High Beta Momentum US Stocks — Above-Market Volatility Growth Leaders on NYSE & NASDAQ
Beta above 1.3 with positive earnings and ROE above 10% — stocks that amplify market moves, giving maximum upside exposure in bull markets.
About This Screen
High-beta stocks amplify market movements — when the market rises 10%, a beta-1.5 stock typically rises 15%; when the market falls 10%, the same stock typically falls 15%. This leverage effect makes high-beta stocks the preferred vehicles for investors who want maximum equity upside in confirmed bull markets. Combined with positive earnings and quality ROE, high-beta momentum stocks offer the amplified return potential of market leaders with fundamental quality backing the price sensitivity.
WHAT THIS SCREEN FINDS: US NYSE and NASDAQ stocks with beta above 1.3 (significantly more volatile than the market), positive net income, ROE above 10%, and market cap above $500M. These are the market leaders that move with conviction — both up and down — filtered for fundamental quality to avoid purely speculative high-beta names.
KEY METRICS EXPLAINED: Beta above 1.3 means the stock has historically moved 30%+ more than the market in each direction. A 20% bull market produces approximately 26%+ gains; a 20% bear market produces approximately 26%+ losses. The quality filters (positive earnings, ROE above 10%) ensure high beta reflects growth dynamism rather than financial distress or speculative trading.
WHY INVESTORS USE IT: In confirmed bull markets, high-beta stocks are the most efficient vehicles for equity upside capture. Active managers who have conviction on market direction use high-beta names to amplify their portfolio returns when the market is rising. High-beta combined with fundamental quality (profitable, high ROE) reduces the risk that the volatility reflects business distress rather than growth momentum.
BENEFITS: Maximum equity upside in bull markets. Quality filters prevent speculative high-beta names. Identifies market leaders likely to outperform in risk-on environments. Useful for tactical allocation decisions when market conditions are favorable. High-beta quality growth stocks often include the period's best performance leaders.
RISKS AND LIMITATIONS: The same amplification that produces 30%+ outperformance in bull markets produces 30%+ underperformance in bear markets. High-beta is the wrong exposure in market corrections — consider reducing high-beta exposure and increasing low-beta defensives when market conditions turn. High-beta momentum is a bull market strategy, not an all-weather approach.
HOW TO ANALYZE STOCKS FROM THIS SCREEN: Assess the overall market condition before increasing high-beta exposure. Verify the high beta reflects genuine business growth dynamism (rapidly growing earnings, expanding market share) rather than financial leverage or speculative trading. Review the stock's price performance in the prior 12 months — are the high-beta characteristics producing actual returns? Combine with market direction assessment (S&P 500 above or below 200-day MA).
COMMON MISTAKES: Holding high-beta concentration through market corrections — the beta amplification works symmetrically. Not reducing high-beta exposure when market signals turn negative. Assuming high-beta means high quality — speculative names can have high beta without fundamental quality. Not balancing high-beta growth with some low-beta defensive holdings.
Related screens: All-Time High Momentum (price trend confirmation), Top 1-Year Price Return (momentum leaders), Minervini Trend Template (Stage 2 prerequisite), CANSLIM Growth (growth quality in high-beta leaders), Multi-Bagger Candidates (quality high-beta small-cap).
Frequently Asked Questions
What does high beta mean for a stock?
Beta above 1.0 means the stock moves more than the market. Beta of 1.3 means the stock typically moves 30% more than the market — a 10% market gain produces approximately 13% stock gain; a 10% market decline produces approximately 13% stock decline. High-beta stocks amplify market movements in both directions, making them more volatile than the average equity.
What types of businesses produce high beta?
Technology growth companies (earnings very sensitive to economic cycles and interest rates), small and mid-cap growth stocks (less liquid, higher individual stock volatility), cyclical businesses (auto, semiconductors, basic materials — earnings follow economic cycles), financial leveraged plays, and early-stage growth companies. The common thread is earnings sensitivity to macro conditions or speculative interest.
When is high-beta exposure most appropriate?
In confirmed bull markets — when the S&P 500 is above its 200-day moving average and trending upward. Historically, high-beta stocks outperform most significantly in the early-to-mid bull market phases when liquidity is expanding and risk appetite is high. They underperform in bear markets, market corrections, and rising rate environments that compress growth stock multiples.
How does the ROE filter improve high-beta stock selection?
Many high-beta stocks are high-beta because they're speculative, financially distressed, or thinly traded — not because they're quality growth leaders. ROE above 10% filters for businesses that are both volatile AND genuinely profitable and capital-efficient. This combination — high beta from growth dynamism, not speculation — produces the most reliable high-beta exposure for bull market amplification.
Can high-beta stocks also be defensive in some sense?
Rarely. By definition, high-beta means above-market correlation to market movements. Some high-beta stocks with very strong fundamentals may recover quickly from bear market drawdowns — but they still decline more than the market in the first place. 'Defensive high-beta' is largely an oxymoron — the best risk-management approach is to reduce high-beta exposure when market conditions deteriorate rather than seeking defensiveness within high-beta names.
What is the volatility tax and how does it affect high-beta returns?
Compounding is asymmetric: a 50% loss requires a 100% gain to recover. High-beta stocks that decline 30% in bear markets need 43% to recover — but in bull markets they only gain 30%. Over full market cycles (including both bull and bear phases), this asymmetry can reduce the theoretical amplification benefit. High-beta works best for investors who actively reduce exposure in downturns rather than passively holding through full cycles.
How do I reduce high-beta risk in my portfolio?
Tactical approaches: reduce position sizes in high-beta stocks when the market breaks below its 200-day moving average, add low-beta defensive positions to offset the beta amplification, use stop-losses to limit individual high-beta position losses, or shift from individual high-beta stocks to a blended quality portfolio when market signals turn negative. The goal is capturing bull market amplification while managing bear market drawdown.
What is the difference between beta and volatility?
Beta measures co-movement with the market (systematic risk). Volatility (standard deviation) measures total return variation including both market-correlated and company-specific movements. High-beta necessarily produces high volatility, but high volatility doesn't always mean high beta — a biotech with idiosyncratic drug approval risk can be very volatile but not necessarily highly correlated to market movements.
Should I combine high-beta and low-beta stocks?
Yes — blending high-beta growth stocks with low-beta defensives moderates overall portfolio volatility while maintaining meaningful growth upside. A 70% high-beta / 30% low-beta blend produces a portfolio beta of approximately 1.0-1.1 — slightly above market with the defensive component cushioning sharp drawdowns. The proportion should adjust based on market conditions: increase defensive allocation when market trends deteriorate.
How is beta calculated for this screen?
Beta is typically calculated by regressing 3-5 years of weekly or monthly stock returns against the S&P 500 returns over the same period. The regression slope is the beta coefficient. StockSifting uses historical price data to calculate beta for each stock. Note that beta can change over time as business models evolve — a maturing technology company may see its beta decline as earnings become more predictable.
Results 50 stocks matched
Refreshed daily · Sorted by Market Cap (High → Low)
| S.No. | Company | Beta | EPS Growth % | Rev Growth % | Price | P/E | Mkt Cap | Div Yld % | ROCE % | ROE % | 52W High | 52W Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Sezzle Inc. | 8.18 | 66.8% | 32.2% | $116.01 | 27.44 | $4.07 B | — | 52.43% | 90.93% | $186.74 | $49.5 |
| 2. | Affirm Holdings, Inc. | 3.63 | 59.3% | 29.6% | $63.61 | 55.71 | $21.3 B | — | 3.08% | 11.17% | $100 | $42.09 |
| 3. | American Superconductor Corporation | 2.98 | 42.67% | 21.4% | $42.34 | 15.01 | $2.01 B | — | 2.66% | 30.28% | $70.49 | $24.87 |
| 4. | Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. | 2.89 | 82.9% | 25.3% | $5.84 | 30.98 | $1.59 B | — | 14.57% | 17.67% | $16.11 | $4.31 |
| 5. | AppLovin Corporation | 2.5 | 84.7% | 65.9% | $557.2 | 47.23 | $187.19 B | — | 70.06% | 222.04% | $745.61 | $320 |
| 6. | NVIDIA Corporation | 2.33 | 95.6% | 73.2% | $205.1 | 32.36 | $5,164.76 B | 0.46% | 74.66% | 111.66% | $236.54 | $138.83 |
| 7. | GigaCloud Technology Inc. | 2.14 | 37.7% | 22.6% | $31.53 | 7.82 | $1.16 B | — | 16.86% | 31.48% | $51.86 | $17.11 |
| 8. | The Carlyle Group Inc. | 2.04 | 70.2% | 93.9% | $43.48 | 28.64 | $15.65 B | 3.22% | — | 9.65% | $69.85 | $41.54 |
| 9. | Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. | 1.94 | 37.1% | 13.3% | $280 | 16.77 | $75.09 B | 1.7% | 16.61% | 45.81% | $366.5 | $232.1 |
| 10. | DoorDash, Inc. | 1.93 | 47.7% | 37.7% | $156.8 | 73.78 | $68.32 B | — | 5.37% | 9.58% | $285.5 | $143.3 |
| 11. | Coherent Corp. | 1.91 | 73% | 17.5% | $376.99 | 162.48 | $76.18 B | 0.03% | 4.08% | 5.26% | $440 | $76.88 |
| 12. | Atlanticus Holdings Corporation | 1.88 | 22.7% | 50.1% | $84.1 | 9.21 | $1.24 B | 0.73% | — | 20.99% | $93.2 | $45.74 |
| 13. | Wolverine World Wide, Inc. | 1.87 | 36% | 4.6% | $15.9 | 12.63 | $1.31 B | 2.33% | 12.64% | 26.91% | $32.8 | $13.47 |
| 14. | Lyft, Inc. | 1.86 | 45.11% | 2.7% | $13.65 | 1.81 | $5.18 B | — | -4.18% | 150.2% | $25.54 | $12.46 |
| 15. | Brookfield Corporation | 1.83 | 80.4% | 3.5% | $44.6 | 74.29 | $99.25 B | 0.01% | 4.08% | 2.84% | $49.57 | $37.93 |
| 16. | Align Technology, Inc. | 1.81 | 35.6% | 5.3% | $167.74 | 27.81 | $11.96 B | — | 13.57% | 10.7% | $208.31 | $122 |
| 17. | Nova Ltd. | 1.79 | 22.4% | 14.3% | $475.76 | 58.69 | $15.46 B | — | 11.87% | 21.19% | $565 | $215.26 |
| 18. | Teradyne, Inc. | 1.79 | 81.4% | 43.9% | $357.93 | 65.61 | $56.03 B | 0.13% | 22.44% | 29.72% | $422.11 | $81.07 |
| 19. | Astera Labs, Inc. | 1.79 | 83.6% | 91.8% | $317.06 | 203.07 | $54.35 B | — | 12.4% | 20.33% | $372.37 | $84.78 |
| 20. | Lam Research Corporation | 1.79 | 37% | 22.1% | $303.28 | 59.17 | $396.91 B | 0.31% | 39.93% | 65.79% | $346.19 | $84.34 |
| 21. | Freshpet, Inc. | 1.78 | 79.2% | 8.6% | $49.74 | 12.07 | $2.42 B | — | 4.45% | 16.98% | $86 | $46.45 |
| 22. | Shake Shack Inc. | 1.75 | 28.7% | 21.9% | $52.34 | 55.42 | $2.28 B | — | 5.19% | 8.02% | $144.65 | $52.29 |
| 23. | Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. | 1.75 | 35.8% | 12.9% | $37.19 | 10.57 | $3.04 B | 9.05% | 33.34% | 71.28% | $48.5 | $34.99 |
| 24. | TransUnion | 1.71 | 52.8% | 13% | $70.66 | 19.34 | $13.62 B | 0.71% | 8.68% | 15.49% | $99.39 | $64.51 |
| 25. | IES Holdings, Inc. | 1.67 | 65.8% | 16.2% | $720.72 | 37.61 | $14.31 B | 0% | 39.96% | 41.13% | $744.88 | $259.3 |
| 26. | Netflix, Inc. | 1.67 | 32.7% | 17.6% | $82.18 | 25.62 | $342.57 B | — | 29.87% | 49.24% | $134.12 | $75.01 |
| 27. | Universal Display Corporation | 1.65 | 45.2% | 6.6% | $86.11 | 19.42 | $4.15 B | 2.22% | 13.4% | 12.33% | $163.21 | $83.64 |
| 28. | MiMedx Group, Inc. | 1.65 | 99.5% | 27.1% | $3.74 | 18.34 | $563.01 M | — | 22.95% | 12.86% | $7.99 | $3.03 |
| 29. | FTAI Aviation Ltd. | 1.65 | 29.8% | 32.7% | $234.05 | 44.75 | $24.01 B | 0.72% | 19.37% | 181.39% | $323.51 | $108.47 |
| 30. | Shoals Technologies Group, Inc. | 1.64 | 21% | 38.6% | $10.81 | 63.84 | $2.14 B | — | 7.26% | 5.67% | $13.18 | $3.99 |
| 31. | Applied Materials, Inc. | 1.64 | 75.2% | -2.1% | $453.01 | 44.32 | $377.1 B | 0.42% | 29.93% | 39.78% | $510.75 | $154.47 |
| 32. | Seagate Technology Holdings plc | 1.63 | 67.7% | 21.5% | $847.47 | 79.91 | $190.03 B | 0% | 35.63% | 172.59% | $966.8 | $124.63 |
| 33. | Burlington Stores, Inc. | 1.62 | 20.2% | 11.3% | $317.05 | 32.47 | $20.27 B | — | 11.02% | 37.72% | $351.85 | $218.52 |
| 34. | Chewy, Inc. | 1.61 | 61% | 0.5% | $20.64 | 37.89 | $8.44 B | — | 23.88% | 51.43% | $48.62 | $19.3 |
| 35. | Tapestry, Inc. | 1.61 | 94.2% | 14% | $140.1 | 42.26 | $28.01 B | 1.14% | 25.28% | 106.44% | $161.97 | $77.79 |
| 36. | First Solar, Inc. | 1.61 | 32.3% | 11.1% | $279.01 | 19.07 | $31.76 B | — | 14.43% | 18.01% | $320.95 | $135.5 |
| 37. | Comfort Systems USA, Inc. | 1.6 | 38.8% | 1% | $1,843.94 | 53.49 | $65.46 B | 0.17% | 43.07% | 51.69% | $2,073.99 | $469.16 |
| 38. | Janus International Group, Inc. | 1.6 | 22.38% | -2% | $5.1 | 15.98 | $690.15 M | — | 9.46% | 7.72% | $10.8 | $4.26 |
| 39. | Oracle Corporation | 1.6 | 24.5% | 21.7% | $213.68 | 39.79 | $644.92 B | 0.85% | 13.3% | 57.35% | $345.72 | $134.57 |
| 40. | Atmus Filtration Technologies Inc. | 1.59 | 21% | 9.8% | $45.91 | 18.27 | $3.86 B | 0.47% | 26.99% | 58.84% | $66.5 | $34.58 |
| 41. | Diodes Incorporated | 1.58 | 24.1% | 15.4% | $101.06 | 56.88 | $4.87 B | — | 1.76% | 4.54% | $121.96 | $42.28 |
| 42. | Teck Resources Limited | 1.56 | 42.5% | 9.8% | $61.67 | 33.12 | $21.57 B | 0.01% | 3.75% | 4.96% | $71.25 | $30.98 |
| 43. | Equifax Inc. | 1.56 | 34% | 14.3% | $172.13 | 29.11 | $20.34 B | 1.31% | 11.49% | 14.57% | $275.91 | $156.47 |
| 44. | DexCom, Inc. | 1.56 | 78% | 13.1% | $72.86 | 31.06 | $28.9 B | — | 21.72% | 33.83% | $89.98 | $54.11 |
| 45. | Evercore Inc. | 1.55 | 44.8% | 32.2% | $339.43 | 17.39 | $12.99 B | 1.03% | — | 41.05% | $388.71 | $232.29 |
| 46. | Rockwell Automation, Inc. | 1.54 | 67.1% | 11.9% | $446.71 | 45.99 | $50.04 B | 1.19% | 18.3% | 30.25% | $468.11 | $305.44 |
| 47. | Trimble Inc. | 1.54 | 80.5% | -1.4% | $54.19 | 23.99 | $12.56 B | — | 7.83% | 9.07% | $87.5 | $52.8 |
| 48. | Macy's, Inc. | 1.52 | 52% | -1.1% | $22.16 | 8.82 | $5.89 B | 3.33% | 7.53% | 14.46% | $24.41 | $10.54 |
| 49. | Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 1.52 | 150.73% | 28.8% | $15.84 | 6.97 | $2.08 B | — | 16.2% | 64.48% | $16.88 | $7.29 |
| 50. | OneSpan Inc. | 1.51 | 57.4% | 2.9% | $14.15 | 7.5 | $524.58 M | 3.4% | 17.69% | 27.31% | $18.13 | $10.07 |