So here’s the thing about Wall Street analysts – most of them couldn’t pick a winning stock if it came with a neon sign and a marching band. But Citi’s large-cap team? They’re actually kind of crushing it right now.
Their handpicked list of 20 “buy” rated stocks just wrapped up 2025 with a 26% return while the S&P 500 managed a respectable but less impressive 19%. Last year? Same story – 27% vs 25%. Not bad for a bunch of suits in Manhattan.
The secret sauce isn’t rocket science. They look at boring stuff like balance sheets, growth prospects, and whether a stock is stupidly overpriced or not. Revolutionary, I know.
For 2026, they’ve added 11 fresh faces to their winners’ circle, and honestly, some of these picks are pretty interesting:
The Tech Plays: Microchip Technology (MCHP) and Broadcom (AVGO) are their semiconductor bets. Broadcom already had a monster year (+51%), but Citi thinks there’s another 36% left in the tank. Bold.
The “People Need to Fly” Play: Delta Air Lines (DAL) makes the cut because, surprise, humans still prefer not to drive cross-country. Revolutionary insight there.
The “Buy Now, Pay Later” Darling: Affirm (AFRM) is their fintech pick. Because apparently, we haven’t learned our lesson about debt yet. But hey, if people want to finance their avocado toast, someone might as well profit from it.
The Boring-But-Profitable Stuff: US Bancorp (USB), Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO), and Linde (LIN) round out the “companies that do important things you never think about” category. Sometimes boring wins.
The wildcard? Boeing (BA). Yes, the company that’s had more drama than a reality TV show. But Citi sees a 19% upside, betting that people will eventually forget about all those… incidents.
Then there’s Lam Research (LRCX), which already exploded 140% this year. Citi thinks it’s got another 8% to go, which feels like saying “this rocket ship might have a little more fuel.”
Look, nobody has a crystal ball, and past performance doesn’t guarantee future results (thanks, SEC). But when a team beats the market two years running and then tells you what they’re buying next, it’s worth paying attention.
The real lesson here isn’t to blindly follow Citi’s picks – it’s that having a systematic approach to stock picking actually works better than throwing darts at a board or following whatever’s trending on Reddit.
Will these 11 stocks make you rich? Probably not overnight. Will they outperform your cousin’s crypto portfolio? There’s a decent chance. And sometimes, that’s all you need.
Remember: This isn’t investment advice, just one friend telling another about what the smart money is doing. Do your own research, don’t bet the farm, and maybe don’t take stock tips from people on the internet – including me.