum is a percentile composite of two signals. Price momentum: 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month total returns relative to the universe (with a 1-month skip to avoid the well-documented short-term reversal effect). Earnings momentum: trailing 4-week and 12-week analyst earnings-revision rates. Stocks scoring 80+ on Momentum are in the top decile of both price and earnings trends globally.
- Why does momentum investing work?
- Investors under-react to information in the short term. When a company reports strong earnings, analysts revise estimates slowly over weeks, institutional positions build over months, and the stock drifts upward for a long time after the news. Behavioural finance attributes this to anchoring (investors stick to their old views), confirmation bias (slow updating), and the simple mechanics of how large positions are accumulated. The drift creates the medium-term momentum signal.
- Is momentum better than value investing?
- Different timeframes and risk profiles. Value works over 3-7 year holding periods and is most reliable in mean-reversion regimes. Momentum works over 3-12 month holding periods and is most reliable in trending regimes. Combining them historically produces better risk-adjusted returns than either alone: Value gives you the right stocks, Momentum tells you when the market is starting to agree with you. The MoatMap StockRank composite uses both for this reason.
- What is a momentum crash and when does it happen?
- A momentum crash is when high-momentum stocks rapidly underperform, usually at regime changes or after extended bull markets. The most cited examples are March 2009 (the rebound off the financial crisis low, when the worst-performing stocks of 2008 became the best-performing stocks of 2009, demolishing momentum portfolios) and similar reversals after dot-com peaks. Pure momentum strategies are volatile; combining momentum with Quality and Value reduces but does not eliminate this tail risk.
- How long should I hold a momentum stock?
- The momentum signal has a half-life of roughly 6-12 months. After 12 months, the signal weakens and long-term reversal effects start to dominate. Most factor investors using momentum rebalance monthly to quarterly. For longer-horizon investors, the right use of momentum is timing: wait for momentum to confirm before adding to a Quality + Value thesis, but don't hold purely on momentum.
- Does earnings momentum work better than price momentum?
- Earnings momentum (the rate of analyst earnings-estimate revisions) is the cleaner signal: it directly reflects fundamental information flow and is less subject to noise than price alone. Price momentum is faster to compute and includes information not yet captured in analyst estimates. The composite (both signals together) is what MoatMap's Momentum factor uses, because each captures information the other misses.