Top 10 low-risk US stocks, ranked by health and calm trading
148 S&P 500 companies pass our health and volatility checks and are ranked on the low-risk score. The top 10 are shown. The ranking follows fixed rules and is not a recommendation: high-ranking stocks can still fall. Scores as of 22 Oct 2026.
out of 100
- Health
- 83
- Daily range
- 0.2%
- Valuation
- 31
- Growth
- 26
Ranks 2 to 10
-
2
GDGeneral Dynamics Corp
90
- Health
- 82
- Daily range
- 1.7%
- Valuation
- 78
- Growth
- 64
-
3
ORealty Income Corp
89
- Health
- 80
- Daily range
- 1.7%
- Valuation
- 31
- Growth
- 69
-
4
ATOAtmos Energy Corp
85
- Health
- 77
- Daily range
- 1.6%
- Valuation
- 28
- Growth
- 73
-
5
VMRKVivmark Residential
85
- Health
- 82
- Daily range
- 1.9%
- Valuation
- 81
- Growth
- 43
-
6
TXTTextron Inc
85
- Health
- 88
- Daily range
- 2.2%
- Valuation
- 91
- Growth
- 48
-
7
MNSTMonster Beverage Corp
83
- Health
- 87
- Daily range
- 2.2%
- Valuation
- 75
- Growth
- 91
-
8
USBUs Bancorp De
81
- Health
- 80
- Daily range
- 1.9%
- Valuation
- 86
- Growth
- 28
-
9
MAMastercard Inc
81
- Health
- 74
- Daily range
- 1.6%
- Valuation
- 12
- Growth
- 73
-
10
GWWW.W. Grainger, Inc.
81
- Health
- 82
- Daily range
- 2.1%
- Valuation
- 22
- Growth
- 51
How this list is ranked
- Universe. S&P 500 companies with financial health of at least 60 and confidence High or Medium.
- Score. Low risk here means a strong balance sheet and a calm share price, measured by the financial-health score and the 14-day average true range. It does not mean no risk: every stock can lose money.
- Order. Sorted by the low-risk score: half the percentile rank of financial health, half the percentile rank of calm trading (the 14-day average true range as a share of the price; lower is calmer).
- Data. Scores come from company filings with the SEC and our own fair-value models. Every figure is our own calculation, dated 22 Oct 2026.
- Limits. Scores describe the past and the present, not the future. A company with less history gets a lower confidence label. Different rules give a different order, which is why the rules are printed here.
Why a ranking by stated rules and not a "best" label: the order changes with the rules, so the rules are published next to the list. See also how the X-Ray Score works.
What low risk means here
Two things, each worth half the score: a strong balance sheet, measured by the financial-health score (percentile rank within the sector), and a calm share price, measured by the 14-day average true range divided by the price. The average true range is the typical size of a day's price swing, so a lower figure means smaller daily moves. Only companies with a health score of at least 60 and High or Medium confidence are ranked; 148 of 483 qualify.
What it does not measure
A calm last few weeks says little about how a stock behaves in a market fall, and the score does not consider how concentrated a business is, how sensitive it is to interest rates, or how far the price could drop from here. "Low risk" is a label for this ranking rule, not a promise: every share can lose money.
What the current top ten shows
The leader is BIO-TECHNE Corp. The ten come from these sectors: 3 in Industrials, 2 in Real Estate, 2 in Financials, 1 in Health Care, 1 in Utilities, 1 in Consumer Staples. Their typical daily price range is about 1.9% of the share price. Our fair-value models label 3 undervalued, 7 fair and 0 overvalued. A steady price says nothing about whether that price is fair, which is what the fair-value labels are for.
Questions about these low-risk US stocks
Is this the same as low beta?
No. We do not use beta. The page combines balance-sheet health with the recent daily price range, which is simpler and uses only our own data.
Which sectors show up in a low-risk ranking?
The section above lists the sectors of today's ten. Because health is ranked within each sector and calmness is not, sectors whose shares swing less tend to be over-represented.
Can a low-risk stock still fall a lot?
Yes. The ranking looks at recent daily swings and balance-sheet strength; neither prevents a large fall in a weak market or after bad news.
How is this different from the dividend list?
The dividend list ranks income quality and requires a yield and a payout test. This list ranks steadiness and may include companies that pay little or no dividend.
More Top lists
Educational ranking by stated rules, not investment advice. Figures are StocksXray calculations from public filings and exchange data; they can be wrong or out of date. Past performance does not predict future results.