Nasdaq Quant Leaders: 5 Top Stocks Averaging 272% Forward EPS Growth
Jun 10, 2026, 9:00 AM ETMU, VICR, IRWD, FLYW, LITE
- AI-fueled earnings growth helped drive Nasdaq to record highs in 2026, despite valuation concerns, macro headwinds, and geopolitical tensions.
- Nasdaq-100 earnings grew 46% YoY in Q1, led by AI hyperscalers, but contributions broadened beyond big tech.
- Earnings remain the ultimate driver of long-term equity performance, according to Nasdaq economists, with the index significantly outperforming the S&P 500 over the past two decades.
- I reveal five Nasdaq Strong Buys showcasing an average forward EPS growth rate of 272%, spanning the AI infrastructure, biotech, and fintech industries.
- I am Steven Cress, Head of Quantitative Strategies at Seeking Alpha. I manage the quant ratings and factor grades on stocks and ETFs in Seeking Alpha Premium. I also lead Quant Growth and Income, which is a model portfolio for dividend investors interested in capital appreciation and income.
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AI Fuels Nasdaq Surge, but Growth Expands Beyond Big Tech
The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite Index (COMP:IND) has fought through macro headwinds, geopolitical tensions, and valuation concerns to surge around 20% since its March lows, primarily driven by exceptional financial results from its largest components. The Nasdaq-100 (NDX) saw Q1 earnings soar by 46% YoY, led by stocks tied to the AI infrastructure boom. However, earnings growth broadened during the quarter, with companies outside big tech accounting for nearly half of the total increase in EPS.
Nasdaq
Consisting of roughly 3,350 companies across eleven sectors, the Nasdaq has significantly outperformed over the past two decades, as investors increasingly piled into innovative, high-growth companies. According to Nasdaq economists, earnings have been the ultimate driver of long-term equity performance. And despite concerns about a stock market bubble, P/E multiples have actually compressed this year, and more earnings growth may justify further price gains.
Seeking Alpha
Although the Nasdaq includes some of the hottest high-growth companies in the market, only a small percentage have Strong Buy Quant Ratings. Seeking Alpha’s quantitative tools can help investors find the best stocks that offer both growth and strong underlying fundamentals.
How I Picked the Best Nasdaq Growth Stocks
Using Seeking Alpha’s Stock Screener, I filtered for Strong Buy stocks listed on the Nasdaq, sorted by forward EPS growth, and selected the top five. Going beyond just tech, my Nasdaq basket also spans the industrial, financial, and healthcare sectors. The five stocks in the basket have an average forward EPS growth rate of 272.73%.
Seeking Alpha
Seeking Alpha’s Quant Ratings are generated by a proprietary model that analyzes more than 100 metrics for each stock relative to sector peers and grades them across five core factors: Valuation, Growth, Profitability, Momentum, and EPS Revisions. Below, I discuss the recent context and key drivers of each stock’s strong forward growth.
1. Micron Technology, Inc. (MU)
Market Capitalization: $1.07T
Quant Rating: Strong Buy
Sector: Information Technology
Industry: Semiconductors
Quant Sector Ranking (as of 6/9/2026): 1 out of 532
Quant Industry Ranking (as of 6/9/2026): 1 out of 69
Among the best performers in Alpha Picks and the PRO Quant Portfolio, Micron is the longest-running Strong Buy stock, maintaining its Quant Rating for 336 consecutive days, primarily driven by superb growth, profitability, and momentum factor grades. A memory leader at the heart of the AI infrastructure boom, Micron recently joined the elite circle of trillion-dollar stocks and continues to trade at an attractive valuation.
MU vs. Semiconductor Industry Peers (SMH): 1Y Price Return
Seeking Alpha
AI server demand has fueled strong financial results and an impressive multi-year outlook, backed by bullish analyst revisions. In fact, Goldman Sachs projects that Micron and NVIDIA (NVDA) alone will account for a third of the S&P 500’s EPS growth in 2026.
Performance across every key quant metric drives Micron’s A+ Growth Grade. In addition to forward earnings, Micron has standout scores across operating income, revenue, and long-term EPS growth (3-5Y CAGR). The strong growth comes on top of already robust profitability, including 48% EBIT margins and a return on equity of nearly 40%.
Seeking Alpha
Despite soaring momentum in the past year, Micron is trading at just 16x earnings, while forward PEG - a metric that combines P/E and long-term growth - represents an amazing 92% discount to the sector. The best Strong Buy Nasdaq stock, Micron offers strong multi-year exposure to the growing AI infrastructure market at an attractive price.
2. Vicor Corporation (VICR)
Market Capitalization: $12.53B
Quant Rating: Strong Buy
Sector: Industrials
Industry: Electrical Components and Equipment
Quant Sector Ranking (as of 6/9/2026): 3 out of 605
Quant Industry Ranking (as of 6/9/2026): 1 out of 59
VICR reached fresh highs after lifting Q2 revenue guidance, citing new royalty income tied to its patented AI power-system technology. As demand grows for energy-intensive AI hardware, VICR is well-positioned with investors increasingly focused on companies that offer high-density power delivery solutions.
VICR vs. S&P 500 Industrial Sector (XLI): 1Y Price Return
Seeking Alpha
Rising demand across high-performance compute, industrial, aerospace, and defense applications helped drive Q2 2026 revenue up by 20% YoY to $113M. Looking ahead, management said the company is expanding capacity to boost production of power modules to support AI-driven demand from OEMs and hyperscalers. The results and guidance support strong forward metrics behind a top-notch Growth Grade. In addition to EPS, VICR is especially outperforming sector peers with respect to growth in operating profit and cash flow.
Seeking Alpha
The price performance has pressured Vicor’s valuation marks, although PEG TTM is at an 85% discount to the sector. VICR is a top Nasdaq stock poised to benefit from rising data center requirements driven by the global AI buildout.
3. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (IRWD)
Market Capitalization: $541.58M
Quant Rating: Strong Buy
Sector: Health Care
Industry: Biotechnology
Quant Sector Ranking (as of 6/9/2026): 22 out of 938
Quant Industry Ranking (as of 6/9/2026): 9 out of 447
A small-cap biotech firm with a strong record of profitable growth, Ironwood crushed the sector in the past year as sales of its flagship bowel disease drug, Linzess, surged. And more growth is expected to come following the FDA’s pediatric label expansion for Linzess.
Although the stock pulled back after a CFO transition, the change is reportedly not due to financial reporting issues, and its fundamentals remain solid. Despite the recent dip, the stock maintains an A+ Momentum Grade, and its attractive valuation offers a potential buying opportunity.
IRWD vs. S&P 500 Healthcare Sector (XLV): 1Y Price Return
Seeking Alpha
Commercialized in the U.S. through a 50/50 partnership with AbbVie (ABBV), Linzess net sales grew by 97% YoY in Q1 2026, primarily driven by improved pricing and prescription demand growth. Ironwood, meanwhile, remains on track to begin site initiation in Q2 for Apraglutide, an SBS-IF treatment with a target market of $4B.
A robust earnings forecast supports an A+ Growth Grade, highlighted by forward diluted EPS growth of 397.99% vs. the sector’s 10%, as illustrated below in the screen capture. The forward EPS growth metric is particularly useful as it incorporates both historical performance and analyst forecasts. For the detailed definition, users can hover over the metric on the Growth Grade screen. Ironwood’s factor grade is also anchored in strong growth across EBITDA and operating cash flow.
Seeking Alpha
What I also find impressive is Ironwood’s profitability, especially given that most quant-rated biotech firms have negative net income. Strong margins across the board, along with a return on total capital of 39%, underpin an excellent Profitability Grade. Trading at a mere 3x forward earnings, Ironwood showcases a compelling valuation profile, supported by attractive EV/EBITDA and price/cash flow multiples.
Ironwood is one of the top stocks in the Nasdaq index, a biotech gem offering both growth and value to investors. As a reminder, I would like to underscore that small-cap stocks can be more volatile than their large-cap peers and are not appropriate for everyone. Investors should assess their risk tolerance accordingly while recognizing that small caps can also offer substantial growth opportunities. The same considerations apply to the next Strong Buy small-cap stock on my list.
4. Flywire Corporation (FLYW)
Market Capitalization: $1.71B
Quant Rating: Strong Buy
Sector: Financials
Industry: Transaction & Payment Processing Services
Quant Sector Ranking (as of 6/9/2026): 67 out of 686
Quant Industry Ranking (as of 6/9/2026): 5 out of 40
Listed among my top Russell 2000 stocks, Flywire is a global provider of payment processing technology, differentiating itself with a focus on multi-rail, multicurrency, and sector-specific solutions. With total payment volume reaching $11.4B in the most recent quarter, the company has been able to overcome visa and macro headwinds to deliver solid growth in all key verticals.
FLYW vs. S&P 500 Financials Sector (XLF): 1Y Price Return
Seeking Alpha
Strength across the education and travel segments in particular helped boost Q1 non-GAAP revenue by 43% YoY to $184M, as Flywire signed more than 200 new clients. The company also boosted expansion across schools in Europe and deepened engagement in critical client workflows, such as scaling U.S. loan disbursements for UK institutions. Productivity improvements and strong operating leverage lifted adjusted EBITDA by 82% and expanded margins.
On top of forward EPS growth metrics, Flywire’s outstanding factor grade is driven by its EBITDA surge and remarkable growth in cash flow and ROE. Wall Street analyst estimates have sharpened earnings visibility in the next three years, supported by bullish upward EPS revisions.
Seeking Alpha
Flywire’s strong long-term earnings estimates are key to a forward PEG that sits at a 61% discount to the sector. Rising earnings, margin expansion, and positive revisions help make Flywire a top Quant pick among Nasdaq financial stocks.
5. Lumentum Holdings Inc. (LITE)
Market Capitalization: $69.66B
Quant Rating: Strong Buy
Sector: Information Technology
Industry: Communications Equipment
Quant Sector Ranking (as of 6/9/2026): 4 out of 532
Quant Industry Ranking (as of 6/9/2026): 1 out of 39
Joining the Alpha Picks portfolio in March, Lumentum has seen earnings soar on strong demand for high-speed optical components used in AI and cloud data centers, while the stock’s price performance has crushed the tech sector. Added to the Nasdaq-100 Index in May, LITE jumped alongside other AI infrastructure stocks last week after Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) said it would raise $80B for AI investments.
LITE vs. S&P 500 Technology Sector (XLK): 1Y Price Return
Seeking Alpha
LITE’s fiscal Q3 revenue grew by 90% YoY to $808.4M, boosted by strength across laser chips and specialized assemblies. The company’s long-term earnings visibility continues to expand, backed by sell-side analyst revisions, with newer products like co-packaged optics expected to contribute even more to long-term growth.
Seeking Alpha
LITE’s exceptional Growth Grade is underpinned by strong performance in forward growth across EPS, revenue, and cash flow. Although the overall profitability score is average, LITE showcases solid EBITDA margins and ROE. Moreover, management expects profitability to improve, driven by the long-term supply-demand imbalance, combined with better yields and lower scrap rates.
Seeking Alpha
Momentum in the past year has led to elevated earnings multiples, but forward PEG is at a near 45% discount to the sector. LITE wraps up my basket of top five Quant-rated Nasdaq growth stocks, all showcasing excellent all-around fundamentals and significant earnings growth upside.