With my contribution limit reached until April, I’ve had to sell in order to buy. And while I’m not thrilled about that, I think it’s the right decision. 

Sell: CNH Industrial

I don’t really feel good about selling my stake in CNH Industrial (NYSE:CNH). I think the farm and construction equipment business is still in a cyclical downturn and has a lot of potential. 

I’m definitely not ruling out the possibility of coming back to the stock in the future. But with crop prices still near their five-year lows, I’m not seeing obvious signs of a recovery yet.

I think it’s easy to underestimate the company’s strengths. It looks like it has a lot of debt on its balance sheet – and it does – but this is less of a problem than investors might think. 

Virtually all of this is tied to future receivables – payments CNH expects to receive in exchange for products it has already provided. And if it doesn’t, it can take the equipment back.

That means its financial position is much stronger than it looks. But there’s still a risk that its assets might not be worth the full value of the loan they’re secured against if it has to repossess them.

I still have a positive view of the stock – and I’m retaining a small stake outside my ISA. But I’m in a position where I have to sell to buy and CNH is the name at the top of my list right now.

Buy: Roper Technologies

The stock I’m bringing in is Roper Technologies (NASDAQ:ROP). In recent years, the company’s been extremely successful in acquiring specialised software businesses.

Despite this, the stock’s crashed to a five-year low, falling 39% in the last 12 months. One reason for this is the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) – which remains a risk – but it’s not the only factor.

In recent years, Roper has been paying higher valuations as opportunities have been harder to come by. And investors are concerned this is a sign the company has lost its investing discipline.

I disagree. At the start of Q4 2025, Roper made a strategic decision to shift away from buying other businesses and towards a mixed approach involving acquisitions and share buybacks.

I see this as a clear sign that management is focused on creating shareholder value, rather than growth at all costs. And the firm has $6bn available to deploy in 2026. 

At today’s prices, that’s enough to bring the share count down by 16%. So with the stock trading at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 16 (based on the firm’s expected earnings) I’m not willing to miss out.

Opportunity knocks

CNH is still well below the price I expected to be thinking of selling the stock at. But it’s up over 25% from where I bought it three months ago and I think I have a better opportunity. 

In that time, Roper Technologies has seen its stock fall 22%. And since I think the firm’s long-term prospects are still very strong, I’ve made the decision to switch them in my ISA.

The post 2 moves I’ve just made in my Stocks and Shares ISA appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

Right now, though, I think there are stocks that have struggled recently where clear signs of tangible improvement are starting to emerge. And this is where I’m looking for opportunities.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act

One of the major forces that I expect to influence the stock market in 2026 is the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) in the US. And there are a few major moves on the way.

Consumer spending makes up around 70% of the US economy. And the OBBBA is set to make lower tax rates permanent, while introducing higher standard deductions for households.

In agriculture, the bill strengthens revenue protections that subsidise farmers when crop prices fall below certain levels. It also offers more support with crop insurance premiums.

The OBBBA is also significant for other industries, including semiconductors, car production, and healthcare. But in terms of stocks, I’m focusing on consumer spending and agriculture.

Diageo

US households having more money could be a very good thing for Diageo (LSE:DGE). The FTSE 100 firm has struggled with US sales recently, but its competitive position is still strong.

The big question for investors is why revenues have been struggling. Is it because household budgets have been under pressure, or is there a more durable shift in preferences going on?

My view is that at least part of the issue has been a temporary downturn. But the way to get a clearer sense of this is by keeping an eye on volumes at US wholesalers during the year. 

If this starts to improve, a recovery could be on the way. And while Diageo is trading at some of its lowest levels in the last 10 years, I think it’s well worth considering. 

CNH Industrial

Farming is a notoriously cyclical industry. And that means tractor company CNH Industrial (NYSE:CNH) is well used to seeing its revenues fluctuate from one year to another.

Weak crop prices have meant lower investment in new equipment recently. But the OBBA is set to give farmers – especially ones with larger operations – more revenue certainty in future.

That might well incentivise investment in new machinery and I expect CNH to benefit if it does. That’s why I’ve been buying the stock recently at a 30% discount to its 52-week highs. 

The risk of fluctuating crop prices won’t go away entirely. But the time to look at this type of stock is when it’s in a downturn – and I think there are signs a recovery could be on the way.

Buying and holding

From a long-term perspective, the best time to buy shares is when they’re undervalued. And with companies like Diageo and CNH, their share prices move in relatively obvious cycles.

The question is when a potential recovery might take place – and there’s a cost to being early. But in both cases, I think there are positive signs on the horizon in the next few months.

That’s why I think both are worth considering for investors looking for opportunities. If I’m right, though, they aren’t going to be around forever.

The post 2 stocks to buy before they bounce back in 2026? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

While I’m mostly focused on UK stocks at the moment, I do think there are some interesting opportunities across the Atlantic. And there are a couple I’m looking to buy for my portfolio.

The case for the US

Looking ahead to 2026, Varadhan’s view is that interest rates might well have further to fall. And the case for this comes from a combination of inflation and unemployment.

Inflation has been easing as tariff concerns subside, but the jobs market has been weak. Both of these data points provide support for a rate cut, which could boost share prices.

Varadhan expects artificial intelligence (AI) to be a key theme in 2026, but with the focus on users rather than providers. And this sounds plausible given the market’s recent concerns.

As we’ve seen in 2025, though, things can change direction quickly. So neither of my top two ideas for 2026 depends on interest rates coming down (though that would probably help).

CNH Industrial

CNH Industrial (NYSE:CNH) is a tractor manufacturing company. The stock is trading at a 33% discount to its 52-week high and this is mostly because of weaker crop prices.

I’m not sure when this is likely to turn around, but my suspicion is that it will eventually. And with shares in cyclical businesses, the time to think about buying is when they’re cheap.

That’s the case with CNH. The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio looks high due to cyclically low earnings, but the stock is at its lowest level since the pandemic on a price-to-book (P/B) basis.

The risk, of course, is that crop prices stay depressed for some time. But while investors wait for a recovery, the firm’s financing division should benefit from falling interest rates.

QXO

My top US stock to consider buying in 2026, though, is QXO (NYSE:QXO). It’s a building materials company, which doesn’t sound exciting, but I think it could be a big opportunity.

The firm is on a mission to build scale in a fragmented market through acquisitions. And it’s led by a CEO who has an outstanding track record with this strategy in various industries.

A lot depends on Brad Jacobs with this one and the possibility he might leave – for any reason – is a risk. That isn’t something I can avoid, but I think the potential returns are worth it.

That’s a long-term view. But the reason I’m looking to buy the stock in 2026 is that I think the firm can make progress on its strategy in the next year, whatever the economic climate brings.

US stocks

In terms of US stocks, the big tech companies have been attracting all the attention. But with a couple of exceptions, I think those stocks mostly look fully valued.

To my mind, the most attractive opportunities are elsewhere in the stock market. And they include the likes of CNH and QXO. 

Both are stocks I expect to own beyond 2026. But – along with a couple more US names – I’m very happy buying both right now as long-term investments.

The post Here are my top US stocks to consider buying in 2026 appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

Just over a decade ago, his investment vehicle, Berkshire Hathaway, bought a big stake in farm equipment firm John Deere in an agricultural downturn. And my latest idea is along these lines.

Buffett’s investment

Between 2012 and 2016, Berkshire bought just over 7% of Deere’s outstanding shares. This was at a time when weak crop prices were weighing on the industry. 

In many ways, this was a classic Buffett investment – shares in a quality business trading at a discount because of temporary issues. But things didn’t go entirely to plan. Crop prices took a long time to recover, staying in a prolonged downcycle until around 2020. And this was long enough for Berkshire to give up on its investment.

This shows that investments are never guaranteed to work, even for the best in the business. But I’m looking at a similar idea for my portfolio at the moment.

Secular growth

The stock I’m looking at is CNH Industrial (NYSE:CNH). Like Deere in 2012, it’s a farm equipment manufacturer that’s trading at a discount as crop prices have fallen. 

This idea didn’t work well a decade ago. But I think the rise of automation in agriculture means an investment now isn’t just about waiting for a cyclical rebound.

With no traffic around, it’s much easier to make a self-driving tractor than a self-driving car. And CNH is looking for this part of the business to account for 10% of sales by 2030.

Source: CNH Q2 Results Presentation

That’s double the current level and the company expects this to mean margins in its agriculture business increase from around 8% to 16%. Other things being equal, that means profits should double.

Out-of-favour valuation

The stock’s trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 14. That’s well below the S&P 500 average and based on earnings that are down due to lower crop prices.

The company has a lot of debt on its balance sheet and this creates risk, especially if interest rates don’t fall as expected. But this isn’t necessarily as straightforward as it seems.

Around 80% of the firm’s debt is matched by financing receivables. In other words, it’s cash that the firm borrows and lends to customers to help them finance their purchases. 

If CNH’s customers keep up with their debt obligations, I don’t expect its debts to be an issue. And if they don’t, it can repossess the equipment used as collateral to offset the losses.

Finding stocks to buy

In a 2022 interview, Todd Combs – a Berkshire investor – set out three things Buffett looks for in a stock to buy. And I think CNH might meet all of them. 

The first is a forward P/E ratio below 15. The second is a 90% chance of higher earnings in five years, and the third is a 50% chance of growing profits at 7% a year. 

The rise of automation in the farming industry should generate durable growth. And with agricultural commodities at unusually low levels, I’m looking to take advantage.

The post With share prices near record highs, I’m looking to Warren Buffett for ideas appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.