Highest fundamental return (2026)

Methodology#

Fundamental return is realized shareholder yield plus earnings growth: roughly the annual return the business itself produced, before the market re-rated it up or down. It is what you would have earned if the multiple never moved. The 5Y column uses CAGRs on both legs so the two terms are the same kind of rate.

Performance columns from 5 days to 5 years are total returns, dividends reinvested, through the latest print during the session; in session they count a dividend going ex that day once it is on record, and the nightly update corrects anything missed. The 1D column is the price move, the way quote screens report it. Fundamentals come from company filings via our EDGAR pipeline. Past performance does not predict future returns; this is not investment advice.

FAQ#

What is fundamental return?

Fundamental return is the annual return a business generated on its own, before any change in how the market values it. It adds two things a company controls: the growth in its earnings, and what it returned to owners — shares retired plus dividends paid. Total shareholder return is roughly this plus (or minus) the re-rating of the valuation multiple. A stock can beat its fundamental return for years because the multiple expanded, and that part isn't repeatable; the fundamental part is the piece with a business behind it.

Why use earnings growth instead of EPS growth?

Because EPS growth already contains the buyback. Earnings per share is profit divided by share count, so retiring shares raises EPS on its own — adding a buyback yield on top of EPS growth would count the same retirement twice and systematically flatter the heaviest repurchasers. Pairing the yield with company-level earnings growth counts each effect once.

Is a high fundamental return a buy signal?

No — it is backward-looking, and it says nothing about price. It measures what the business did over the past five years, not what it will do or what you have to pay for it today. Two stocks with identical fundamental returns can trade at wildly different multiples; the P/E, P/S and P/FCF columns are on this table for exactly that reason. Fast historical compounding also tends to mean-revert as a business scales. Not investment advice.

Which stock has the highest fundamental return?

Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS) currently leads US large caps at about 117.60% a year.

What are the top 10 fundamental return stocks?

The 10 highest fundamental returns right now: 1. FIS 117.60%, 2. UDR 102.02%, 3. NVDA 95.68%, 4. DB 81.96%, 5. OR 72.92%, 6. SMCI 72.69%, 7. ESE 70.89%, 8. MU 70.35%, 9. APG 68.20%, 10. IDCC 65.59%.