Concentration in a relatively small number of mega-cap stocks, inflation, elevated oil and gas prices, and other concerns have not been enough to stop the S&P 500's bull run in the first half of 2026. Buoyed by strong corporate earnings and capital spending on AI-related projects, the economy has remained remarkably resilient despite significant challenges.
That backdrop has kept investors looking for stocks with summer momentum. Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ: CASY), Nebius Group (NASDAQ: NBIS), and The Metals Company (NASDAQ: TMC) show three very different versions of the same market: one steady compounder, one AI infrastructure winner, and one speculative bet still waiting for proof.
The Quality Convenience Store That Keeps Delivering
Casey’s is perhaps the most unexpected of the three. A Midwestern convenience store chain with locations that offer both consumer goods and food as well as fuel, Casey's has quietly grown to become a roughly $32-billion company.
A good portion of that growth has occurred in just the last few months, with the stock up almost 55% since the start of 2026. Performance over the summer has been somewhat uneven—although shares dipped in June after an early-month spike, they have since been slowly trending upward.
Casey’s stands out for its quality and shareholder-focused benefits, including buybacks and dividends. As the company makes concerted efforts to boost operational efficiency while expanding its footprint, it may continue to deliver for shareholders seeking these gains.
Margins have remained durable, and the company is heading into the back half of the calendar year with a strong balance sheet, healthy free cash flow, and excellent net income and diluted earnings per share (EPS) growth. The company's dividend yield remains modest at 0.3%, but it has been incredibly stable over decades of consistent increases.
A High-Growth AI Infrastructure Play Keeps Growing
In the rush to build AI infrastructure, Nebius has emerged as a high-profile growth name. With a strong backlog supported by the industry's continued emphasis on data center buildout, Nebius has seen demand soar. All of this has led NBIS shares to skyrocket by almost 170% year to date (YTD).
As with many other AI companies, though, the question investors may ask is whether this growth is sustainable. Nebius may have found a pathway—the firm is preparing to deploy data center infrastructure in Asia, expanding its geographic reach and its stretched capacity.
This is not to say that risks don't remain. It may be challenging to sustain the massive 684% year-over-year (YOY) revenue growth from the latest quarter over the long term. Perhaps most importantly, the company continues to face debt challenges, even after strengthening its balance sheet earlier in the year.
Still, investors bullish on the AI industry may still favor Nebius as a growth target this summer.
The Metals Company Is a High-Risk Waiting Game
The Metals Company offers a much more speculative setup. Shares of this deep-sea mineral exploration firm are down 36% YTD, including a 7% drop in the last month. The reason for this could be that the company remains largely untested: it is pre-revenue and continues to navigate the permitting process.
That being said, The Metals Company has technology that is highly promising, and if permitting goes according to plan, it could have a strong advantage on an under-explored mining process that could yield massive results. For now, though, this stock remains a high-risk waiting game.
Not only will the permitting process have to proceed smoothly to the point at which The Metals Company can begin mining operations, but the firm will also have to generate and grow revenue and achieve profitability to fully demonstrate its sustainability. The timeline for this process remains unclear, and in the meantime, TMC continues to burn through cash.
While TMC shares may eventually prove a win for investors willing to accept these risks, the company's timeline makes outperformance this summer difficult. This could be why Wall Street analysts continue to rate TMC stock a Hold overall, despite significant upside potential.
The article "3 Stocks Taking Very Different Routes Through the Summer Rally" first appeared on MarketBeat.
