3 Overseas Stocks to Buy for Portfolio Diversification in 2026

As we head into 2026, investors may benefit from adding international stocks to their portfolios, alongside U.S. equities, to enhance risk diversification. While domestic stocks continue with the good run, several emerging and established markets are also now offering compelling combinations of attractive earnings growth, healthier balance sheets and reasonable valuations.

Year to date, the MSCI EAFE index (which gauges the performances of mid and large caps from developed countries, excluding Canada and the United States) has delivered a return of 30.48% compared with the S&P 500, Nasdaq and Dow Jones Industrial Average returns of 17.2%, 21.5% and 14.1%, respectively.

According to a Charles Schwab report, international stocks are likely to witness a “strong year” amid improving earnings and economic growth in 2026. These stocks are currently “attractively valued” relative to the S&P 500. The report adds that overseas stocks are expected to witness double-digit earnings growth rates in 2026. Moreover, exposure to foreign stocks (denominated in various currencies) could provide a hedge against potential U.S. dollar weakness.

Amid this backdrop, adding overseas stocks across different sectors to the portfolio can help investors tap into growth themes that are less correlated with U.S. markets, which remain heavily influenced by mega-cap technology stocks.

Here are the three such overseas stocks — Kinross Gold Corporation KGC, Sony Group Corporation SONY and HSBC Holdings plc HSBC, which are listed and stand out as strong additions to build a resilient portfolio in 2026.

3 Overseas Stocks for a Resilient Portfolio

Kinross Gold: Based in Toronto, Canada, Kinross Gold has diverse mines and projects across Canada, Brazil, the United States, Chile and Mauritania. It is listed on the NYSE.

The company’s diversified portfolio of mines continues to perform well, with the third-quarter production of 504,000 ounces. High-quality assets like Paracatu and Tasiast are delivering steady volumes at attractive costs, while operational improvements at La Coipa and steady execution across U.S. assets support portfolio stability.

Combined with good cost discipline and favorable gold prices, this has translated into robust margins of more than $2,300 per ounce, a free cash flow (up 66% to $687 million) and a balance sheet that now has a net cash position of nearly $500 million. This is instrumental in funding the company’s development projects, paying down debt and driving shareholder value. KGC has returned more than $500 million, including dividends to shareholders at the end of the third quarter of 2025. It raised its annual dividend by 17% last month.

KGC currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The company has an expected earnings growth of 147.1% for 2025. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2025 earnings was revised 15.1% upward over the last 60 days. KGC shares have skyrocketed 211.5% year to date.

Sony Group: SONY is a Japan-based diversified multi-national conglomerate with business spanning from music, film and gaming, to hardware (image sensors, TV and PlayStation).

Strategic shift toward an entertainment-focused business has been Sony’s key growth driver over the years. In recent years, it has increasingly relied on expanding its content offerings across games, music, film and TV. The company has also prioritized growth of its intellectual property across various business areas; made investments in content, music catalogs and emerging sectors such as anime; and advanced the development and use of innovative technologies to support content creation.

Sony’s G&NS segment is on a steady track, driven by the continued growth of PlayStation 5 in both active users and user spending. PlayStation’s monthly active users rose 3% year over year in September 2025 to 119 million and total play time for the quarter also grew 1%. For fiscal 2025, the sales forecast has been revised 3% upward from the previous view, led by favorable forex movements and solid hardware sales.

SONY currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2025 earnings was revised 4.4% upward over the last 60 days. SONY shares have rallied 19.3% year to date.

HSBC: Headquartered in London, HSBC is a leading global banking and financial services company with a strategic focus on Asia that offers diversification from U.S.-centric financial institutions.

HSBC is strengthening its performance by expanding operations across Asia and the Middle East markets. The bank proposed the privatization of its Hong Kong subsidiary, Hang Seng Bank, in October 2025. At the beginning of the year, HSBC got approval to open 20 branches in India.  Efforts are yielding results as net new invested assets (within Wealth business) stood at $29 billion, with $15 billion coming from Asia. It is also exiting from several non-core operations in the U.K., Europe and the United States to focus more on these markets.

Partnership with Mistral to roll out Gen AI across operations bodes well, as it will bolster the company’s innovation and deliver smarter and more personalized outcomes for its clients. The company’s strong capital ratios and dividend policy enhance the stock’s appeal. The common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio, as of Sept. 30, 2025, was 14.5%. It continues to expect a dividend payout ratio of 50% for 2025.

HSBC currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. It has an expected earnings growth of 14.92% for fiscal 2025. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2025 earnings was revised 7% upward over the last 60 days. HSBC shares have surged 59.9% year to date. 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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