The 25 worst S&P 500 stocks of 2026 through the Nov 3 close, with dividends: how far each sits below its 2026 high, whether software really is the story, how much the fallers have bounced, and how many were winners a year earlier.
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Through the Nov 3, 2026 close, the worst‑performing current S&P 500 stock of 2026 is AppLovin, down 63.6% including dividends, followed by Reddit (−58.2%), Fair Isaac (−57.2%), Boston Scientific (−54.4%) and CoStar Group (−53.4%). Those are the only five eligible members down 50% or more. The S&P 500 itself, through the SPY fund, returned 11.5% over the same stretch.
| # | Company | Ticker | Sector | 2026 return | Below 2026 high | Software / IT services |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AppLovin | APP | Technology | −63.6% | −63.3% | Software |
| 2 | RDDT | Communication Services | −58.2% | −62.9% | — | |
| 3 | Fair Isaac (FICO) | FICO | Technology | −57.1% | −56.5% | Software |
| 4 | Boston Scientific | BSX | Healthcare | −54.4% | −55.9% | — |
| 5 | CoStar Group | CSGP | Real Estate | −53.4% | −53.4% | — |
| 6 | Lululemon Athletica | LULU | Consumer Cyclical | −48.5% | −50.5% | — |
| 7 | Intuit | INTU | Technology | −47.2% | −46.5% | Software |
| 8 | Aptiv | APTV | Consumer Cyclical | −45.7% | −53.4% | — |
| 9 | Insulet | PODD | Healthcare | −45.5% | −48.2% | — |
| 10 | Charter Communications | CHTR | Communication Services | −45.5% | −54.1% | — |
| 11 | Las Vegas Sands | LVS | Consumer Cyclical | −39.7% | −39.8% | — |
| 12 | Fidelity National Information Services | FIS | Technology | −39.5% | −40.4% | IT services |
| 13 | Skydance | SKYD | Communication Services | −38.8% | −39.3% | — |
| 14 | NRG Energy | NRG | Utilities | −38.7% | −47.1% | — |
| 15 | Nike | NKE | Consumer Cyclical | −38.0% | −40.4% | — |
| 16 | Rollins | ROL | Industrials | −37.1% | −42.4% | — |
| 17 | Albemarle | ALB | Basic Materials | −35.7% | −57.9% | — |
| 18 | Coinbase Global | COIN | Financial Services | −35.7% | −43.1% | — |
| 19 | Wynn Resorts | WYNN | Consumer Cyclical | −35.0% | −36.2% | — |
| 20 | Oracle | ORCL | Technology | −34.4% | −48.8% | Software |
| 21 | Zoetis | ZTS | Healthcare | −32.6% | −35.5% | — |
| 22 | Netflix | NFLX | Communication Services | −32.4% | −41.2% | — |
| 23 | Pentair | PNR | Industrials | −32.0% | −34.6% | — |
| 24 | Adobe | ADBE | Technology | −29.7% | −27.4% | Software |
| 25 | First Solar | FSLR | Energy | −28.8% | −41.6% | — |
| S&P 500 (SPY fund) | SPY | Index | +11.5% | −3.2% | ||
| S&P 500 Equal Weight (RSP fund) | RSP | Index | +15.8% | −1.2% |
“2026 return” is the total return from the Dec 31, 2025 close to the Nov 3, 2026 close, with dividends reinvested. “Below 2026 high” compares the Nov 3 close with the highest close from Jan 2 through Nov 3, 2026. Reddit joined the index only on Aug 18, 2026: it was down 31.2% for the year on that day and has lost 39.2% since. These are price facts, not a view on any stock. The other end of the list is in the best‑performing S&P 500 stocks of 2026.
Mostly because of three choices: the end date, who counts as a member, and how stock splits are handled. Undated lists can differ by ten points or more on the same stock, and in one case below the sign flips.
Stocks that left the index in 2026 and are down more than the 25th‑worst eligible member:
| Company | Left the index | 2026 return at effective‑date close | 2026 return to Nov 3 | Would rank (worst first) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Trade Desk (TTD) | Sep 21 | −63.4% | −66.1% | 1 |
| Builders FirstSource (BLDR) | Sep 21 | −43.1% | −38.2% | 15 |
| EPAM Systems (EPAM) | Jun 1 | −46.9% | −32.6% | 21 |
| Company | The Trade Desk (TTD) | Builders FirstSource (BLDR) | EPAM Systems (EPAM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Left the index | Sep 21 | Sep 21 | Jun 1 |
| 2026 return at effective‑date close | −63.4% | −43.1% | −46.9% |
| 2026 return to Nov 3 | −66.1% | −38.2% | −32.6% |
| Would rank (worst first) | 1 | 15 | 21 |
Fifty of the 499 eligible members are down 20% or more for the year, 23 are down 30% or more and 5 are down 50% or more. That sits beside a rising index: 347 members are up and 152 are down, and the median member’s +11.4% is about level with SPY. Falling from a recent peak is more common than being down for the year: 151 members are 20% or more below their 2026 high. The rolling count is in how many S&P 500 stocks are in a bear market.
| S&P 500 members, Dec 31, 2025 – Nov 3, 2026 | Value |
|---|---|
| S&P 500 fund (SPY), total return | +11.5% |
| Equal‑weight fund (RSP), total return | +15.8% |
| Median member | +11.4% |
| Members that beat SPY | 249 of 499 |
| Members up / down | 347 / 152 |
| Down 10% or more | 91 |
| Down 20% or more | 50 |
| Down 30% or more | 23 |
| Down 40% or more | 10 |
| Down 50% or more | 5 |
| Median member, below its 2026 high | −11.4% |
| Median of the worst 25, 2026 return | −38.8% |
| Median of the worst 50, 2026 return | −28.8% |
No. Software and IT services are overrepresented, but they account for 6 of the worst 25 and 9 of the worst 50. Those labels cover 8.6% of members and 18.0% of the worst 50, about twice their share. The other 41 of the worst 50 include apparel, casinos, medical devices, cable, chemicals and packaged foods. We use the industry label in company profiles for every member, with no hand‑picking, so Reddit and CoStar Group, which carry other labels, are not counted.
Software did not fall as one group. Of the 32 members labeled software, 6 are down 20% or more and 5 are up 50% or more, including CrowdStrike (+108.8%) and Palo Alto Networks (+90.1%). Their median is +1.4%, against +12.2% for the other 467 members. The 11 IT services and consulting members did worse as a group, with a median of −13.9%, though only Fidelity National Information Services, Leidos and Cognizant are in the worst 50, and Accenture is down just 1.8%.
| Sector | Worst 25 | Worst 50 | All 499 | Share of worst 50 | Share of all 499 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | 6 | 10 | 89 | 20.0% | 17.8% |
| Consumer Cyclical | 5 | 9 | 51 | 18.0% | 10.2% |
| Industrials | 2 | 7 | 72 | 14.0% | 14.4% |
| Communication Services | 4 | 5 | 21 | 10.0% | 4.2% |
| Healthcare | 3 | 5 | 59 | 10.0% | 11.8% |
| Financial Services | 1 | 5 | 71 | 10.0% | 14.2% |
| Basic Materials | 1 | 3 | 22 | 6.0% | 4.4% |
| Utilities | 1 | 2 | 31 | 4.0% | 6.2% |
| Consumer Defensive | 0 | 2 | 31 | 4.0% | 6.2% |
| Real Estate | 1 | 1 | 30 | 2.0% | 6.0% |
| Energy | 1 | 1 | 22 | 2.0% | 4.4% |
As a sector, technology’s share of the worst 50 is close to its share of the index. The larger gaps are in consumer cyclical and communication services. Technology also supplies 14 of the top 25 in the best‑performers list through Nov 2, so the sector label alone says little about direction this year.
More often than not: of the 50 worst stocks of 2026, 31 were in the bottom half of the index in 2025 and 19 were in the top half. An even split would be 25 and 25. Both ends are heavy. 20 of the 50 came from 2025’s bottom quarter and 14 from its top quarter, leaving only 16 from the middle half. And 28 of the 50 rose in 2025; 18 beat SPY’s 17.7% that year.
So a good 2025 was no protection, and neither path dominates the worst of the list. The median top‑half stock is down 34.4% in 2026 against 28.4% for the median bottom‑half stock, and the top two names on this page were both top‑quarter stocks last year. Fifty stocks is a small sample, and this describes one year only.
| Company | Group | 2025 return | 2025 rank of 497 | 2026 return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robinhood | Top half | +203.5% | 7 | −24.2% |
| AppLovin | Top half | +108.1% | 13 | −63.6% |
| NRG Energy | Top half | +78.9% | 27 | −38.7% |
| Albemarle | Top half | +67.7% | 31 | −35.7% |
| Constellation Energy | Top half | +58.8% | 41 | −25.1% |
| Adobe | Bottom half | −21.3% | 455 | −29.7% |
| Zoetis | Bottom half | −21.8% | 457 | −32.6% |
| ServiceNow | Bottom half | −27.8% | 473 | −28.7% |
| Charter Communications | Bottom half | −39.1% | 492 | −45.5% |
| Lululemon Athletica | Bottom half | −45.7% | 493 | −48.5% |
2025 return is the total return from the Dec 31, 2024 close to the Dec 31, 2025 close, ranked among the 497 members with both closes; the median was +9.5%. Stocks removed from the index before Nov 3 are not in this count.
Some have, modestly. The median stock in the worst 50 closed Nov 3 14.2% above its 2026 low. 31 of the 50 are at least 10% above it, 15 at least 20%, 7 at least 30% and one, Cognizant, more than 50%. At the other end, 8 are less than 5% above their low, Aptiv and Albemarle closed at theirs on Nov 3, and 28 set their low on or after Oct 1.
| Company | Above 2026 low | Date of low | 2026 return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cognizant | +65.8% | Jun 30 | −21.7% |
| Intuit | +36.4% | Jun 25 | −47.2% |
| Leidos | +35.1% | Jun 25 | −24.6% |
| Pentair | +34.5% | Oct 14 | −32.0% |
| Intuitive Surgical | +32.8% | Jul 23 | −22.2% |
| ServiceNow | +31.5% | Apr 10 | −28.7% |
| Robinhood | +31.5% | Mar 30 | −24.2% |
A bounce is not a recovery. Intuit is 36.4% above its low and still needs a gain of 89.5% to recover its Dec 31 investment value, or about 92.2% to reach its actual Dec 31 price. The arithmetic is in loss recovery math.
Price data show what fell and when, not why. For most of the list we have not assigned a cause. These are the cases where we checked a dated report, and they are the reported reasons, not our conclusion:
AppLovin’s worst 2026 day was Feb 12 (−19.7%), but the reports we found conflict on dates and on the status of a regulatory probe, so we do not state a cause.
This page cannot answer that, and it gives no buy or sell advice. There is also no table here of what stocks like these did next. The sample is the members eligible as of Nov 3 only, so companies that kept falling and left the index, as The Trade Desk did this year, would be missing from it.
What history can show, with that same bias stated, is in do stocks recover after falling 50%. Warning signs that a cheap‑looking stock may stay cheap are in how to avoid value traps, and the trade‑offs of adding to a loser are in should I average down or cut losses. Points investors often weigh (education, not advice):
Data. Exent’s count on daily closes from the Dec 31, 2025 close to the Nov 3, 2026 close. Returns are total returns, with dividends reinvested. The 2026 high and low are the highest and lowest dividend‑adjusted closes from Jan 2 through Nov 3, 2026, not intraday prices. Figures may differ slightly from quote pages that show price only.
Members. The S&P 500 list as of Oct 20, 2026, unchanged through the Nov 3 close. 499 of its 503 lines have closes on both dates: two 2026 spin‑offs and one October listing have no Dec 31 close, and Kenvue has no close after Oct 30 (Okta replaced it on Nov 4). Using the Nov 3 list means stocks that left during 2026 are not ranked, which is why the table above shows those down the most. Acquired companies are left out of that table. Stocks added during 2026 are counted for the full year, as with Reddit. Both share classes of Alphabet, Fox and News Corp are counted as listed.
Labels. Sectors and industries are standard labels from company profiles. Software means the industry label starts with “Software”; IT services means “Information Technology Services” or “Consulting Services”. Top half and bottom half split the 2025 ranking at its midpoint.
All figures describe the past. This is not a forecast and not a recommendation for any stock.
This page shows what fell, using price data only, and says nothing about whether any stock here is in Gems. Which stocks the analysts with the best track records agree on now is for Gems members: $1.95 for a 3-day trial.
Among members eligible on Nov 3, AppLovin, down 63.6% with dividends from the Dec 31, 2025 close to the Nov 3, 2026 close. Reddit (−58.2%) and Fair Isaac (−57.2%) follow. The Trade Desk is down 66.1% but left the index on Sep 21, 2026.
Through Nov 3, 2026, 50 of 499 eligible members are down 20% or more, 23 are down 30% or more and 5 are down 50% or more. The median member is up 11.4% and the S&P 500 fund (SPY) 11.5%.
They are overrepresented but not the majority. Software and IT services labels cover 9 of the 50 worst S&P 500 stocks, about twice their 8.6% share of members. Software also has big winners: CrowdStrike is up 108.8% and Palo Alto Networks 90.1%.
More often than not. Of the 50 worst S&P 500 stocks of 2026 through Nov 3, 31 were in the bottom half of the index in 2025 and 19 were in the top half. AppLovin rose 108.1% in 2025 before falling 63.6% in 2026.
This page gives no buy or sell advice and does not publish forward returns, because a sample of index members leaves out companies that kept falling and left the index. Investors often check why a stock fell, its balance sheet and position size.
CrowdStrike split 4-for-1 on Jul 2, 2026. Comparing its Nov 3 close with the unadjusted Dec 31 price shows a fall of 47.8%. Adjusted for the split and dividends it is up 108.8% for 2026.
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Educational content, not investment advice. Examples are illustrative; past performance does not guarantee future results.