The S&P 500 (^GSPC) is often seen as a benchmark for strong businesses, but that doesn’t mean every stock is worth owning. Some companies face significant challenges, whether it’s stagnating growth, heavy debt, or disruptive new competitors.
Picking the right S&P 500 stocks requires more than just buying big names, and that’s where StockStory comes in. That said, here are two S&P 500 stocks that could deliver good returns and one that could be in trouble.
One Stock to Sell:
Clorox (CLX)
Market Cap: $11.38 billion
Founded in 1913 with bleach as the sole product offering, Clorox (NYSE: CLX) today is a consumer products giant whose product portfolio spans everything from bleach to skincare to salad dressing to kitty litter.
Why Does CLX Fall Short?
- Products have few die-hard fans as sales have declined by 1.9% annually over the last three years
- Absence of organic revenue growth over the past two years suggests it may have to lean into acquisitions to drive its expansion
- Free cash flow margin shrank by 5.8 percentage points over the last year, suggesting the company is consuming more capital to stay competitive
Clorox’s stock price of $93.50 implies a valuation ratio of 14.8x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than CLX.
Two Stocks to Buy:
DoorDash (DASH)
Market Cap: $68.32 billion
Founded by Stanford students with the intent to build “the local, on-demand FedEx", DoorDash (NASDAQ: DASH) operates an on-demand food delivery platform.
Why Are We Bullish on DASH?
- Orders have grown by 22.9% annually, allowing for more profitable cross-selling opportunities if it can build complementary products and features
- Revenue outlook for the upcoming 12 months is outstanding and shows it’s on track to gain market share
- Performance over the past three years shows its incremental sales were extremely profitable, as its annual earnings per share growth of 179% outpaced its revenue gains
At $156.02 per share, DoorDash trades at 17.8x forward EV/EBITDA. Is now a good time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
Visa (V)
Market Cap: $609.6 billion
Processing over 829 million transactions daily and connecting billions of cards to 150 million merchant locations worldwide, Visa (NYSE: V) operates one of the world's largest electronic payments networks, facilitating secure money movement across more than 200 countries through its VisaNet processing platform.
Why Should You Buy V?
- Annual revenue growth of 15% over the past five years was outstanding, reflecting market share gains this cycle
- Share buybacks propelled its annual earnings per share growth to 20.1%, which outperformed its revenue gains over the last five years
- Industry-leading 47.4% return on equity demonstrates management’s skill in finding high-return investments
Visa is trading at $323.23 per share, or 23x forward P/E. Is now the time to initiate a position? See for yourself in our in-depth research report, it’s free.
High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions
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Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.
