5 Bargain Stocks That Could Deliver Jaw-Dropping Returns in 2026
Key Points
Being cheaper than the market is a decent measure of whether a stock is a value or not.
Adobe, Amazon, Meta Platforms, PayPal, and The Trade Desk all deserve a closer look.
It's not uncommon for companies trading at a cheap valuation to repurchase shares.
- 10 stocks we like better than Amazon ›
Growth investing has been the best way to make a profit over the past few years, but value investing is still a valid investing style, too. There's even a crossover between the two where you can purchase growth stocks that have fallen out of favor with the market for one reason or another.
All five of these bargains fall into that category, and I think each could be slated for impressive returns in 2026.
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks »
Image source: Getty Images.
Amazon
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) may not be what most people consider a bargain stock. However, I think there's one telling metric that may reveal it as one. In 2025, Amazon dramatically underperformed the market, rising only 5%. However, it posted recent growth highs in many of its operating segments during the third quarter.
This tells me that Amazon as a business is gaining momentum even if the market hasn't caught on yet. Although Amazon's stock is up about 7% so far in 2026, I think there is plenty more room to run, and investors should consider scooping this stock up before it reports even better results.
Meta Platforms
I believe that Amazon's stock is still a bargain at its current levels, and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) joins that list too. The S&P 500 trades for 22.4 times forward earnings right now, while Meta can be bought for 21.1 times forward earnings. The reason for the discount is simple: Wall Street thinks Meta is spending too much on artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.
This has caused the stock to tank, leading to its discount to the market. However, it's still putting up excellent growth as Meta's generative AI investments are starting to improve its ad platform. In Q3, Meta's revenue rose an impressive 26%. If Meta Platforms can keep that growth up, it won't stay undervalued for long, making it a great stock to buy now.
The Trade Desk
The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) is also in the ad space although it operates on a different part of the internet. Its buy-side software links ad buyers to the best place on the internet to place their ad, and this business still has a long way to go before becoming fully mature. It's still delivering strong growth, with revenue rising 18% in the third quarter. However, Wall Street doesn't think that's fast enough.
One key consideration they are forgetting is the lack of political ad spending in 2025 versus 2024. That accounted for a decent chunk of revenue that no longer exists in 2025. This tailwind will disappear in 2026, allowing The Trade Desk to post better growth figures. With the stock trading at 18 times forward earnings, it's a great buy right now.
Adobe
Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) is a company that everyone was worried about being disrupted by generative AI -- specifically, its image-generation capabilities. However, Adobe has hung in there just fine and has managed to deliver quarter after quarter of double-digit revenue growth.
ADBE Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts.
Despite this, Adobe's stock is down around 50% from its all-time high. Because of its cheaper price, Adobe's share repurchases are more effective, which allows for its diluted earnings per share (EPS) to grow at a faster pace. This has driven Adobe's valuation down dramatically, and the stock now trades for about 14 times forward earnings.
I think Adobe will still be a useful product in the future, and management is doing the right things to maximize its performance while its stock is cheap.
PayPal
PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ: PYPL) takes the cake for the cheapest stock. It trades for a mere 10 times forward earnings. That's a very cheap stock, but its growth isn't the greatest, hovering around the mid-single-digit levels. However, it's doing something similar to what Adobe is doing and channeling all of its free cash flow into repurchasing shares. This has allowed its diluted EPS growth to grow at a double-digit pace.
PYPL Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts.
I think PayPal's stock is due for a rebound in 2026, and with its cheap stock price, it won't even need to trade at the same premium as the market to provide a great return for investors.
Should you buy stock in Amazon right now?
Before you buy stock in Amazon, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Amazon wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $474,847!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,146,655!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 958% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 196% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of January 16, 2026.
Keithen Drury has positions in Adobe, Amazon, Meta Platforms, PayPal, and The Trade Desk. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Adobe, Amazon, Meta Platforms, PayPal, and The Trade Desk. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2027 $42.50 calls on PayPal, long January 2028 $330 calls on Adobe, short January 2028 $340 calls on Adobe, and short March 2026 $65 calls on PayPal. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
