Large-cap stocks have the power to shape entire industries thanks to their size and widespread influence. With such vast footprints, however, finding new areas for growth is much harder than for smaller, more agile players.
Industrials businesses quietly power the physical things we depend on, from cars and homes to e-commerce infrastructure. Unfortunately, this role also comes with a demand profile tethered to the ebbs and flows of the broader economy, and the industry is currently lagging as its six-month return of 2.8% has trailed the S&P 500’s 8.1% gain.
Large-cap stocks are known for their staying power and ability to weather market storms better than smaller competitors. However, their sheer size makes it more challenging to maintain high growth rates as they’ve already captured significant portions of their markets.
Mid-cap stocks have the best odds of scaling into $100 billion corporations thanks to their tested business models and large addressable markets. But the many opportunities in front of them attract significant competition, spanning from industry behemoths with seemingly infinite resources to small, nimble players with chips on their shoulders.
Small-cap stocks can be incredibly lucrative investments because their lack of analyst coverage leads to frequent mispricings. However, these businesses (and their stock prices) often stay small because their subscale operations make it harder to expand their competitive moats.