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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.

These trade-offs can cause headaches for even the most seasoned professionals, which is why we started StockStory - to help you find high-quality companies that can grow their earnings no matter what. Keeping that in mind, here is one large-cap stock whose competitive advantages creates flywheel effects and two whose momentum may slow.

Two Large-Cap Stocks to Sell:

Hilton (HLT)

Market Cap: $63.13 billion

Founded in 1919, Hilton Worldwide is a global hospitality company with a portfolio of hotel brands.

Why Are We Cautious About HLT?

• Revenue per room has disappointed over the past two years due to weaker trends in its daily rates and occupancy levels
• Projected sales growth of 7.2% for the next 12 months suggests sluggish demand
• Free cash flow margin is forecasted to shrink by 2.4 percentage points in the coming year, suggesting the company will consume more capital to keep up with its competitors

At $269 per share, Hilton trades at 31.9x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including HLT in your portfolio.

MetLife (MET)

Market Cap: $55.12 billion

Founded in 1863 by a group of New York businessmen during the Civil War era, MetLife is a global financial services company that provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services to individuals and businesses worldwide.

Why Are We Out on MET?

• Insurance offerings face significant market challenges this cycle as net premiums earned contracted by 1.9% annually over the last two years
• Earnings growth over the last two years fell short of the peer group average as its EPS only increased by 13.6% annually
• Policy losses and capital returns have eroded its book value per share this cycle as its book value per share declined by 13% annually over the last five years

MetLife’s stock price of $82.94 implies a valuation ratio of 2.2x forward P/B. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than MET.

One Large-Cap Stock to Buy:

Super Micro (SMCI)

Market Cap: $31.56 billion

Founded in Silicon Valley in 1993 and known for its modular "building block" approach to server design, Super Micro Computer designs and manufactures high-performance, energy-efficient server and storage systems for data centers, cloud computing, AI, and edge computing applications.

Why Do We Love SMCI?

• Annual revenue growth of 75.6% over the past two years was outstanding, reflecting market share gains this cycle
• Massive revenue base of $21.97 billion makes it a well-known name that influences purchasing decisions
• Free cash flow flipped to positive over the last five years, showing the company is at an important crossroads

Super Micro is trading at $53.77 per share, or 20.8x forward P/E. Is now the time to initiate a position? Find out in our full research report, it’s free for active Edge members.

Stocks We Like Even More

When Trump unveiled his aggressive tariff plan in April 2025, markets tanked as investors feared a full-blown trade war. But those who panicked and sold missed the subsequent rebound that’s already erased most losses.

Don’t let fear keep you from great opportunities and take a look at Top 5 Growth Stocks for this month. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).

Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return).

StockStory is growing and hiring equity analyst and marketing roles. Are you a 0 to 1 builder passionate about the markets and AI? See the open roles here.

The end of the earnings season is always a good time to take a step back and see who shined (and who not so much). Let’s take a look at how hardware & infrastructure stocks fared in Q2, starting with Diebold Nixdorf .

The Hardware & Infrastructure sector will be buoyed by demand related to AI adoption, cloud computing expansion, and the need for more efficient data storage and processing solutions. Companies with tech offerings such as servers, switches, and storage solutions are well-positioned in our new hybrid working and IT world. On the other hand, headwinds include ongoing supply chain disruptions, rising component costs, and intensifying competition from cloud-native and hyperscale providers reducing reliance on traditional hardware. Additionally, regulatory scrutiny over data sovereignty, cybersecurity standards, and environmental sustainability in hardware manufacturing could increase compliance costs.

The 9 hardware & infrastructure stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 3.8% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Luckily, hardware & infrastructure stocks have performed well with share prices up 14.8% on average since the latest earnings results.

Diebold Nixdorf

With roots dating back to 1859 and a presence in over 100 countries, Diebold Nixdorf provides automated self-service technology, software, and services that help banks and retailers digitize their customer transactions.

Diebold Nixdorf reported revenues of $915.2 million, down 2.6% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 3.3%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a slower quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Diebold Nixdorf delivered the slowest revenue growth of the whole group. Interestingly, the stock is up 1.6% since reporting and currently trades at $57.20.

Read our full report on Diebold Nixdorf here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Best Q2: Pure Storage

Founded in 2009 as a pioneer in enterprise all-flash storage technology, Pure Storage provides all-flash data storage hardware and software that helps organizations manage their data more efficiently across on-premises and cloud environments.

Pure Storage reported revenues of $861 million, up 12.7% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 1.7%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ billings estimates and revenue guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 51.1% since reporting. It currently trades at $92.01.

Is now the time to buy Pure Storage? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Weakest Q2: Super Micro

Founded in Silicon Valley in 1993 and known for its modular "building block" approach to server design, Super Micro Computer designs and manufactures high-performance, energy-efficient server and storage systems for data centers, cloud computing, AI, and edge computing applications.

Super Micro reported revenues of $5.76 billion, up 7.5% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 4.2%. It was a softer quarter as it posted revenue guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly and a significant miss of analysts’ revenue estimates.

Super Micro delivered the highest full-year guidance raise but had the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. As expected, the stock is down 6.2% since the results and currently trades at $53.77.

Read our full analysis of Super Micro’s results here.

NetApp

Founded in 1992 as a pioneer in networked storage technology, NetApp provides data storage and management solutions that help organizations store, protect, and optimize their data across on-premises data centers and public clouds.

NetApp reported revenues of $1.56 billion, up 1.2% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 0.9%. Taking a step back, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also produced an impressive beat of analysts’ billings estimates but full-year revenue guidance meeting analysts’ expectations.

The stock is up 8.8% since reporting and currently trades at $122.

Read our full, actionable report on NetApp here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Dell

Founded by Michael Dell in his University of Texas dorm room in 1984 with just $1,000, Dell Technologies provides hardware, software, and services that help organizations build their IT infrastructure, manage cloud environments, and enable digital transformation.

Dell reported revenues of $29.78 billion, up 19% year on year. This result topped analysts’ expectations by 1.9%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also put up revenue guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and a decent beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

Dell had the weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The stock is up 11.2% since reporting and currently trades at $149.58.

Read our full, actionable report on Dell here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Market Update

The Fed’s interest rate hikes throughout 2022 and 2023 have successfully cooled post-pandemic inflation, bringing it closer to the 2% target. Inflationary pressures have eased without tipping the economy into a recession, suggesting a soft landing. This stability, paired with recent rate cuts (0.5% in September 2024 and 0.25% in November 2024), fueled a strong year for the stock market in 2024. The markets surged further after Donald Trump’s presidential victory in November, with major indices reaching record highs in the days following the election. Still, questions remain about the direction of economic policy, as potential tariffs and corporate tax changes add uncertainty for 2025.