After a commendable run in the first nine months of 2024, the S&P 500 is poised to gain in the year’s final three months. The S&P 500 has risen 20.8% in the first three quarters of the year, and historically whenever the broader index has gained over 20%, it has, on average, risen 2.1% in the fourth quarter, per Dow Jones Market Data.

In the October-December quarter, the S&P 500’s median return was as high as 4.1%, and the index gained more than 77% of the time, added Dow Jones Market Data.

The Federal Reserve’s recent jumbo interest rate cut and signs of a strong labor market prompted investors to dial back recession fears and helped the S&P 500 eke out weekly gains. The S&P 500 ended the week positively amid Middle East tensions. Hence, investors should capitalize on the index’s upswing by investing in its profitable stocks rather than the unprofitable ones.

Profitable stocks offer solid returns after meeting all operating and non-operating expenses. Here, we have used the concept of accounting ratios to gauge a company’s profitability. We selected the most successful and commonly used profitability ratio to evaluate a company’s performance. To that end, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. RCL, Boston Scientific Corporation BSX and Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. MPWR have been selected as the top picks with a high net income ratio.

Net Income Ratio

The net income ratio gives us the exact profitability level of a company. It reflects the percentage of net income to total sales revenues. Using the net income ratio, one can determine a firm’s effectiveness in meeting operating and non-operating expenses from revenues. A higher net income ratio usually implies a company’s ability to generate ample revenues and successfully manage all business functions.

Screening Parameters Using Research Wizard:

The net income ratio is not the only indicator of future winners. So, we have added a few more criteria to arrive at a winning strategy.

Zacks Rank Less than or equal to 2: Whether the market is good or bad, stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) have a proven history of outperformance. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Trailing 12-Month Sales and Net Income Growth Higher than X Industry: Stocks that have witnessed higher-than-industry sales and net income growth in the past 12 months are positioned to perform well.

Trailing 12-Month Net Income Ratio Higher than X Industry: A high net income ratio indicates a company’s solid profitability.

Percentage Rating Strong Buy greater than 70: This indicates that 70% of the current broker recommendations for the stock are Strong Buy.

These few parameters have narrowed the universe of more than 7,685 stocks to only 31.

Here are three of the 31 stocks that qualified for the screening:

Royal Caribbean Cruises

Royal Caribbean Cruises is a cruise company. The 12-month net profit margin of RCL is 16.3%.

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 70.9%. Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has a Zacks Rank #2.

Boston Scientific

Boston Scientific manufactures medical devices for global use in interventional medical specialties. The 12-month net profit margin of BSX is 12%.

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 17.1%. Boston Scientific currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (read more: NVIDIA & 2 Other S&P 500 Stocks Show Strong Earnings Growth).

Monolithic Power Systems

Monolithic Power Systems designs, develops and markets high-performance power solutions. The 12-month net profit margin of MPWR is 21.7%.

The company’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 17.1%. Monolithic Power Systems currently has a Zacks Rank #2.

You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.

The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.

Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today.

Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance.

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Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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