SIX STOCKS TO BUY FOR 2026

Our picks span a range of industries.

- BY NELLIE S. HUANG, DAVID MILSTEAD AND ANNE KATES SMITH

ADOBE (SYMBOL ADBE, $340)

The dominant player in creative software is further ahead in the artificial intelligence boom than investors give it credit for. The maker of Photoshop, Illustrator and the pioneering PDF Acrobat tool has seen its shares tumble over fears that its conventional software will get eaten alive by AI. But early returns on its AI effort, centered around its Firefly suite of products, are promising. Analyst Angelo Zino, at research firm CFRA, says Adobe’s AI-centric products are hitting their early targets and contributing significantly to the firm’s annual recurring revenue stream. The shares trade for about 15 times estimated earnings for the next 12 months, roughly one-third the levels of 2021.

CARDINAL HEALTH (CAH, $29)