3 S&P 500 Stocks That Concern Us

While the S&P 500 (^GSPC) includes industry leaders, not every stock in the index is a winner. Some companies are past their prime, weighed down by poor execution, weak financials, or structural headwinds.

Some large-cap stocks are past their peak, and StockStory is here to help you separate the winners from the laggards. That said, here are three S&P 500 stocks that don’t make the cut and some better choices instead.

Dollar General (DG)

Market Cap: $22.74 billion

Appealing to the budget-conscious consumer, Dollar General (NYSE:DG) is a discount retailer that sells a wide range of household essentials, groceries, apparel/beauty products, and seasonal merchandise.

Why Is DG Not Exciting?

1. Lagging same-store sales over the past two years suggest it might have to change its pricing and marketing strategy to stimulate demand
2. Widely-available products (and therefore stiff competition) result in an inferior gross margin of 29.9% that must be offset through higher volumes
3. High net-debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 5× increases the risk of forced asset sales or dilutive financing if operational performance weakens

Dollar General is trading at $102.99 per share, or 16x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with DG, check out our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).

Keysight (KEYS)

Market Cap: $30.03 billion

Spun off from Hewlett-Packard in 2014, Keysight (NYSE:KEYS) offers electronic measurement products for use in various sectors.

Why Does KEYS Fall Short?

1. Sales pipeline suggests its future revenue growth won’t meet our standards as its backlog averaged 1.9% declines over the past two years
2. Earnings per share have contracted by 9.8% annually over the last two years, a headwind for returns as stock prices often echo long-term EPS performance
3. Eroding returns on capital suggest its historical profit centers are aging

Keysight’s stock price of $174.77 implies a valuation ratio of 23.4x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why KEYS doesn’t pass our bar.

Centene (CNC)

Market Cap: $18.15 billion

Serving nearly 1 in 15 Americans through its government healthcare programs, Centene (NYSE:CNC) is a healthcare company that manages government-sponsored health insurance programs like Medicaid and Medicare for low-income and complex-needs populations.

Why Are We Wary of CNC?

1. Customer additions have disappointed over the past two years, indicating the company’s value proposition may not be resonating
2. Incremental sales over the last five years were much less profitable as its earnings per share fell by 5.1% annually while its revenue grew
3. Shrinking returns on capital from an already weak position reveal that neither previous nor ongoing investments are yielding the desired results

At $36.95 per share, Centene trades at 15.1x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including CNC in your portfolio.

Stocks We Like More

The market’s up big this year - but there’s a catch. Just 4 stocks account for half the S&P 500’s entire gain. That kind of concentration makes investors nervous, and for good reason. While everyone piles into the same crowded names, smart investors are hunting quality where no one’s looking - and paying a fraction of the price. Check out the high-quality names we’ve flagged in our Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 244% over the last five years (as of June 30, 2025).

Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+782% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today

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