The S&P 500's 3 Best-Performing Stocks So Far in 2026

Key Points

• Despite a broad market selloff, SNDK, TPL, and MRNA stand out as the S&P 500's 3 best-performing stocks in 2026, each operating in a different sector.
• SanDisk leads with a greater than 160% YTD gain, fueled by a global NAND flash shortage and surging AI demand.
• Moderna has gained over 80% on pipeline optimism and positive data, though analysts maintain a consensus Reduce rating with nearly 40% downside implied by their price target.

Fear is dominating global markets right now. With geopolitical tensions intensifying in the Middle East and capital rotating out of equities, the S&P 500 ETF NYSEARCA: SPY is down about 2% year to date (YTD). What began as weakness in mega-cap technology and software has since spilled over into virtually every corner of the market, with most sector ETFs now trading below support and key short to mid-term moving averages.

Yet despite the broad-based selling pressure, a handful of names continue to buck the trend entirely. The S&P 500's three best-performing stocks in 2026 are not only holding their ground, but they're also thriving. And notably, each operates in a completely different sector, making their collective outperformance all the more striking.

Sandisk Corporation: YTD Return +159%

Leading the pack is SanDisk Corporation NASDAQ: SNDK, which also claimed the title of the S&P 500's top performer in 2025, finishing the year up nearly 570%. The company develops and manufactures data storage solutions built on NAND flash technology. This segment has become increasingly critical to AI workloads across data centers, mobile devices, and edge computing.

The rally has been fueled by a near-perfect storm: a global NAND flash shortage colliding with rapidly accelerating demand for fast, local storage tied to the rise of AI at the edge.

As a pure-play flash provider, SanDisk was uniquely positioned to benefit from soaring prices, which roughly doubled during the second half of last year. That leverage was evident in the most recent numbers.

In Q2 2026 earnings released on Jan. 29, Sandisk reported earnings per share (EPS) of $6.20, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $2.89, with quarterly revenue rising 61.2% year over year to $3.03 billion.

What's particularly notable is that while the broader market has sold off in recent weeks, SNDK remains in a lengthy bull flag, consolidating just 14% from its all-time high and well above its 50-day SMA. A 10% gain in February underscores that its outperformance may be far from over.

Texas Pacific Land Corporation: YTD Return +84%

In second place is Texas Pacific Land Corporation NYSE: TPL, one of the largest landowners in Texas with 882,000 acres in the Permian Basin. The company's core business spans surface rights management, mineral royalty interests, and water services. But its AI infrastructure ambitions have been a major driver of its 2026 outperformance.

TPL entered a strategic partnership with Bolt Data & Energy, committing $50 million in exchange for equity, warrants, and a right of first refusal to supply water to Bolt's projects.

Bolt has expressed ambitions to develop over 10 gigawatts of data centers on TPL land in West Texas, a vision that has captured investor imagination and sent the stock sharply higher. Rising oil prices and surging demand for its water services have added further fuel. 

Management guided capital expenditures of $65 million to $75 million for the year, with continued investment in water management and desalination technologies as part of a long-term vision to build multiple multi-gigawatt energy campuses. Analysts see further room to run, with a consensus price target of $639, implying nearly 20% additional upside.

Moderna: YTD Return +81%

Rounding out the top three is perhaps a surprising name: Moderna NASDAQ: MRNA.

The stock is up over 80% year to date, while the broader healthcare sector, represented by the Health Care Select SPDR Fund ETF NYSEARCA: XLV, is down 3%. The rally has been driven by growing investor optimism around the company's evolution beyond its COVID-focused roots into a more diversified pipeline, particularly in oncology and influenza. 

That said, Wall Street remains cautious. Analysts hold a consensus Reduce rating on the stock, with a price target implying nearly 40% downside from current levels.

Institutional activity over the prior 12 months has been broadly neutral, with $1.6 billion in inflows versus $1.2 billion in outflows.