It’s impossible to take all the risk out of investing. But that doesn’t mean investors can’t make a good attempt. Stock prices are moving sharply on single headlines, and the winners and losers have shifted from month to month and week to week.

That’s an attractive environment for traders. However, it can be too volatile for investors seeking to buy and hold stocks for steady growth.

Heading into the fourth quarter of 2026, which is typically a strong period for stocks, the game plan is simple. Don’t overthink it. Best-in-class stocks have an evergreen quality that makes them solid choices for investors who want growth without the market drama.

Western Digital: Sold-Out Storage Demand Isn't Going Anywhere

Western Digital Corp. NASDAQ: WDC is up more than 140% in 2026 despite being down over 35% in the last three months. The company is one of the leading providers of memory, which is essential to the artificial intelligence trade.

The recent pullback may have shaken out some of the weaker hands in WDC. However, the analyst consensus price target of $534.76 is nearly 30% below recent prices.

The key for investors to remember is that data storage (i.e., memory) is more about inference than about training new models. That means demand is likely to remain strong.

Additionally, the company has already noted that its entire 2026 hard disk drive (HDD) production capacity is sold out. It also reported that it has long-term deals extending through 2028.

NVIDIA: A Flywheel That's Still Spinning, Though at a Slower Pace

NVIDIA Corp. NASDAQ: NVDA is up about 15% in 2026. That's slightly above the S&P 500, but far below the pace the stock’s been on in the last three years.

The bearish outlook is real. Competition in the chip sector is intensifying, and the current backlash against artificial intelligence could slow frontier model development. NVIDIA has posted record growth, but any slowdown in that growth could impact the stock, which many perceive as being overvalued.

But there’s a case to be made that NVDA is undervalued. That’s rooted in the company’s flywheel business model, which continues to accelerate despite claims that AI spending can’t keep accelerating. Analysts agree. The consensus price target for NVDA is $324.34, implying about 50% upside.

Vertiv: The Quiet Winner of the AI Cooling Boom

Vertiv NYSE: VRT addresses a different area of AI infrastructure. The hardware from companies like Western Digital and NVIDIA generates heat. Vertiv provides the products that keep them cool.

In Q2 2026, Vertiv posted revenue growth in the mid-20% range, including high-teens organic growth. The bull case centers on the company’s ability to keep that growth coming over several quarters and years.

Skeptics would say that the backlash against data centers could stall current projects. That’s a real concern that accounts for some of the 19% pullback in the stock in the last three months.

But for now, analysts are still behind VRT. The consensus price target of $357.83 is 48% higher than the stock’s recent levels.

Eli Lilly: A GLP-1 Leader With Additional Growth Engines

Eli Lilly & Co. NYSE: LLY is a best-in-class name in the often-volatile biopharmaceutical sector. LLY is only up 6% in 2026, but it’s up 50% in the last 12 months, and the analysts’ consensus price target of $1,304.86 as of this writing may not fully account for an anticipated 26% earnings growth.

It’s important for investors to understand why LLY will remain a solid choice for buy-and-hold investors. The company’s leadership in GLP-1 plays a strong role in the bull case.

Eli Lilly reported 48% year over year revenue growth in Q2 2026, and it has an oral GLP-1 pill on the way.

It also has a deep pipeline of drugs in other categories, such as oncology. That’s the larger case for owning LLY stock. The patent cliff happens to all biopharma companies. One of the best ways to mitigate that impact is to have a steady flow of new drugs.

There’s no guarantee every drug will make it to market, but a company like Eli Lilly has multiple shots on goal. It’s a good bet that several of those shots will find their mark.

JPMorgan Chase: The Fortress Balance Sheet That Wins Either Way

Few things can drive headline volatility in stocks more than the direction of interest rates and U.S. monetary policy. Owning JPMorgan Chase & Co. NYSE: JPM insulates investors from that risk. A bank with a fortress balance sheet like JPMorgan can benefit no matter which way interest rates move.

JPM is up more than 120% in the last five years. Of course, this isn’t a stock that’s known for market-beating performance. The consensus price target of $359.96 is roughly flat with the stock’s recent prices.

However, it more than makes up for that with a rock-solid dividend that the bank has increased for the last 15 consecutive years and grown at an average annual rate of just over 9% in the last three years.

JPM also bought back $6.2 billion of its own shares in Q2 2026.

Should You Invest $1,000 in Western Digital Right Now?

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