The Best "Strong Buy" Momentum Stocks to Buy Now in October

Investors looking to block out the noise and the macro headwinds and buy stocks right now to start Q3 earnings season should consider surging, Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks that are thriving in the current market conditions.

Despite all near-term market hurdles, the overall S&P 500 earnings outlook is impressive, and it spans far beyond tech with 14 of the 16 Zacks industries set to post YoY EPS expansion.

Plus, the overall outlook for Q4 S&P 500 earnings has improved significantly since early July—from +23.4% to 27.7% before the big banks began reporting on Tuesday morning. 

The momentum stocks this screen puts on your radar are experiencing strong positive earnings revisions, earning them Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buys) in the early weeks of October.

Let’s dive into how investors can find the best "Strong Buy" momentum stocks to buy right now to start Q3 earnings season. 

Screen Basics: Finding the Best Momentum Stocks to Buy

The screen we are looking into today comes loaded with the Research Wizard. The screen helps investors dig through all of the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks, of which there are over 200 at any given time, to find some of the top momentum names.

The screen narrows down the list of Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocksto those with upward price momentum that are also trading within 20% of their 52-week highs. The screen then uses the PEG ratio and the Price to Sales ratio to help make sure investors are getting value as well. The screen then makes your life a little easier and narrows it down to just seven stock picks.

The screen basics are listed below…

·       Zacks Rank = #1 (Strong Buy)

·       Current Price/52-week High >= 0.8

·       PEG Ratio: P/E F(1)/EPS Growth <= 1

·       Price/Sales <= 3

·       Percentage Change Price -12 Weeks = Top # 7

This strategy comes loaded with the Research Wizard and it is called bt_sow_momentum_method1 It can be found in the SoW (Screen of the Week) folder.

The screen is simple, yet powerful. Here is one of the seven stocks that made it through this week's screen…

DELL: Buy this "Strong Buy" Tech Stock Now for AI Upside 

Dell Technologies DELL stock has ripped ~355% higher in 2026, breaking out meaningfully above its previous peaks in the process as it rides the AI capex boom. DELL’s AI bull case is simple: the tech company is one of the largest suppliers of AI servers, and business is booming.

The firm, which might be known by many as the maker of PCs and laptops, is thriving as its servers, storage, and networking gear segments thrive. Dell closed its most recent quarter with an AI-server backlog of roughly $95 billion.

DELL’s backlog, alongside steady demand for traditional enterprise hardware, gives the company a clear multi-year growth path as more businesses buy the physical infrastructure needed to drive the AI age. It grew its quarterly (Q2 FY27) AI-Optimized Servers sales by 100% YoY to $16.4 billion and boosted its Traditional Servers and Networking revenue by 122% to $10.5 billion.

Dell posted a huge beat-and-raise quarter on September 1 that saw it raise its full-year fiscal 2027 (current year) sales guidance by $25 billion to $192 billion, boosted by “accelerating” AI momentum. Its FY27 earnings estimate surged another 36%, with its FY28 figure 30% higher.

The recent positivity lands DELL a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and extends an impressive wave of upward earnings revisions that began roughly a year ago—its FY27 and FY28 estimates have soared 140% and 150%, respectively, in the past 12 months. And its Most Accurate estimates came in solidly above consensus.

Despite trading right near its recent all-time highs, the stock is not too overheated from a technical standpoint. DELL is trading just above neutral RSI levels, and it has chopped around its 21-day moving average since its May breakout.

Plus, the AI server maker is projected to roughly triple its adjusted earnings between FY26 and FY28—from $10.30 last year to $30.24 a share next year.

Get the rest of the stocks on this list and start looking for the newest companies that fit these criteria. It's easy to do. And it could help you find your next big winner. Start screening for these companies today with a free trial to the Research Wizard. You can do it.

Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today.

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Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

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