Best stocks of July 2026
The month's leaders by monthly return · Final standings
From the June 30, 2026 close to the July 31, 2026 close, Cognizant (CTSH) gained +42.94% — the best July 2026 run in the S&P 500. These are the month's final standings.
| Rank | Company | Ticker | Price | Month return | YTD at month end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cognizant | CTSH | $55.03 | +42.94% | -32.50% |
| 2 | Accenture | ACN | $165.92 | +34.94% | -36.88% |
| 3 | PayPal | PYPL | $57.07 | +32.51% | -1.38% |
| 4 | Workday, Inc. | WDAY | $160.34 | +30.98% | -25.35% |
| 5 | Willis Towers Watson | WTW | $335.92 | +28.52% | +2.94% |
| 6 | Cboe Global Markets | CBOE | $309.37 | +27.84% | +24.16% |
| 7 | Phillips 66 | PSX | $210.56 | +25.21% | +66.59% |
| 8 | Microsoft | MSFT | $463.85 | +24.58% | -3.48% |
| 9 | HP Inc. | HPQ | $27.01 | +24.30% | +25.91% |
| 10 | Dexcom | DXCM | $83.45 | +23.90% | +25.73% |
| 11 | Intercontinental Exchange | ICE | $151.97 | +23.85% | -5.20% |
| 12 | Marathon Petroleum | MPC | $315.61 | +23.78% | +96.32% |
| 13 | Garmin | GRMN | $292.65 | +23.68% | +46.03% |
| 14 | Baxter International | BAX | $26.15 | +22.71% | +37.03% |
| 15 | Regeneron Pharmaceuticals | REGN | $761.74 | +22.31% | -0.93% |
| 16 | Adobe Inc. | ADBE | $250.41 | +22.14% | -28.45% |
| 17 | Intuit | INTU | $316.07 | +21.64% | -51.84% |
| 18 | IQVIA | IQV | $235.02 | +21.63% | +4.26% |
| 19 | CME Group | CME | $266.54 | +21.26% | +0.93% |
| 20 | PTC Inc. | PTC | $137.20 | +20.76% | -21.24% |
| 21 | Valero Energy | VLO | $312.90 | +20.61% | +95.06% |
| 22 | Autodesk | ADSK | $234.20 | +20.46% | -20.88% |
| 23 | Cintas | CTAS | $204.10 | +20.31% | +9.35% |
| 24 | Paychex | PAYX | $116.84 | +20.06% | +7.70% |
| 25 | Nasdaq, Inc. | NDAQ | $93.87 | +19.50% | -2.37% |
New in 2026
No new-in-2026 S&P 500 additions with price history yet. The 2026 S&P 500 additions (FDXF and HONA, both 2026 spin-offs) have no December 31, 2025 price, so they cannot be measured on a genuine year-to-date basis — and are excluded rather than ranked on invented data. When a 2026 addition with a full price history appears, it will be listed here.
July 2026 return measured from the last close before the 1st to the last close of the month across S&P 500 constituents with usable monthly price data. Stocks without a genuine pre-month price (e.g. 2026 spin-offs) are excluded; prices adjusted for splits and dividends. Source: Yahoo Finance.
← Full S&P 500 YTD leaderboardFor informational purposes only — not financial advice.