You probably wouldn’t bet on a horse that usually finishes in the middle of the pack.
But in the stock market, sometimes that’s a good idea. Once a year, I write about my “Do Nothing Club,” a group of stocks that linger near their prices from a year ago, but that I believe may levitate in the coming year.
In 21 years, my Do-Nothing stocks have averaged a 14.3% return over the year following publication, beating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Total Return Index at 10.1%.
Of course, price stagnation in and of itself is no reason to get excited about a stock. You need something to light a spark. But just because a stock has been quiescent for a while is no reason to disdain it.
Here are five Do-Nothing stocks that look promising to me now.
Molson Coors
Beer makers have had a tough time, as young people lean to other beverages. Nonetheless, Molson Coors Beverage Co. (TAP) has grown its earnings at a 16% clip in the past five years.
Sensibly, Molson Coors is diversifying out of reliance on beer. For example, it sells Arnold Palmer Spiked iced-tea-and-lemonade drinks, and Simply Spiked lemonade. It also offers Dwayne Johnson’s ZOA Energy drinks, and Blue Run whiskey.
Will this work? I don’t know, but the stock is cheap enough to make me think it’s a good speculation. The shares go for under book value (corporate net worth per share).
Cigna
Health-care costs keep rising, making it tough for health insurers. In addition, the federal government periodically pressures the insurers to charge less, pay claims more generously, or both.
In this unpleasant environment, Cigna Corp (CI) has shown a profit in 29 of the past 30 years. Its stock sells for 18 times the past four quarters’ earnings, but only 10 times analysts’ profit estimates for 2026. The stock is down about 4% over the past year, and I think it is likely to bounce.
LKQ
LKQ Corp. (LKQ) is an auto-parts recycling company. While the tariff picture seems to change every week, it looks to me as if there will be some meaningful tariffs on imported cars. If so, people may keep their old cars longer, leading to more repairs, and hence more demand for spare parts.
Based in Antioch, Tennessee, LKQ has about 1,500 auto-salvage sites in the U.S., Canada and Europe. It has increased its profits by more than 12% a year over the past decade. Last year, however, was flat. The stock is selling for 0.78 times revenue. Its normal price-to-revenue multiple is 1.08.
Century Aluminum
The Trump administration’s tariff policy is in flux, but for now, there’s a 25% tariff on imported aluminum. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says that such tariffs hurt American manufacturing by raising costs.
I agree, but I think the tariffs as they currently stand are favorable for Century Aluminum Co. (CENX), which has struggled for years. In the past 15 years, Century has had only five annual profits and 10 losses. It had a good year in 2024 and analysts think the next couple of years look good.
Preformed Line
A small-company stock I like is Preformed Line Products Co. (PLPC) of Cleveland, Ohio. It makes products used to construct or maintain telephone and utility lines. These products may provide insulation, protection, or flow regulation, among other things.
Preformed Line Products had sales of about $601 million in the past four quarters, and the market value of its stock is about $683 million. It has shown a profit in each of the past 15 years. This month, the company acquired a similar outfit in Brazil, JAP Telecom. It already had a presence in Brazil.
The Record
My Do-Nothing picks have beaten the Standard & Poor’s 500 12 times out of 21, while averaging about four percentage points better than the index.
Bear in mind that my column results are hypothetical and shouldn’t be confused with results I obtain for clients. Also, past performance doesn’t predict the future.
Four of the five Do-Nothing stocks I recommended a year ago managed to beat the S&P’s return of 13.8%. Banner corp. (BANR) returned 46%, Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) 41%, PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL) 17% and Sabine Royalty Trust (SBR) 14%.
However, Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) fell 21%. The five stocks together notched a 19.4% return.
Disclosure: A hedge fund I run owns call options on Schlumberger.
Correction: In a recent article on low-debt stocks, I misstated the return on my recommendations a year ago. Alpha Metallurgical Resources was down 57%, not up 57%. Therefore, my selections as a group rose 16.1%. not 39.8%. They still beat the S&P 500 but by a much narrower margin than I had stated.
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