Stocks to Buy Today: 9 US-Linked Picks to Watch as the Fed Meets (December 8, 2025)

This article is for information and education only and is not personal investment advice. Always do your own research or speak with a licensed adviser before buying any stock.

Market Snapshot: Calm Futures Before a Big Fed Week

US stocks head into Monday, December 8, 2025, in a classic “calm before the storm” setup.

Index futures are slightly higher: Before the opening bell, Nasdaq 100 futures were up about 0.25%, S&P 500 futures 0.16%, and Dow Jones futures 0.02%. ^[1]
Major indices sit just below records: After a choppy but positive week, the Dow gained roughly 0.5%, the Nasdaq about 0.9%, and the S&P 500 about 0.3%. The S&P is now only ~0.7% below its intraday record high, with the S&P and Nasdaq logging four straight up sessions. ^[2]

The real story this week is the Federal Reserve:

The Fed’s final meeting of 2025 runs December 9–10, a scheduled policy meeting with fresh economic projections. ^[3]
Futures markets are pricing in around an 88% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut, which would be the third cut this year, according to CME FedWatch data cited by multiple outlets. ^[4]
Morningstar notes that bond markets put the odds of a December cut at roughly 87%, but also highlight growing divisions inside the Fed about how aggressively to ease from here. ^[5]

In the background:

The 10‑year Treasury yield is hovering a little above 4.1%. ^[6]
WTI crude oil trades near $60 per barrel, while gold is holding around record territory (over $4,000 an ounce), reflecting persistent demand for hedges even as equities hover near highs. ^[7]

This mix—rate cuts likely, inflation not fully tamed, and stocks near records—is defining which stocks analysts highlight today.

The 2026 Big Picture: What Wall Street Expects Now

Before talking about individual stocks to buy or watch today, it helps to understand the consensus backdrop for 2026.

Consensus: Modest Gains, But Still a Bull Market

A roundup of forecasts from 13 major Wall Street firms shows an average S&P 500 target of 7,596 for year‑end 2026, implying roughly 10.5% upside from current levels. Bank of America is toward the low end at 7,100 (about +3%), while Deutsche Bank is around 8,000 (+16%). ^[8]

Morgan Stanley is more optimistic, projecting the S&P 500 at 7,800 in the next 12 months, about a 14% gain, and explicitly recommends overweighting stocks—especially US equities—over bonds, commodities, and cash. ^[9]

Oppenheimer is currently the most bullish of the major strategists, calling for 8,100 on the S&P 500 in 2026, supported by:

S&P 500 earnings up 12.9% in Q3 on 8.2% revenue growth, beating expectations.
10 of 11 sectors showing positive earnings growth, with Technology, Financials, and Materials delivering double‑digit gains.
A resilient US economy and anticipated further (moderate) Fed easing. ^[10]

At the same time, strategists like Sam Ro (via TKer and Inc) remind investors that these targets are more “compass than GPS”—the market rarely delivers the “average” return in any one year, even if 10% is the long‑run norm. ^[11]

Rates, Inflation and the Fed in 2026

Several big houses also converge on a similar macro view:

Fed cuts now, slower later: Goldman Sachs’ research team expects a cut this December but a slower pace of easing in 2026 as growth stabilizes and inflation continues to cool. ^[12]
ING likewise sees the Fed delivering a third straight 25 bp cut on December 10, then switching to more cautious, sporadic cuts next year. ^[13]
J.P. Morgan Asset Management projects CPI inflation rising to around 3.5% by Q4 2025 before easing back to about 2.8% in late 2026, and the Fed’s preferred consumption deflator drifting back toward the mid‑2% range. ^[14]

Put simply: Wall Street is not pricing in a recession; it’s preparing for:

Slower but positive economic growth
A gradual glide path for inflation
A Fed that cuts, but not back to zero

In that environment, strategists generally favor equities over bonds, with a clear focus on AI, data infrastructure, quality cyclicals, and select income plays. ^[15]

Today’s Key Themes for Stock Pickers

1. AI, Chips and Data Infrastructure

Morgan Stanley argues that AI‑related productivity gains and multi‑trillion‑dollar data‑center investment are central to the bull case for US stocks in 2026. They estimate about $3 trillion in data‑center capex, with less than 20% deployed so far—massive runway for semiconductors, power infrastructure, and networking. ^[16]

Oppenheimer also emphasizes AI as a cross‑economy catalyst, not just a “big tech” story, and favors Information Technology, Communication Services, Industrials, Financials and Consumer Discretionary over defensive sectors. ^[17]

Meanwhile, this week’s earnings slate includes Broadcom (AVGO) and Oracle (ORCL)—two companies widely seen as barometers for enterprise AI spending. ^[18]

2. Cyclicals and the Middle‑Income US Consumer

Goldman Sachs analysts have highlighted companies serving the middle‑income US consumer as likely outperformers into 2026, pointing to resilient spending in this cohort. ^[19]

That aligns with Oppenheimer’s tilt toward cyclicals (industrials, financials, consumer discretionary) over classic “safe” sectors like utilities and staples—though even utilities could benefit from rising electricity demand tied to AI data centers. ^[20]

3. Value, Yield and Inflation‑Aware Income

With inflation expected to settle in the mid‑2% to 3% range and policy rates drifting lower—not collapsing—investors are balancing:

Growth stocks that benefit from lower discount rates and structural themes (like AI and software), and
Value and income stocks that can still offer attractive real yields and upside if the economic expansion continues. ^[21]

Against this backdrop, research firms are publishing fresh “stocks to buy today” lists, often split into value, growth, and income categories. Let’s look at some of the most notable names being highlighted on December 8, 2025.

Value Stocks to Watch Today

Zacks Investment Research has published a list of “Best Value Stocks to Buy for December 8th”, naming General Motors (GM), CorMedix (CRMD) and AerCap (AER) as Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) value picks as of this morning. ^[22]

These are not guaranteed winners—but they’re a useful starting watchlist if you’re looking for value ideas in today’s market.

General Motors (GM): Cyclical Auto Value With a Rate‑Cut Tailwind

GM remains one of the defining names in US autos, with large exposure to:

US and global ICE vehicles
A still‑developing EV portfolio
Capital‑intensive manufacturing and financing operations

Why it’s on value radars today:

Rate cuts help autos. Lower borrowing costs can ease monthly payments on auto loans, supporting demand for vehicles—especially important for cyclical names like GM. ^[23]
Operating leverage into a soft‑landing scenario. If the economy avoids a hard landing and unemployment stays contained, GM can benefit disproportionately from incremental demand.

Risks to keep in mind:

Autos are highly cyclical, and any surprise downturn or spike in unemployment would hit GM’s earnings quickly.
EV execution and competitive pressures from Tesla, Chinese manufacturers, and other incumbents remain key uncertainty points.

For investors, GM looks like a classic rate‑sensitive value cyclical: potentially attractive if you believe in the soft‑landing / modest‑growth narrative, but vulnerable if the macro story breaks.

AerCap Holdings (AER): Leveraging the Global Aircraft Shortage

AerCap is one of the world’s largest aircraft leasing companies, buying aircraft from manufacturers and leasing them to airlines over long terms.

Why value investors are watching AER:

Air travel recovery and constrained supply. After several years of under‑delivery from aircraft manufacturers, global airlines still face constrained fleet capacity, supporting lease rates and asset values.
Financial leverage to the cycle. If travel continues to normalize and airlines remain profitable, AerCap can convert that into improved cash flows and buybacks.

Risks:

Exposure to airline credit risk if traffic slows or balance sheets weaken.
Sensitivity to interest rates and funding costs (even with rate cuts, spreads and credit conditions matter).

With Zacks assigning AER a Strong Buy in its value screen for today, it’s a name to research further if you’re bullish on the long‑term air‑travel story. ^[24]

CorMedix (CRMD): High‑Risk “Value” in Small‑Cap Biotech

CorMedix is a small biotechnology company focused on infection‑prevention therapies, particularly in settings such as dialysis catheters. Biotechs sometimes appear on “value” screens when their share prices don’t seem to reflect potential future cash flows.

Why CRMD shows up:

Zacks lists CRMD as one of today’s Strong Buy value picks, likely reflecting a combination of its price level, earnings expectations, and valuation metrics. ^[25]

But the caveats here are huge:

Small‑cap biotech is often binary and speculative—outcomes hinge on clinical trial results, regulatory approvals, and commercialization.
Earnings forecasts can change overnight on new data or FDA feedback.

Investors considering CRMD should treat it as speculative capital, not a defensive value holding.

Growth & AI Stocks to Watch Today

On the growth side, Zacks’ “Best Growth Stocks to Buy for December 8th” highlights Micron Technology (MU), Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (GLDD), and Alarm.com (ALRM) as Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) growth picks. ^[26]

Micron Technology (MU): Memory at the Heart of the AI Boom

Micron is a leading producer of DRAM and NAND memory—critical components in:

AI servers and accelerators
Data centers
PCs and smartphones

Why it’s on growth lists today:

AI training and inference workloads are extremely memory‑intensive, and Morgan Stanley expects multi‑year investment in data centers to remain a central growth driver for chips and related hardware. ^[27]
After a brutal down‑cycle, memory pricing has been recovering as supply and demand rebalance.

Risks:

Memory markets are notorious for boom‑bust cycles; a demand slowdown or oversupply could pressure pricing.
Competition from other memory manufacturers remains intense.

As a leveraged play on AI infrastructure, MU is a logical candidate for investors comfortable with cyclical volatility.

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (GLDD): A Quiet Beneficiary of US Infrastructure

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock specializes in marine infrastructure, such as:

Dredging harbors and waterways
Beach renourishment
Port and coastal projects

Why growth investors are paying attention:

Ongoing US infrastructure spending and climate‑related coastal projects can support multi‑year backlogs for companies like GLDD.
A Zacks Rank #1 growth rating suggests a favorable combination of earnings momentum and valuation today. ^[28]

Risks:

Project‑based revenues can be lumpy, and margins can swing with contract timing and cost overruns.
Regulatory and environmental processes can slow project approvals.

GLDD is a niche way to express a view on infrastructure and climate‑resilience spending rather than a mainstream growth tech name.

Alarm.com (ALRM): Software‑Driven Smart Security

Alarm.com provides connected security and smart‑home platforms, often sold via service providers as subscription offerings.

Why ALRM appears as a growth pick:

The business has a strong recurring‑revenue component from software and services, which markets typically assign higher multiples.
Growing demand for remote monitoring, small‑business security, and smart‑home automation supports a structural growth story.

Risks:

Competition from large tech ecosystems and hardware vendors.
Consumer and small‑business spending could soften if the economy underperforms consensus.

For investors wanting growth exposure outside pure AI or mega‑cap tech, ALRM is a smaller, more specialized software‑and‑services play.

Alphabet (GOOGL) & Nvidia (NVDA): Core AI Compounders

Outside Zacks’ lists, AI remains front and center. A fresh article from The Motley Fool argues that Google parent Alphabet may be one of the best all‑around AI stocks to buy for the next decade, while acknowledging that Nvidia still dominates AI hardware. ^[29]

Reasoning behind that view:

Alphabet (GOOGL) combines search, YouTube, cloud, Android and a deep AI research bench (DeepMind, Gemini, etc.), giving it multiple ways to monetize AI via advertising, cloud services and productivity tools.
Nvidia (NVDA) remains central to AI training and inference thanks to its high‑performance GPUs and software ecosystem, even as competition slowly increases.

Risks:

Both stocks already embody high expectations in their valuations.
Regulatory and antitrust scrutiny, especially for mega‑cap tech, will remain a persistent overhang.

For long‑term investors, however, these names continue to anchor many AI‑themed portfolios, and they’re likely to be heavily traded around this week’s Fed decision and AI‑centric earnings reports.

Income Idea Highlighted Today

Swedbank (SWDBY): High‑Yield Nordic Bank (via ADR)

On the income side, Zacks’ “Best Income Stock to Buy for December 8th” singles out Swedbank AB (SWDBY), a major Nordic bank, as a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) income play. ^[30]

Why income investors are interested:

Swedbank has historically offered relatively high dividend yields compared with many US banks, helped by solid profitability in the Nordic region.
In a world where inflation trends back toward the mid‑2% range, a well‑covered dividend from a stable institution can still offer attractive real yield. ^[31]

Risks and considerations:

For US investors, SWDBY is an ADR (foreign listing) and carries currency risk.
European growth is expected to lag the US, and banks face ongoing regulatory and credit‑quality uncertainties. ^[32]

Swedbank is best thought of as a global income diversifier, not a core US value holding.

Event‑Driven & Momentum Names on the Radar

Carvana (CVNA): S&P 500 Newcomer With a Stretched Valuation

One of today’s most dramatic single‑stock stories is Carvana.

Carvana’s shares jumped about 8.6% in premarket trading after news it will join the S&P 500 on December 22, 2025.
The stock has soared more than 8,000% from its 2022 lows and nearly doubled again in 2025, giving it a market value around $87 billion, larger than Ford or GM.
It trades around 57x forward earnings, an extremely rich multiple for a cyclical, capital‑intensive used‑car retailer. ^[33]

Index additions often trigger short‑term buying pressure from index funds and momentum traders—but for new investors, this is a clear case where:

The business recovery story is impressive, and
The valuation risk is substantial.

If you’re compiling stocks to buy or watch today, Carvana is more of a speculative, event‑driven trade than a classic value or income idea.

Tesla, Broadcom, Oracle, Costco, Lululemon: Earnings Week Catalysts

Beyond Fed policy, this week’s US market narrative will be shaped by earnings from several high‑profile names:

Tesla (TSLA) recently gained about 5.8% in a week, and continues to act as both an EV bellwether and an AI/robotics sentiment gauge. ^[34]
Broadcom (AVGO) and Oracle (ORCL) will offer critical reads on AI data‑center spending and cloud demand. ^[35]
Costco (COST) and Lululemon (LULU) will help the market judge the health of US consumers, especially at mid‑ to upper‑income levels. ^[36]

These aren’t fresh “Strong Buy” screens so much as macro barometers: their guidance and commentary can move entire sectors, impacting the attractiveness of other growth, consumer and AI plays on your watchlist.

How to Use “Stocks to Buy Today” Lists Without Chasing Headlines

Given everything above, how should an investor treat today’s lists of stocks to buy now?

Use them as a starting point, not a shopping list.
Zacks’ Strong Buy screens (GM, AER, CRMD, MU, GLDD, ALRM, SWDBY) and AI‑focused pieces on Alphabet and Nvidia are helpful filters, but they don’t know your time horizon, risk tolerance or tax situation. ^[37]
Anchor decisions in the macro context.
Rate‑cut expectations, inflation projections and 2026 S&P 500 targets are all supportive of equities today—but they’re not guarantees. Use them to stress‑test your assumptions rather than as precise forecasts. ^[38]
Diversify across themes.
If you like the 2026 story—AI, middle‑income consumer strength, moderate inflation—you might build a basket spanning:
- A few AI & chip leaders (e.g., MU, GOOGL, NVDA)
- Some cyclicals/value names (GM, AER)
- Select income exposure (e.g., SWDBY or US financials / utilities), adjusted for your currency and regional preferences.
Keep position sizing disciplined, especially for speculative names.
Stocks like CRMD and Carvana illustrate the extremes of biotech risk and momentum‑driven rallies. For most investors, those belong—if at all—in small, clearly labelled speculative buckets.

Final Word

As of December 8, 2025, the US stock market sits near record highs, with futures slightly green and Wall Street largely united around a soft‑landing plus moderate‑gain scenario for 2026. The Fed is widely expected to cut rates again this week, but then move more carefully next year.

Within that backdrop, today’s “stocks to buy” conversation is tilted toward:

AI and data‑center beneficiaries (MU, GOOGL, NVDA, AVGO, ORCL)
Cyclical value and consumer names (GM, AER, TSLA, COST, LULU, middle‑income‑exposed plays)
Selective income opportunities that can outpace inflation (SWDBY and other quality financials)

Treat these ideas as a watchlist and research roadmap, not as automatic buys. Markets rarely follow the script exactly—and that’s why risk management and diversification matter just as much as picking the right themes.

Stocks I'm Buying BEFORE the Fed Cuts December Rates