Best Quality Stocks: October 2026
MoatMap's Quality factor scores the moat strength of every stock in the universe, not by qualitative narrative but by the three financial signatures that almost always show up when a moat is real: high return on invested capital, a clean Piotroski F-Score, and conservative leverage. The 25 stocks below are the highest-Quality names in the global universe right now.
October 2026 edition · data as of ·How we score stocks·See all four pillars
Top 25 Quality Stocks: October 2026
| # | Stock | Yield | P/E | Score | Q | V | M | Style · Activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quality 97: high gross profitability and strong free cash flow. Value 59: cheap on P/E but far above book value. Momentum 59: above its moving averages but EPS deteriorating. | Yield 13.2% | P/E 2.5 | 99 Score | 97 Q | 59 V | 59 M | Full House | |
| 2 | Quality 95: wide operating margins and ROIC in the top 5% of its sector. Momentum 63: estimates revised up and outperforming the market over 6 months. Value 9: far above book value. | Yield 0.4% | P/E 66.8 | 73 Score | 95 Q | 9 V | 63 M | Premium Grower | |
| 3 | Quality 95: high gross profitability and ROIC in the top 5% of its sector. Momentum 51: quarterly earnings growing but EPS deteriorating. Value 39: far above book value. | Yield 0.6% | P/E 29.5 | 88 Score | 95 Q | 39 V | 51 M | Premium Grower | |
| 4 | Quality 95: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector and high return on equity. Value 89: cheap on P/E and cheap on EV/EBITDA. Momentum 44: estimates revised up but EPS deteriorating. | Yield 5.0% | P/E 3.0 | 100 Score | 95 Q | 89 V | 44 M | Unloved Quality | |
| 5 | Quality 94: strong free cash flow and F-Score 8/8. Value 61: cheap on P/E and cheap on free cash flow. Momentum 38: estimates cut. | Yield 0.9% | P/E 11.8 | 92 Score | 94 Q | 61 V | 38 M | Unloved Quality | |
| 6 | Quality 94: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector and strong free cash flow. Momentum 48: estimates revised up but EPS deteriorating. Value 23: far above book value. | Yield 3.3% | P/E 28.3 | 71 Score | 94 Q | 23 V | 48 M | Fallen FavouriteDeep dive → | |
| 7 | Quality 94: high return on equity and ROIC in the top 5% of its sector. Momentum 63: near its 52-week high and estimates revised up. Value 35: far above book value. | Yield 5.0% | P/E 17.0 | 92 Score | 94 Q | 35 V | 63 M | Premium Grower | |
| 8 | Quality 94: strong free cash flow and ROIC in the top 5% of its sector. Momentum 73: outperforming the market over 6 months and above its moving averages. Value 10: little or no yield. | Yield 0.1% | P/E 77.5 | 81 Score | 94 Q | 10 V | 73 M | Premium Grower | |
| 9 | Quality 94: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector and high gross profitability. Value 76: cheap on P/E and cheap on EV/EBITDA. Momentum 52: near its 52-week high. | Yield — | P/E 4.1 | 99 Score | 94 Q | 76 V | 52 M | Full House | |
| 10 | Quality 94: wide operating margins and ROIC in the top 5% of its sector. Value 83: cheap on P/E and cheap on EV/EBITDA. Momentum 57: quarterly earnings growing but EPS deteriorating. | Yield 3.0% | P/E 4.1 | 100 Score | 94 Q | 83 V | 57 M | Full HouseDeep dive → | |
| 11 | Quality 94: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector and wide operating margins. Momentum 83: outperforming the market over 6 months and above its moving averages. Value 39: far above book value. | Yield 5.0% | P/E 13.2 | 99 Score | 94 Q | 39 V | 83 M | Premium Grower | |
| 12 | Quality 94: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector and strong free cash flow. Momentum 51: outperforming the market over 6 months but quarterly earnings shrinking. Value 24: far above book value. | Yield 0.4% | P/E 27.0 | 74 Score | 94 Q | 24 V | 51 M | Premium Grower | |
| 13 | Quality 93: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector and high return on equity. Momentum 86: above its moving averages and near its 52-week high. Value 25: far above book value. | Yield 2.6% | P/E 32.9 | 96 Score | 93 Q | 25 V | 86 M | Premium Grower | |
| 14 | Quality 93: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector and high gross profitability. Momentum 62: outperforming the market over 6 months. Value 18: far above book value. | Yield 1.3% | P/E 39.0 | 79 Score | 93 Q | 18 V | 62 M | Premium Grower | |
| 15 | Quality 93: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector and strong free cash flow. Momentum 31: the weak leg. Value 11: far above book value. | Yield — | P/E 36.0 | 43 Score | 93 Q | 11 V | 31 M | Fallen Favourite | |
| 16 | Quality 93: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector and low debt. Momentum 68: estimates revised up and outperforming the market over 6 months. Value 50: far above book value. | Yield 3.1% | P/E 14.1 | 98 Score | 93 Q | 50 V | 68 M | Premium Grower | |
| 17 | Quality 93: strong free cash flow and wide operating margins. Value 58: a high yield but far above book value. Momentum 39: EPS deteriorating. | Yield 6.6% | P/E 11.2 | 90 Score | 93 Q | 58 V | 39 M | Unloved QualityDeep dive → | |
| 18 | Quality 93: high gross profitability and strong free cash flow. Value 86: cheap on EV/EBITDA and cheap on P/E. Momentum 36: lagging the market over 6 months. | Yield 10.2% | P/E 3.3 | 99 Score | 93 Q | 86 V | 36 M | Unloved Quality | |
| 19 | Quality 93: wide operating margins and ROIC in the top 5% of its sector. Momentum 60: estimates revised up and above its moving averages. Value 44: far above book value. | Yield 1.2% | P/E 16.6 | 94 Score | 93 Q | 44 V | 60 M | Premium Grower | |
| 20 | Quality 93: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector and high gross profitability. Momentum 63: near its 52-week high and above its moving averages. Value 50: cheap on EV/EBITDA but little or no yield. | Yield 0.1% | P/E 12.9 | 97 Score | 93 Q | 50 V | 63 M | Premium Grower | |
| 21 | Quality 93: wide operating margins and ROIC in the top 5% of its sector. Momentum 88: above its moving averages and estimates revised up. Value 5: expensive on sales. | Yield 0.4% | P/E 69.4 | 88 Score | 93 Q | 5 V | 88 M | Premium Grower | |
| 22 | Quality 93: strong free cash flow and wide operating margins. Momentum 72: near its 52-week high and estimates revised up. Value 9: far above book value. | Yield — | P/E 153 | 80 Score | 93 Q | 9 V | 72 M | Premium GrowerBuybackDeep dive → | |
| 23 | Quality 93: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector and high gross profitability. Momentum 49: mixed. Value 16: far above book value. | Yield 3.4% | P/E 34.4 | 65 Score | 93 Q | 16 V | 49 M | Fallen Favourite | |
| 24 | Quality 93: ROIC in the top 5% of its sector and high gross profitability. Value 69: cheap on EV/EBITDA and cheap on P/E. Momentum 38: lagging the market over 6 months. | Yield 3.9% | P/E 10.0 | 95 Score | 93 Q | 69 V | 38 M | Unloved Quality | |
| 25 | Quality 93: F-Score 8/8 and ROIC in the top 5% of its sector. Momentum 53: EPS improving but quarterly earnings shrinking. Value 50: a high yield. | Yield 3.0% | P/E 17.2 | 93 Score | 93 Q | 50 V | 53 M | Premium Grower |
Ranked by the Quality 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 Quality Is the Factor Buffett Cares About
Buffett's framing (castles surrounded by moats) sounds qualitative, but the financial fingerprint of a moat is concrete and measurable. Companies with structural advantages earn returns on capital well above their cost of capital, and they keep doing it for years. Companies without moats see those returns competed away. Quality, as a factor, isolates that signature: ROIC, balance-sheet strength, and accounting cleanliness, percentile-ranked across the global universe.
Why this matters in 2026: the gap between the best and worst businesses has widened, not narrowed. Software, network-effect platforms, regulated franchises, and asset-light brands all earn returns far above their cost of capital. Capital-intensive commodity producers, undifferentiated retailers, and businesses dependent on a single product cycle don't. Quality, measured systematically, surfaces the first group while flagging the second.
Quality is also the factor that compounds best over long holding periods. Value works in mean-reversion regimes; Momentum works in trending regimes; Quality works because excellent businesses keep getting more excellent. A high-Quality screen at any single point in time tends to surface companies that will still be high-Quality 3-5 years later, which is when the compounding actually pays.
Caveat: Quality alone is not a complete strategy. The market is generally aware of which businesses are excellent, and prices them accordingly. A high-Quality stock at 35x earnings can still produce mediocre returns if growth disappoints. Pair Quality screening with Value (cross-check the Value column on the table below) to find the rare combination that drives outsized long-term returns.
Related reading: What Is an Economic Moat? 5 Types With Real Examples →
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are the top-ranked Quality stocks in 2026?
- MoatMap's top 25 Quality stocks are listed in the table above, ranked by the Quality factor score (ROIC, Piotroski F-Score, leverage). The list refreshes daily as new fundamental data is processed. Cross-check the Value and Momentum scores for each name before treating it as a buy: a high-Quality stock at a stretched valuation can still underperform.
- What does MoatMap's Quality score measure?
- Quality is a percentile-ranked composite of three sub-factors. ROIC (return on invested capital) measures how productively a business deploys its capital. Piotroski F-Score is a 9-point accounting-quality screen that flags improving fundamentals. Leverage measures balance-sheet strength via debt/equity and interest coverage. A Quality score above 80 typically indicates a company with the financial fingerprint of a wide moat.
- Are high-Quality stocks the same as wide-moat stocks?
- Closely related but not identical. A wide moat is a qualitative judgment about why competitors can't catch up (network effects, switching costs, brand power, cost advantages, intangible assets). A high Quality score is the quantitative shadow that moat casts on the financial statements. Most genuinely wide-moat companies score 80+ on Quality. The exceptions are usually capital-intensive moats (utilities, certain pharma) where ROIC reads lower because of large invested capital.
- What's a good ROIC for a Quality stock?
- ROIC above 15% sustained for 5+ years is the threshold most factor researchers use. Above 20% is exceptional. Below 8% (the rough cost-of-capital baseline) is a red flag: it means the business is destroying value for shareholders even when it 'earns' on paper. Quality scores compress this into a percentile rank so you can compare across sectors with very different capital structures.
- How is the Piotroski F-Score used?
- Piotroski's F-Score is a 9-point check on whether a company's accounting story is internally consistent and improving year-over-year (positive earnings, positive operating cash flow, growing margins, declining leverage, etc.). High F-Scores correlate with positive future returns even within already-cheap stocks, which is why Quality, when combined with Value, historically beats either factor alone.
- How often does this Quality ranking refresh?
- Daily. Fundamental data and Quality scores are recomputed as new financial statements and price data flow through the MoatMap pipeline. The page itself is cached for 1 hour at the edge, so the ranking on screen is at most a few hours behind the latest scoring run.