Nearly two months into 2026, some of the early contenders among top-performing stocks have already zipped past the broader market. This is not especially difficult to do, seeing that the S&P 500 is only up less than 1% year-to-date (YTD), but big rallies from leaders like Valaris PLC (NYSE: VAL) (up 80% since the start of the year) would impress in even more of a boom period for the broader market.
Of course, investors are more concerned with future performance than past returns, and three companies in the retail space stand out for their potential for growth going forward. While these companies have either performed roughly on par with the S&P 500 or have underperformed so far this year, they have a confluence of factors including analyst support, forecasts for price and/or earnings growth, and more that all suggest they may be worth watching as 2026 continues.
